So last week, I met with a fellow anime fan, and she suggested three new series. And this inspired me to try a fourth. I have seen the first two episodes of all of them.
Special A is a high school comedy. Hikari has always been second best to Kei ever since he bested her in a wrestling match as a young girl. Hikari even followed Kei to a prestigious school to keep competing with him. Everyone is in classes according to grades. Then there is the Special A (SA) class, consisting of the top seven students in the school. Hikari is second in the school, with Kei being first. Hikari has yet to beat Kei in anything, no matter what challenge she comes up with. It seems, though, that Kei is the only one allowed to tease Hikari.
This series is a solid 3/5. Very funny so far, I can see where romance can be added too. But unless the characters grow, it will only be worth watching once.
Telepathy Shoujo Ran features a first year Jr. High Student, Ran, who is very cheerful and energetic. And as she learns in the first episode, she is also a telepath. She meets a new girl in her class, Midori, who is also a telepath and has a much more cynical outlook on their abilities and normal people. Then there is Rui, Ran’s childhood friend. Add in mysterious things happening, and you have an interesting series.
This series gets 4/5 so far. The character interaction is interesting, and there is lots of room for them to grow as well. And I want to find out what is really going on.
Wagaya no Oinari-sama is the story of two brothers. Noboru is the head of the ancient Mizuchi clan (news to him!) and Tooru the younger has strong magical power. Not surprising since the Mizuchi clan has a long line of priestesses that control water. Unfortunately, their power is dwindling, and the two brothers are the only heirs. And Tooru is being targeted. So the kitsune Tenko Kugen is awakened and agrees to protect the two boys for their deceased mother’s sake. Life with a kitsune, though, is very interesting to say the least.
So far, this rates a 4/5. Interesting characters, with plenty of room to grow. I look forward to seeing where the story takes us.
Natsume Yuujin-Chou is my favorite of the new series so far. Natsume can see spirits. He has just arrived in the area where his grandmother used to live, and he gets particularly bothered by spirits, more than normal. He frees a fortune cat who is more than it seems. It is looking for Natsume’s grandmother’s book in which she wrote the names of all the spirits she defeated – something a lot of spirits are interested in since names control the spirit. Natsume actually has the book and the fortune cat agrees to help protect him as long as he gets the book when Natsume is dead. Natsume wants to return the names to their rightful owners.
This gets a 5/5 so far – returning spirits names only touches the surface of what is going on, and the characters and world are so well developed.
