First off, all I can say is, THANK GOD this is finally out. I don’t know what it was about this show, but it did NOT want me to see it. At first I thought it was going to be the very first show I covered for the season, but apparently Japanese women’s volleyball had other plans and ended up delaying the show by a few days. At first I thought this meant I’d be able to review it on Sunday. Nope! Wasn’t out Sunday. So then I thought maybe it would be out Monday. Oh yeah, it was out Monday, but only in raw. So then I see it’s FINALLY subbed today, but I can’t find a place to download it. Then EVENTUALLY I find it on youtube and my internet crashes. All I gotta say is, this show better be fucking worth it.
The show opens up with a girl pointing a giant gun at a guy’s head. Literally that’s the first 3 seconds of the show.
It turns out that this girl is pointing a gun at this guy because he wants him to come with her to an amusement park on their day off. An amusement park called, you guessed it, “Amagi Brilliant Park”.
And…I have to say, the opening is really catchy and energetic so….fine. You get a point there Amagi. Let’s see if you can keep racking em up.
Thinking this is a very awkward way of her asking him on a date (being the narcissist that he is) and agrees to go.
When they arrive at the amusement park however, he (Seiya) realizes just how much of a craphole 3rd rate failing amusement park this is. Whether it be half of the attractions in ruins, the complete lack of patrons, or just failings in general, the place is a disgrace.
The only cool attraction that seemed to be working was a neat laser gun game where you shoot mechanical mice in a kitchen area for a high score.
Eventually they come across the amusement park’s mascot which looks like the strange bear things from Full Metal Panic.
And then for some reason in which I can’t figure it out, the mascot is a dick and punches Seiya. Then the two of them start to get into a fight and girl shoots them both. Because, you know, why not?
But they turn out to be fine. Because MAGIC! Oh, guess I forgot to mention that. Yeah. When Seiya brings up how much of a dick the guy in the bear suit was, the girl responds with “Oh, he’s not wearing a suit. He’s a magical dude from a magical dimension”. To which Seiya raises the appropriate eyebrow and instead of bolting for the hills just pretends she’s saying that to keep up illusions.
They come across a few hot fairy chicks who are performing in a theater where the amount of people watching them are pathetic. Two of them are really into it but the other two don’t seem to give a shit.
Eventually they finish their day and Seiya (understandably) has had enough of the worst Amusement park ever and tells the girl (for the life of me I can’t remember this girl’s name and I don’t care to look it up) how much it sucked.
So all this time you’re wondering to yourself, why the FUCK did this chick bring this guy to this terrible amusement park? It’s then we find out out that Seiya used to be child actor and the girl knows a stalker amount about him. Understandably freaked out, he asks what she wants from him. And she says, “Eat this croquet.”
See, that may just be paranoia talking, but if a girl i didn’t know pulled out a notebook with all my life’s details, I wouldn’t be eating ANYTHING she gave me. Regardless, he does, and they’re not poisoned or drugged, but are amazing. Wanting to meet the chef (as they’re made in Amagi) they head up to the roof where they meet the manager of the park.
She basically tells him that everyone who works in the park is a magic being from another world. Because…why not? And there was a prophecy that he would help them save this park. Once again…um…okay? So out of the blue she asks him if he’ll be the new manager and save the park.
Of course, he thinks this is a crazy load of bullcrap until the manager tells him that to prove it, she’s going to give him magic. So she kisses him.
Unfortunately this causes him to pass out. When he wakes up he’s back in his bed. Going to the bathroom he’s greeted with this sight.
After freaking out learning that this girl is the one who brought him home, He then finds out that he has crazy eye powers that let him read minds.
The episode then ends as we see a counter. the park needs another 250,000 guests in the next 83 days, or they’ll close forever. Can Seiya turn this around and save the park? Meh. Probably. But it’s really the journey not the destination.
So, was the show worth the crazy waiting that women’s volleyball made us wait? Well…here’s the thing. I DO like the premise. I like the idea of saving an amusement park. I’ve only ever seen this idea done once before and it was in a dating sim. That’s not to say it might end up being terrible, but as of right now, I can’t make up my mind.
The characters are..at least interesting for the most part. Seiya’s funny and sarcastic (sure a lot of anime guys are like that but there’s more personality to him than say the guy from Ushinawareta. The girl he was with in this episode has absolutely no personality whatsoever. She’s a bland blank slate. But at times she plays it amusingly. Like when Seiya sees her naked and slams the door. She stops, thinks for a moment and then let’s out a very monotone uncaring “eek”. I actually have to admit I laughed at that.
It’s not that I don’t LIKE her it’s just..she needs to grow on me.
This show….episode 1 didn’t give me ENOUGH. I like the premise, the characters are okay, and I REALLY want to see where it’s going. I’m not sure why this show needed MAGIC….but..I guess we’ll see where that takes us. I really am not sure what to say on this show, but I definitely want to see more, and you know what, I think I want to continue blogging it. At least for now. Also…they have a fucking countdown clock…and I LOVE countdowns.
Head: 8
Eye: 8
Heart: 7
Still don’t like the fucking Full Metal Panic Bear thing.
Watching: Definitely
Blogging: High Probability
-Hideki
Nice…