Nil Admirari no Tenbin Episode 1 [First Impression]

Eva’s First Impression

… I am kind of at loss what to think. I am really interested in the concept of the story, but this premiere was definitely not a clean one.

The story revolves around locating and retrieving “Cursed Tomes”. They are books that harbour the emotions of the author, and are typically, handwritten. These cursed Tomes are dangerous, and takes possession of the reader and makes them suicidal. And recently there has a been a spike of incidents, and it’s up to the “Imperial Library Intelligence Asset Management Bureau” (what a freaking mouthful!) to investigate and figure out who is behind it.

The show starts off really dark, a boy setting himself on fire, his sister witnessing it, and another straggling himself—and~ then the Opening happens.

Let me get this straight: Including the Opening in the premiere was the biggest blunder of the episode! One minute it had me was thinking, “Wow this is sounds so dark! I wasn’t expecting this!” and then all the sudden, it shifts to this fluffy and party-like Opening, where the characters are dancing, having fun and full of rainbows! The transition was so outrageous, that I burst out laughing. The Opening completely obliterated the grim mood. And sure enough, once it’s over, we shift to tension between the heroine Fuze Tsumugi, and her brother Hitaki (who is freaking crazy in his own right, boy got the crazy eyes).

There was also the bizarre “SFX” transitions, that are really better off seen in a comedy, otherwise it just comes off as unnecessary and too much. Small things like that spoil the mood, the tension that has been set. Take that all out, while the episode will feel a lot more plain, at least we can maintain its grim tone. I mean, we are talking about cursed books that kills its readers! And don’t even get me started on the flashbacks…

Then we have the heroine, Tsumugi who is set for an arranged marriage for her family’s sake. She had one heck of a shaky start. For pretty much the entire duration of the episode, she was either moping around about her spoiled brother, or blaming herself for her brother’s attempt at suicide– regardless having been told it wasn’t her, but the fault of the bloody cursed book. On the more positive note, Tsumugi has a lot of room for development. By the episode of the episode, Tsumugi has made the decision to accept the job of working with the Imperial Library Intelligence Asset Management Bureau. There she will be using her newfound ability of being able to see the Cursed Tomes’ Auras (triggered by the traumatic incident of witnessing her brother attempt suicide). Oh and she cut her hair, which also makes her look way cuter!!!

But one of the most surprising thing about this episode was how it was entirely dedicated to establishing Tsumugi’s character, her drive and how she ends up getting involved in Imperial Library Intelligence Asset Management Bureau. Amazingly, her potential love interests’ screen-time were extremely brief, and what surprised me even more, Ozaki Hayato’s and Kougami Akira’s personalities. I didn’t have any particular expectations, but I guess I am just used to the “leaders” in these type of organizations, having the tendency to having a serious/somewhat uptight personality.

Hayato already strikes me as adorable! The way he attempted to recruit Tsumugi by saying, “I WANT YOU!” AHAHA! I thought it was so cute. He wasn’t forceful about it (you know like some others dudes…) It is an unexpected charm from this handsome fella, and that alone already makes me like him a lot! On the other hand, his colleague Kougami Akira didn’t say much so maybe he is the quieter type, but appears to be the kind of character to reel Hayato back in.

And of course, we can’t forget about the ED Theme: Another strange musical choice, but the sequence had me in tears. It was entirely fanservice driven! (I mean, it was to be expected, but they really went all out!!!)

Overall despite the shaky start to the show, I am definitely still interested enough to keep watching. But on the flip side, I wouldn’t feel like I am missing out if I don’t end up covering this. That being said, I would like to give this three episodes to learn more about the characters and the story. There is definitely potential, but it is the execution that will make or break this series.

Possibility of Blogging: Moderate – Going to give it 3 episodes!