Eva’s First Impression
I came into this with no expectations, and man was this a pleasant surprise. In fact within the first minute of the show, I already had a good feeling about it, just because it made me laugh. Yes, something as simple as that made me hopeful, especially coming off a week of a rather slow start to the season.
The story starts off with two Chinese students, Ton and Shinyao who have come to study in London. Of the two of them, it seems Ton is the only one who knows how to use magic, let alone see things unseen to the Human eye. In the matter of fact, I like how Ton has this quality to her, it allows her to be a bit more reckless without turning into a damsel in distress. Pursued after a blurry thief and get lost? No problem, just use a magic spell to guide her! The guys leave her behind at the cafe without an explanation, takes a taxi to Hyde Park to catch up to them.
Actually it was pretty funny how she reacted to everything. When she witnessed Toyru attacked the Goblins, even though they were monsters, even she thought what they were doing was too much. And then when she tried to be helpful, and warn Vlad about the Spriggan that he knew was behind him… only to distract him and get him hit! Then she scolds him for not dodging and tells him to run away while she fights it… even after having witnessed he is clearly not Human. I don’t know what was running through Ton’s head, but it’s pretty hysterical how the girl is fearlessly rising to the occasion, and even managed to wield Sha Rijan’s chains, even though it was mostly just taking out her frustrating on the Spriggan, ahahaha!
Better yet, I loved the interaction between her and Vlad, the way they banter with each other is pretty funny, so I look forward to seeing how their relationship develops. But it is an understatement to say it’s going to be a complicated one, especially if turns out Vlad was in love with her great grandmother. There is definitely a history between them, especially since Vlad dropped the hint that he failed to protect her back then.
In fact it surprised me how it was Luke who was the one trying to keep Vlad from revealing all of their secrets. Vlad turns out to be a lot clumsier than he appears. Toyru is also an interesting character, who is pretty much focused on what’s at hand, and always goes for the overkill, which I find rather hilarious. Of the trio so far, Luke seems to be the one who is the most normal of the bunch, despite being a werewolf himself. Even though Vlad wiped Ton’s memories with good intentions, Luke was the first to criticize doing that without her consent. It is a little thing that often gets overlooked in stories like this, so I really appreciate how they paid attention to that action.
And that’s the other thing, not often do we see stories where a group wants to keep the protagonist out of their troubles, and are willing to go so far as to wipeout their memory of their first encounter. Ultimately, the three of them agree it would be best for Ton to continue living her life a normal student. But unfortunately for them, it seems fate has other things in store for Ton. With her adorable friend Shinyao being kidnapped by someone/something, it wouldn’t surprise me if her magic spell that she used to find her around London after getting lose, would lead her back to the cafe as it did the first time.
Before I watched this, I told myself it would probably be a bad idea for me to cover another show on Monday, especially coming off the backs of covering two shows on Sunday, so as long as I continue to cover Hanebato! And on top of that, I am working on Otome Madness project, so it’s an understatement to say I got my hands full. However, after watching this, whether or not this is a good idea is irrelevant. Since it doesn’t look like anyone else on the team is interested, I really want to give this show a chance. I feel like this might be a show that slips under everyone’s radar, and deserves some attention.
The thing is, Ton and her grandmother really do look alike… so much so, it actually makes me wonder if she might be her reincarnation since she is able to use her magic and powers. Sha Rijan has quite a background, one that you wouldn’t expect such as: She left her newborn child to embark to London, and the letters she sent all contained spells and fortune. She is considered a traitor to the family, and it seems Ton is the only one who looks up to her. She created Cafe Forbidden for misfits like the boys to have a place to work, or rather it appear to really serve more as a disguise for Twilight’s Headquarters, given there’s a magical secret room and all.
And I really like the Phantom Twilight Plus segment at the end. It was quite helpful will just filling in a bit of details that they may not necessarily have time to address in the show. I liked that they spoke about Sha Rijan, so we can have a gist of what the woman’s reputation was, and a bit of her background and reasons for being in London as well.
Ultimately I see a lot of potential in this show, so I would sure like to try to do it for at least three episodes. If I do end up picking it up, and it does turn out to be too much to cover two shows in two days back to back, I will consider releasing my entries of this show on Tuesdays to spread it out.
Possibility of Blogging: High
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
