Sarasa Watanabe, I hope that you get everything you want in life. She was an absolute delight in this episode and I just want to see her positive attitude take her right to the top. Sure, she’s going to have to fight the superstition of the cherry tree, but that just means it’ll be all the more rewarding when she achieves her dreams. Hopefully along the way, we’ll also have plenty of time to fall in love with the other characters and just the thought of that makes me incredibly excited to dive into this series.
This first episode seemed to go by in a breeze! It was more surface level because they probably need to lay the foundation for the rest of the series. We’re first introduced to Ai, an ex-idol with an extreme distaste for men. I wonder if there’s a story with how that distaste came to be, or it’s as simple as there were a few too many male fans that made inappropriate comments. Though, based on the ending, it looks like there’s a particular fan who really doesn’t understand personal boundaries and has been hunting her down. Ai, please stay safe. Stop walking home alone and always bring a buddy with you. I’m really looking forward to seeing if and how Ai grows throughout the series. She’s very much a lone wolf and it’ll be pretty hard for her to get close to anyone. And arguably, with her standoffish nature I can understand why other girls are not exactly jumping at the chance to be her friend. But hey! If she’s going to want to stay at this men-less school for the next 2 years, it would be a good idea to make some friend.
The actual entrance exam was essentially non-existent, but they handled it pretty well. We got a brief introduction to the girls of note, Sawa, Ayako, Kaoru, Chiaki, Chika, and of course Sarasa and Ai. But otherwise, no other clips from the entrance exam except for the teacher’s defending Sarasa’s admission, her brief introduction to the panel, and the results. I love how bitter Ai was about the whole thing because it shows that she does actually care about those who are around her and that Sarasa has caught her interest. I mean, I’m sure everyone’s eyeing Sarasa for her height and outgoing personality. But it was pretty funny to see Ai throw a little fit with her food when she was out with Taichi. Speaking of Taichi! I’m glad they addressed it in this episode, but I definitely thought he was Ai’s boyfriend! When he was first introduced, she was very comfortable with him and the even held hands when walking home. But I’m glad they addressed the fact that they were relatives.
I’m interested to know if the entire series will focus on Ai’s perspective or if it will grow to the larger group as the episodes go on. I definitely have a preference for focusing on each girl, but if it’s done well, I don’t think I’ll be upset if we just stick to her perspective. I mean, it’s pretty clear that her and Sarasa are the main characters and the focus of the series, but still! Their classmates seem really interesting and I’d like to see them all grow and develop together.
One of my biggest fears for this series is for people to immediately call it a Revue Starlight clone. Don’t get me wrong, Revue Starlight was a blast to watch, but just because these girls are at a school for acting and have a goal of being the top star doesn’t necessarily mean they will be the same thing. I mean, I have yet to see a giraffe or elaborate musical fight scenes (or heck! a time loop) or even Miss Maya Tendou, but hey, if we do get stuff like that, I won’t complain. I just want this anime to have a chance to stand on its own first. The chaos! The drama! Feel free to bring it all!
I was fairly impressed by this first episode. Again, I think it was laying the groundwork for the future, so there’s still a lot to discover, but I’m going to maintain high hopes for this anime and am looking forward to seeing what it will bring! I want to fall in love with all of these new characters and hopefully I’ll support them all as much as I already support Sarasa!
Possibility of Watching: High
Possibility of Blogging: Pretty High!
I very much liked this first episode that I recommended it to my brother, who isn’t really a shoujo fan. He loves his battle shounen series that he never grew out of. I am not ashamed at all to say that I am a man who finds the writing and characters in josei anime to be better than shows geared towards other demographics, and I love a good shoujo anime on the rare occasion that the industry decides to take a risk on adapting a shoujo anime since shoujo anime tend not to make as much money as big shounen titles.
That’s awesome! I hope that you enjoy the series and that your brother does as well!