Seirei no Moribito 1: Female bodyguard Balsa

Two words to summarize the highlight of this first episode: Impressive visuals!



In my opinion, the first few minutes of this episode have the same feel as those Chinese martial arts/"wu xia" series. In those series, often the main hero/heroine wanders through the country, similar to what is happening here.

The anime opens up by showing Balsa reminiscing about the country, remarking that it has been 2 years since she left the place. On the road she has a small philosophical talk with the local old guy, who told her that it's rare to see a female warrior around. Balsa replies that she is coming the the country to do some maintenance on her spear.

Furthermore, Balsa also says that it's the same lifestyle for rich people wherever they go. However, if you don't have money, you will need to adopt the lifestyle of the place you go to. The old man is amused to hear this, as he thinks she is very young. Balsa says that she's not that young, having turned 30.


Soon after, she observed a member of the royal family passing by. While all other peasants around her are kneeling to pay respect, she refuses to do so because she is not a citizen of this country. However, the entourage is in trouble because the animal that pulls the carriage is mad for some reason. As a result, the person inside fell into the water. Balsa quickly tries to help the person, but soon both are in trouble when the carriage that also fell into the water almost crushed both of them. Miraculously, the person that Balsa saved has a protection bubble that comes in handy in this kind of situation. :) After bringing the guy to the shore, Balsa soon left without much fuss.



Later in the day, Balsa is stopped in an alley by some guards from the palace that is looking for trouble. After Balsa beat them with ease, the guards confessed that they just wanted to test her. Their real goal is to invite Balsa to the palace to thank her for her help earlier in the day.
After a feast, she is given a room and a massive bed to rest. However, the day has not ended because the prince she saved earlier and his mother come to visit Balsa's room.

It turns out the mother wanted Balsa to protect the prince as she is worried about his safety.
After some talk and disagreement on the task and reward (Balsa does not want all the money she is offered as it is hard to carry), Balsa finally went on her way with the prince tagged along.



It turns out in the past, eight people died trying to protect Balsa, and as a result she vowed to protect eight people as her thanks. It seems this is the main reason she agreed to take this task. Before she left, the prince's mother asked Balsa how many people she has protected until now, she answered that the prince will be the 8th person.
Balsa and Chagum, the prince, then escaped through the secret exit, while the palace is burned to hide the Chagum's disappearance.

Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit) Official Website
Opening theme: Shine by L'arc~en~Ciel
Ending theme: Itoshii hito e /愛しい人へ (To the loved one) by Sachi Tainaka


Impression:
From the graph, you can tell that I am very impressed with the visuals in this episode. I think the story can be interesting too, and as this is based on a book, that likelihood is high. There aren't that many books with horrible stories turned into movies, after all.
Episode 2: the chase begins!

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Sola 1:The blue-sky colored umbrella

Sola is of the those series where nothing much happened, yet enjoyable to watch.



The main character, Yorito has a fondness of the sky and taking pictures of it, especially during dusk and dawn. Today is another such day, when he wake up early to catch the sunrise. At the observation point, he met a strange girl struggling to get a tomato drink from the vending machine. Before they can talk for long, she already disappeared.




We found out that Yorito has a sister, Aono, who is currently hospitalised. Mana, Yorito's friend, and Koyori, Mana's younger sister, helps him to look after Aono. Despite being the only relative left, Yorito often leave Aono to gaze and take pictures of the sky. Mana scolds Yorito for this, saying that the sky is the same everyday. However, Yorito thinks differently, saying that the sky never looks the same :)



On another night, when Yorito happens to be out on his bike to get some things, he met the strange tomato juice girl again, now struggling yet again to get her delicious drink. This time, they managed to have a longer conversation. Yorito is intrigued by the blue sky-colored umbrella that the girl carries, and the girl is interested when she heard Yorito has many pictures of the sky. After Yorito elaborated on the various kinds of clouds, the girl takes her leave again. This time, Yorito managed to find out the girl's name,Matsuri.

Up to this point it feels like this is another slice-of life high school drama series.
This changed abruptly towards the end of the episode when a bespectacled guy appears at the church and proceeds to attack Matsuri. When he is about to finish her off, Yorito suddenly appears, and we have to wait another week to see what is going to happen.



The speculation here is that Matsuri is a vampire, because she never appear during the day throughout the episode. This also explains why she is so interested in the blue sky. I am curious on how they are going to expand the story from here, and whether Matsuri or the bespectacled guy, or neither, is the bad guy.

Sola official site
Opening theme song:Colorless Wind by Aira Yuki
Ending theme song: mellow melody by Ceui


Impression:
The wonderful songs and the sky theme of the series pretty much makes me want to see the rest of sola. I also share Yorito's fondness of looking at the sky, especially during dusk and dawn.

Note:
While 'sky' is 'sora' in the Japanese language, there is no doubt this is what the title of the anime means. As they often change the 'r' into 'l' in general, the decision not to use 'sora' might purely due to artistic values.

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Romeo x Juliet 1:The couple~if only they never met (ふたり〜出会わなければ)

Fourteen years ago, a little girl witnessed the murder of his father, but she managed to flee before the murderers can get her.



At the present time, the girl has grown to become a masked saviour of the peasants from the tyranny of the nobles. On one of her excursions, she saved a young lady, which leads her being trapped in a dead end during her escape attempt.

Thankfully, her knight on a white horse, but without the shining armor part, saved the day and flew her to safety. Odin, the girl, is not too happy however, as she thinks the noble, Romeo, is being arrogant in demanding some thank yous. Furthermore, Romeo didn't try to save the girl that Odin saved. Odin did whisper some thank you, though, before she disappears in the alleys.



Odin, we found out is a name that Juliet uses when she is in disguise.
After the first meeting between our two tragic lover, they keep thinking of that first touch of hands between them during the escape. They also asked their companion on what love is. To which they receive the same answer, which is a feeling in which you are willing to die for that other person.



It was also revealed that Juliet does not remember a lot about her childhood, but everything will be revealed on her 16th birthday, which is tomorrow. To fill time, her friend, Emilia ask Juliet to company her to a party held by the nobles. However, due to some misunderstanding, Emilia was left behind and Juliet ended up going to the party without her :)

At the party hall, Juliet remembers a time in her childhood where she stands on the balcony with her father. Seeing Romeo's father also unconsciously triggers some bad memory, and she fled the hall to the gardens to calm herself. There, she met Romeo for the first time as Juliet.



If only they never met...

Official site
Opening theme song: Inori~You Raise Me Up~(祈り~You Raise Me Up~) by Lena Park
Ending theme song: Cyclone by 12012


Impression:
There is really no need to speculate on what will happen in the end. I realize how much of a challenge it might be to create a series when most of your viewers already know what will happen in the end. In order to keep the series interesting, the anime need to focus on how to execute the storytelling, without needing to think too much about the story itself. I feel that has been done magnificently, and they also managed to keep out any mecha or talking tanks from making an appearance so far!

Joking aside, I was expecting the anime to be completely different from the original story, aside from the names and the the basic premise. So it is a good thing that didn't happened.
This is definitely one of the better series that came out this spring, and I hope the rest of the episodes are as well executed!

Aside from the impressive graphics throughout the episode, the opening song is also a very good and fitting song, whereas the ending is the kind of song that grows on me after several listens.
Hitoshi Sakimoto, of Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII fame, is responsible for most of the music scores in this anime, which I think are very good.

I was surprised to see Eminence's name being credited in the ending too. Those of you who lived in Australia and Singapore may have heard of their anime & game concerts, which are held several times every year. I think it's really great for them to be chosen to play the musical scores in a real anime!

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Hitohira 2: Fake....one? (まがい・・・・物？)

Still reeling from the shock of joining the Drama Research Club, Mugi again daydreams about life on the stage.

When she woke up, the lunch break is already over, so she went back to the class. When Mugi confesses to her best friend that she can't sleep last night, her friend, Kayo, teases her about this.
It seems Mugi is even thinking of quitting the club as she thinks it's impossible for her to continue due to her speech problem. However, Kayo thinks this is actually a good chance to help Mugi overcome her problem.


Later in the day, the Drama Research Club held a first practice meeting to welcome the two new members. To Mugi and Kai's surprise, the club room is extremely small, just a bit larger than a closet ^^; More surprisingly, there are only three other members in the club.

Not only that, they found out there is another drama club in the school, which performed the play on the school opening day. There is also a rivalry between the club and when Mugi was told by Nono, the club president, that she would need to perform, she collapsed yet again. This is probably also caused by the horror stories about Nono that she heard ^^



The next day, Mugi meets a new friend, Chitose Kanna, who lends Mugi some clothes because her own clothes is drenched by the rain. Chitose is actually a member of the Drama Club, which leads to a mini tug-of-war between the clubs to get Mugi. It is obvious there is no love between the two clubs, as Drama Club President accuses the Drama Research Club of being a fake one. This time the Drama Research Club managed to fend off the Drama Club's attempt to make Mugi switch clubs.


Finally, the Drama Research Club are holding the first practice session on the roof. The script is an original drama titled "Sisters on that night" (insert your imagination here :b). Mugi feel nervous again, and as a result unable to speak loudly. She tries to think happy thoughts to cure this, which leads to a daydream of pancakes. Unfortunately, this does not quite work yet as it only distracts Mugi from the script she is supposed to read.

When Chitose, who happens to watch the practice session sees this, she has an idea to cure Mugi temporarily, by tickling her! The method actually works and Mugi lets out a very loud scream that surprises everybody. Chitose, which sees the potential in this voice of Mugi, declares that she won't lose out. Thus, in addition to the friendship, the rivalry also began between the two.



A solid episode that explains the rivalry between the drama clubs, as well as introducing Chitose, this is another enjoyable episode.

Next week: Debut on the stage, will Mugi be able to use her impressive voice on stage?

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Saint Beast: Kouin Jojishi Tenshi Tan 1: The Beginning (起源)

This prequel Of Saint Beast follows the life of six tenshi or angels, who are all pretty males.



One of these angels, is shown to train a bunch of youngsters. From here, things truly go downhill...

Another angel is shown to protect two brothers from bullying due to their half-breed. And yet another angel is shown to play around with cats.


The later part of the episode shows the angels spying on the human world, where a marriage ceremony is under way. Later on, the mirror that was used for this espionage activity, land the angel into a small trouble because he "borrowed" and forgot to return it. And that brings us to the end of the first episode. -_-



Opening theme: Divine Love by JAM Project featuring Hiroshi Kitadani
Ending theme: Kouin Jojishi Tenshi Tan ~ Ending Chronicles




Impression:
As far as I can tell, the story mostly revolves around the daily of the main characters, and possibly lay the background for the old Saint Beast series. Unfortunately, their life does not seem to be interesting at all. If you like to watch the daily life of six pretty boys though, you might actually like this series :b
To put it mildly, this is a show that I have the least interest in watching out of the spring lineup that I have seen so far. Probably the only redeeming factor is the opening song, which I think is not too bad. From the opening, there might be some actions in future episodes, which should inject some badly needed excitement.

Still, there must be a point to the series that I am missing in a big way, since they did managed to obtain funding for this prequel. Surely the money is better spent to continue other better series...I want more Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou! ehmm....
Has anyone watch the original Saint Beast? What is the worst series you have seen from the spring lineup?

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Claymore 1: Large Sword-Claymore (クレイモア-大剣 )

Claymore is a half human, half youma being who often get requested by humans to defeat youmas that disturb their village.

One such village is shown to have difficulties dealing with one such youma, which resulted in the town leaders to invite a claymore to defeat this youma. When the Claymore come to the village to fulfill the request, it generated both curiosity, awe and fear. One village boy,whose name is Raki, is surprised to see that this particular Claymore is a female. To that, another fellow responded that all Claymores are female.



When the Claymore make her way through the town, some people voiced their disagreement with the decision to hire her. Someone else whispers that only monster could defeat a monster, which was overheard by the Claymore. ^^;

When the Claymore meet with the village elder to discuss some arrangements, she refused payment until the job is done. That way, if she gets killed, no payment would be necessary :)



After she finished the remuneration benefits, she went to the edge of the town to sleep :b. Before that, Raki, who is intrigued by her, starts to follow her and ask questions. The Claymore is slightly intrigued by this, as he does not seem to be afraid of her, unlike the other villagers. Raki feels that she does not look different from humans, so there is no need to be afraid.

However, she remains cold as she is unwilling to tell Raki her name when asked, because she assumed it would soon be forgotten anyway.:) Raki also confesses that his parents were the first ones who get killed by the youma, so he wanted the Claymore to avenge them. The Claymore refuses this, as her fight against the youma has nothing to do with Raki's revenge.

After Raki leaves the Claymore and arrive at his home to have dinner, he is surprised
to find another dead body. More surprisingly, the killer is his brother who has turned into a youma when their parents was attacked and hide his true form since then. After a futile try to fight his brother, Raki is saved by the Claymore, who come to rescue him, out of nowhere:)

After an easy fight and a dead youma, Raki is still to frightened to move after he witnesses the bloody fight and the true form of the Claymore. After the Claymore left, the village also kicked Raki out of town, because they are afraid of him becoming a youma.

Lost and without a destination, Raki collapsed in the dessert. Luckily, he is saved once again by a claymore. After waking up, he tries to find his saviour, only to find a different claymore, who has an interest in him :)



Thankfully, Raki is quite smart, as he noticed immediately this claymore call herself claymore, which is odd because only humans call them that. This fake claymore turned out to be another youma, who wants to lure the real claymore out using Raki.

The youma is happy to find the real claymore taking the bait. The real claymore even throw her sword away as the youma demanded, to save Raki. After some more bloody battle, the claymore emerged victorious once again. However, she denies that the sword was thrown away to try to saved Raki, saying that its only a plan to keep the youma escaping :)

The claymore seem to remember her own childhood, where she was also thrown out from her village, and decided to let Raki go with her until he can find another village to live. The Claymore even tells Raki her name, Claire. Thus the story begins.

Claymore Official website
Claymore on Anime News Network
Opening theme: Raison D'etre by Nightmare
Ending theme: Danzai no Hana~Guilty Sky(断罪 ) by Riyu Kosaka (小坂りゆ)

The opening theme is pretty decent, but I like the ending more. I am pleased when I found out the singer is none other than Riyu Kosaka, whose songs is used in the Lumines game. The ending theme also means Flower of Conviction~Guilty Sky.


Impression:
Being one of the most anticipated series to come out this spring, this episode is mostly about character and premise introduction. To be honest, if I have not heard the buzz about it, I probably would not continue watching this. The story is supposed to pick up and things will get interesting, or so I heard.

This is not saying that this is a fault to make this first episode this way. Not every series can or even should start out with the same pace & mystery as Code Geass, for example. Variety is good. However, it does make one wonder on how many series have been written off by viewers just because the first episode is too simple or predictable. El Cazador comes to mind :)

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