Hyakko: First Looksies
Turns out it doesn’t suck!
This is my first ever current Anime season post. So you can imagine I’m a little excited about it. Well, I’m a little excited about a few other things happening in my life right now, namely the otaku girl returning my phone call and my internet returning to working state, so let’s have a looksie at Hyakko.
So basically the episode opens with a girl jumping out the window, and this blonde girlie here is obviously surprised. We find out more about this later in the episode. Having the condition (They don’t call me the Asperger’s Anime Blogger for nothin’) that I have, I find it difficult to attach names to faces upon first meeting them. So I apologise if I forget the names of the characters immediately after watching the Anime.
Basically the plot of the episode goes like this. Blonde girlie (again I apologise, as the series progresses it’s much easier for me to learn character names) gets lost because the school she goes to is friggin’ huge. She has just gotten into high school, and she’s despairing that the changes she thought would result in her maturity from going to high school haven’t happened yet. And this goes on for five whole minutes without a panty shot. In fact, the director showed enough restraint not to have pantsu in the entire episode. This is clearly the Azumanga Daioh school of High School Comedies.
As you can see in this shot, there’s a unique balance between comedic Anime faces which are chibi in a way to more serious faces for the less comedic aspects of the series, in this case Blonde Girlie is contemplating her seemingly immature character as percieved by her friends when she is late. I like this contrast a lot and it’s something you rarely see in Anime these days, but the cutscene crossed with what’s actually happening is an underused artform cornocopia of character development. A lot of people have compared this to Lucky Star based on its adaptation from a four panel manga, but really it’s closer to a mix of Azumanga Daioh and ARIA.
The animators really try hard to keep a balance between the sadness of a character and not overemphasising the moe-ness of the lead female character’s plight. Instead of going “MOE!” immediately, you actually feel sorry for this poor young lady.
My “L337 screenshot skillz” not only capture the motto of the school this series is set in, but really shows the magnificent scenery that the Anime has. Top marks on that front.
This comes from one of my favorite parts of the episode, where one of the other characters, who Blonde Girlie meets along the way, tricks Blonde Girlie into believing in all sorts of crazy Urban Legends about the school. The way this is done sets the tone of the series. There are no crazy Urban Legend plots or other supernatural silliness here, just no-nonsense school comedy.
Remember when I told you about the girl who jumps out the window? This is the girl who jumped out the window, in agony. However, as we learn, she’s not suicidal, just a bit crazy as a troublemaker.
The one with pigtails is the one I haven’t shown you a picture of yet. She seems to be competing with Blue Haired Girlie for Official Tsundere status, but at this stage in the series I’ve had my mind changed before, so she might just be giving off Kagami vibes from when I finished watching Lucky Star.
And yes, they try and find their way to class using the Global Positioning System, because the school is too friggin’ huge. Here is Pigtails Girlie I was talking about, next to Troublemaker Girlie.
Troublemaker Girlie and Blue Haired Girlie fight over a brick which Troublemaker Girlie is going to use to break a window, which accidentally happens. One of the teachers notices this and the girls get in trouble, moreso because Troublemaker Girlie beats up the teacher…
Which gets them into even more trouble of course. But they meet each other and they bond, and they start to make friends amongst themselves. Isn’t that nice?
I think this episode could have used a slightly faster pace. (Or maybe I’m just recovering from Code Geass
)
jps last blog post..second season of Spice and Wolf!
Yes for a first episode Hyakko is nice. And is lulz.
Screw Ayumi. Not as nice a girl and I seriously am irritated by her for some strange reason. Iizuki is more likeable.
Panthers last blog post..Saimoe Round 2 Day 14 Results & Day 15 Matchups
I was actually sympathetic to Blonde Girlie (who I now know is called Ayumi) because in the past Ayumi would have been a female version of my teenage self. I got lost a lot when I went to high school as well. And I was shy just like her.
newgeekphilosophers last blog post..Hyakko: First Looksies
i didn’t enjoy it that much. it wasn’t as quirky and witty as i expected it to be. for me anyway, it would have worked if it was just a short, but not for an entire episode.
biankitas last blog post..Some Fall 08 Anime I Watched
I like Suzu!!! But I can’t believe they spent 1 whole ep on 4 lost girls trying to find the way to class. =_=
Leave Hyakko alone! You lot haven’t even seen the second episode yet!
After all she’s been through!
newgeekphilosophers last blog post..Hyakko: First Looksies
Hrmm not a big fan of the animation … and something just bothers me about the character designs. If it aired last season, maybe i would of picked it up, but this season it just doesn’t stand out.
That being said Hyakko has some good moments…
Also note the great background music, that’s what sealed the deal for me.
Hyakko is my favorite anime of the Fall season so far
Michio Fukuda did a great job 
I agree with biankita…I would not compare this to Azumanga..in fact I think I’m being a little too benevolent if I were to say this resembles Azumanga in many ways.I usually look for wit and spunk in slice of life,school comedies..and so far its not delivering.I’d give it a couple more to prove itself.Never heard of the manga if there is even one,but its either the studio’s stupidity in developing the script,the author’s a no good copycat or a combination of both.
Makotos last blog post..Megaman(& me) lives on:心の歌
If you wanted to compare series to Hyakko, then Manabi Straight would be a better choice. But it’s only been one episode, so we don’t know how good that comparison will be down the line. I liked this introduction, but I did feel that there was something a little off. I can’t quite get my finger down on it, but I also feel that it’s going to get better. Ayumi reminds me of Yuno, but a person who has more self-esteem issues. I feel that wouldn’t be a problem though with friends like Torako around. :3
TheBigNs last blog post..Not anime, except maybe in the Japanese sense
Well, I mean that’s quite a bit more than discussing how to eat a chocolate coronet, no?
That said, it doesn’t really interest me that much, I think I need to stay away from these high school comedy things for a while. Unless, of course, giant robots show up at some point (which, when I think about it, did happen in Pani Poni Dash, so who knows).
otou-sans last blog post..The fall season, so far
I heard the seiyuus for this anime includes Aya Hirano so I thought I should watch it. I think it is most likely similar as Lucky Star with regards to the genre but I don’t really think so that it will make that much impression on me. The characters are interesting and I’m also watching it this fall!!!
jitenshas last blog post..Clannad ~After Story~ [The Return]
Am I the only one who was surprised when Itsuki spoke for the first time?! I was expecting a quiet voice but wow! Her V.A. is EXCELLENT! I really like how this show has action oriented comedy instead of just dialogue all the time. I might actually like this more than Gundam 00.
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