Anime Preview: Summer 2008 First Impressions – Batch 2

Here’s the second and final batch of my quick first impressions on some of the Summer 2008 anime series.

In this batch: (1) Natsume Yuujinchou; (2) World Destruction; (3) Koihime Musou; (4) Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu; (5) Blade of the Immortal.

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(1) Natsume Yuujinchou
More info – Official Site

Also known as Natsume’s Book of Friends

– It has a nice and pretty catchy OP [“Issei no Koe” by Shūhei Kita]. I kinda like it. ^^ So anyway, the 1st episode starts with Natsume being chased by a couple of youkai. The premise of this series reminded me of Mushishi and Mokke, but character-wise, Natsume reminded me of Watanuki in xxxHolic. I see some similarities between Natsume and Watanuki… having the unwanted ability to see spirits, and having a sort of “guide” or “sensei” — Yuuko for Watanuki and Madara (the cat) for Natsume. We learn that Natsume has the same ability as his grandmother, Reiko, who went on to challenge youkai when she was young and if she beats them, she asks them to give her their names and makes them her “underlings.” Eventually, she compiles these names into what’s known as the “Yuujinchou” or “Book of Friends.” I’m still not sure if she’s a good person or just bored since she seems to be just bossing around the youkai. xD Ah, the significance of names, another similarity with xxxHolic. Natsume stumbles upon Madara, some sort of god who takes the appearance of a cat charm (which Natsume often brings up to annoy Madara). Madara wants the Book of Friends but Natsume refuses to give it. They learn that there are basically two reasons why Natsume is being chased by youkai, whether they want their names back or they want the book. Natsume enlists the help of Madara in returning the names and for protecting him against the ill-wishers, with the deal that in case Natsume dies, the book will become Madara’s property. And so, their adventures begin.

• Watch it? Yes.

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(2) World Destruction
More info – Official Site

– The OP [“ZERO” by AAA] sounded pretty good to me, sort of techno + rock with a catchy beat. Um, I wasn’t expecting talking animals on this one. xD The lead girl (whose name escapes me) is apparently known as “the world destruction committee” since she wants to, well, destroy the world for some reason. Kyrie incidentally gets dragged into the mess. They face off with evil kitties and biting plant thingies (which looked like those in the Super Mario Bros. game). Kyrie ends up being recognized as her “accomplice” along with the talking cutesy bear pirate. The ED [“Kaze no Kioku～to the end of the world～” by Aimmy] is your typical ED ballad; sounds alright.

• Watch it? Most probably not.
  

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(3) Koihime Musou
More info – Official Site

– Kannu is a traveling martial artist, according to her. She’s got pretty neat fighting skills. She meets up Chouhi and she tags along to travel around with Kannu. I don’t remember what they’re supposed to do along their travels, I think fight off bandits and scums who take advantage of good people… or something like that. They’d be meeting other girl fighters in the following episode.

It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. It even has a fairly okay sort of storyline. I found it quite enjoyable, actually.

• Watch it? Maybe. Either marathon it later or watch it when the other series I’m currently watching doesn’t have any new releases.
  

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(4) Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
More info – Official Site

– The OP [“Tomadoi Bitter Tune” by Miran Himemiya and Chocolate Rockers] is your typical upbeat song. Haruka is a beautiful, rich, elegant and smart girl who is admired by everyone in school. Unbeknownst to them, she loves anime and manga. Yuto, the lead guy, accidentally bumps into her at the library and discovers her secret. She avoids him for a while, afraid that her spotless reputation will be ruined if her classmates find out that she’s an otaku. Yuto, being the kind guy that he is, tells her that he would keep it a secret. They eventually become friends and it seems that romance will soon be in the air.

• Watch it? Nope.
  

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(5) Blade of the Immortal
More info – Official Site

– The OP [“Akai Usagi” by Makura no Sōshi] isn’t your usual OP song. It sounds, um, unique. The OP sequence has blood splattering here and there. I suppose that should serve as a warning to how much blood and gore there’ll be in this series, which I can assure you there is much of in this episode. The lead guy, Manji, is cursed with immortality. He has these icky worm-like creatures inside of him which keep him alive. I don’t know why they’ve been placed inside him, either it wasn’t mentioned yet or I wasn’t paying enough attention to the dialogue. From what I understand, I think he wishes to end this curse and finally die. I think that’s his quest for redemption. The animation is quite good. It has this dark, blurry visual style to it. Though, honestly, I don’t get the story. Maybe I should watch another episode and listen more to what they’re saying. The ED [“Wants” by GRAPEVINE] is a pretty nice ballad; I like it.

• Watch it? I might watch the second episode, but I won’t be following this one. Too bloody and gory for my taste.