(L) S.A. (tv) ~Special A~

[Jiyuu]

i uploaded the 720p file i downloaded, i'll be seeding it for the next 2-3 hours with about 40mbits..

[Kaoru Chujo]

ep1: My heart is officially warmed. Gotou Yuuko is good and I like Fukuyama Jun's Lawrence voice. But I do want to hear Takagaki Ayahi speaking rather than just using signs. Definite reminders of Ouran.

Spoiler for ep1:

The scene of Kei and Hikaru beating the bad guys together was a thrill.

Director Miyao Yoshikazu started in mecha design (Vandread) and has done a good amount of storyboarding (Melody of Oblivion, Pokemon movies, Ayakashi Ayashi), but this is his first full directorial job.

[Westlo]

Good to see they did a nice job adapting the manga.

[Deathkillz]

ep 1 ~ So much wins! It was seriously worth the wait

Spoiler:

Easily the best romance series this season. Hikari is so cute ^^

Actually the preview showed quite a bit of this episode already, I was surprised. Still though, it didn't ruin much. Goto is doing such a great job voicing Hikari...haha she even injected some of her miyu accent into context. Now that is pro ^^

We are introduced to her long grudge on Kei ever since she lost to him when she was young in a wrestling match. All's fair in love and war, and ever since she has been obsessed with defeating Kei, though never once succeeding. This must be what they call a love hate relationship but I suspect Kei is feeling more than what he is letting on, though Hikari is too hard headed to notice his true feelings.

Speaking about Kei...he is lulu in disguise

The amount of fanboys and fangirls flying around in this ep was a sight to behold. As expected from the elite of the elites in this school, they sure have a strong fanbase.

The other club members were also just as interesting. Jun and Megumi are the twins both holding 3rd and 4th ranking, though Megumi gets a special rank for her talent (which we see at the end of the ep). Tadashi and Akira holds 5th and 6th, and they also share a love hate relationship. I just loved the way Akira beats the crap out of Tadashi for being and idiot, usually involving flying objects.

Ryuu is an animal lover and 7th rank. But he seems to be the character who has something to hide under the smart look of his.

The comedy balance for this ep was really good. I cracked up a few times when Hikari was continously teased. Romance can already be seen from Kei (I think) but again, it will take some time for Hikari to get the same vibes...maybe when she finally defeats him in something.

But not now...not even a full score on a test is enough (how the heck you get 100% +1 bonus ).

Looking forward for more ^^

[dxgarten]

Episode 01 screencaps and summary

Spoiler:

Overall, this is pretty similar to the manga version. I love the character design although a bit wary because it looks like the kind of character design which can go wrong if the animators are lazy. It's unfortunate that there's no OP theme yet but the ED theme is awesome

[musume_no_hoshi]

Much Better then expected. Too bad the file I had wasn't HD, I was over joyed when I saw it was out U_U Gonzo...and no fan service WOOT.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

No big problems at all, expect I can't help thinking Kei is Lelouch, I mean...it sounds like Lelouch in school. Jun did a good voice for kei, guess its just my problem getting used to the voice.

I was looking forward to watch the opening D:

The scene where Hikari and Kei fights the 'bad guys' was good, I SWEAR when Hikari is jumping over Kei, Kei must have saw her panties and hence he was shocked.

They altered the story from chapter one alittle, but there's no large problems with that.

Waiting for episode 2 with the opening <3

[musouka]

Couldn't stand Fukuyama's voice for Kei--and Kei is the only reason I'm even halfway interested in this series. Not impressed, will probably drop.

[BluWacky]

I liked Itazurana Kiss better than this.

I dunno, it's shiny and well made but really, really bland. I have no idea who any of the characters are or what their quirks are (compare to Ouran where you know exactly what everyone is like by the end of the first episode - perhaps even the first HALF of the episode) yet they've all been immediately thrown at me, the direction is pretty pedestrian, and the show reveals its romantic hand too soon - I assume everything's going to be played for comedy but I can't get very involved in the central relationship when we already know how they feel!

I will watch another episode or two, as it's such a relief to see a shoujo series that doesn't look like it came out of a bargain bin or 1995, but I've not seen anything here that really impresses me beyond the background art and consistency of animation (more down to AIC than Gonzo, perhaps?).

[littlekitty]

FINALLY it's out! Yes!!!!!!!!!

Spoiler for Epi 1:

-This episode was everything I expected it to be...and so much more. Seeing everyone animated and in color is the best.
-Love, love, love the characters.
-There was no OP, but I expect it will show up in the next episode.
-The ED was great and I loved how they use the Tadashi puppet for the preview.
-Loved the scene where Hikari congratulates Kei and he gets all excited...and then he hears the guitar playing in the background and becomes so disappointed.

*waits eagerly for the subs*

[Jiyuu]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

ep 1 ~ So much wins! It was seriously worth the wait

Spoiler:

Easily the best romance series this season. Hikari is so cute ^^

Actually the preview showed quite a bit of this episode already, I was surprised. Still though, it didn't ruin much. Goto is doing such a great job voicing Hikari...haha she even injected some of her miyu accent into context. Now that is pro ^^

We are introduced to her long grudge on Kei ever since she lost to him when she was young in a wrestling match. All's fair in love and war, and ever since she has been obsessed with defeating Kei, though never once succeeding. This must be what they call a love hate relationship but I suspect Kei is feeling more than what he is letting on, though Hikari is too hard headed to notice his true feelings.

Speaking about Kei...he is lulu in disguise

The amount of fanboys and fangirls flying around in this ep was a sight to behold. As expected from the elite of the elites in this school, they sure have a strong fanbase.

The other club members were also just as interesting. Jun and Megumi are the twins both holding 3rd and 4th ranking, though Megumi gets a special rank for her talent (which we see at the end of the ep). Tadashi and Akira holds 5th and 6th, and they also share a love hate relationship. I just loved the way Akira beats the crap out of Tadashi for being and idiot, usually involving flying objects.

Ryuu is an animal lover and 7th rank. But he seems to be the character who has something to hide under the smart look of his.

The comedy balance for this ep was really good. I cracked up a few times when Hikari was continously teased. Romance can already be seen from Kei (I think) but again, it will take some time for Hikari to get the same vibes...maybe when she finally defeats him in something.

But not now...not even a full score on a test is enough (how the heck you get 100% +1 bonus ).

Looking forward for more ^^

well, you do when the teacher has a mistake in his test and you correct it :P
(actually happened to me a couple of times XDD)


btw sorry if anyone was trying to download the 720p version, i left the office and kept the bittorent on at the server, but i forgot that it automatically stops when things hit the 1 ratio (i put the torrent as "seed" so i didn't really think about it)
i have started seeding again, most people should finish pretty fast now..

[deffusse]

that 720p version is also another upscale.... no true HD out yet, I guess there isn't going to be any..... it's very vissible on the text sharpnes,,, that it's only a good upscale from standard SD version. too bad

[Jiyuu]

well, it's only been on two of the 5-6 channels it's going to be on, there could still be a real 720p version somewhere..

thou i'm starting to suspect gonzo are doing this on purpose just like with druaga and belsreiter.. thou it's not really working as most people don't even undestand that they are upscaled..

[totalnet]

Originally Posted by deffusse

that 720p version is also another upscale.... no true HD out yet, I guess there isn't going to be any..... it's very vissible on the text sharpnes,,, that it's only a good upscale from standard SD version. too bad

Just check the official website, there are 4 more stations through out Japan that will broadcast this show. Hopefully one of them will broadcast in HD. Teletama(TVB) will broadcast on the 9th, while TV Osaka(TVO) and TV Aichi(TVA) on the 11th. The last one will be TV Toyko's Anime satellite channel, AT-X, on the 17th. Let just hope that AT-X doesn't have the exclusive for the HD version.

[Jiyuu]

if i remeber correctly the rosario raws on share that were from at-x were 1080p so i'd hope that at the very least they have some real HD sources :P

[deffusse]

at-x isn't providing HDTV, despite it's a satelite channel......

and TVA,TVB,TVO? Internet says "NO", they do not provide Hi-VISION broadcasting [HDTV]..... but thats only internet, thats something someone inside of japan should know better

[Jiyuu]

oh well, it's not like sd is THAT bad :P

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep1:

"Oh grandma Special A, what long bodies you have~"
"The better to remind you of Clamp, my darling."
Anyways, no problem with the character designs.

No OP this time around.
ED was decent song-wise, dull otherwise.

For something that people said was so good (which convinced me to look at this anime), it didn't end up being that good. Not bad, but nothing amazing.
Comedy occasionally worked (like Megumi's explosive singing or Kei getting bonus points), but the repetitive jokes like Akira throwing stuff at Tadashi or Kei calling Hikari number two weren't that funny after the first or second time.
The great fanboying and fangirling was amusing for the first few seconds, but I'll live, even if they do this every episode.

Characters themselves don't really prove to be overly annoying, but my interest is in them didn't increase a bit from before I watched this episode.
At least I found some moments funny even though they probably shouldn't be like:
Kei: 'An amazing person!"
Hikari: *gasp*

I'll see where this goes, but I don't have much expectations that this will be funny.
Well, if the RAW for this comes out late and on Monday every week, I would have no problems watching it, since no Monday show is interesting and I have free time.

Oh, and great to hear Lelouch, even if it isn't.


Preview: S.A. vs. Student Council; Hikari and Kei teaming up for an attack again?

[Westlo]

The OP was shown on the 7 min TAF trailer, nothing special just standard fare really.

[Impz]

YES, FINALLY! I am so happy that Special A is here. Being a firm supporter of Akira-sama (any fans of her here?), I am so glad that her mini feuds with Tadashi is in full display in the first episode.

That said, I have done up a summary with tons of screenshots for Episode 1. Visit and let's worship Akira-sama together ^^

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Impz

Being a firm supporter of Akira-sama (any fans of her here?), I am so glad that her mini feuds with Tadashi is in full display in the first episode.

Akira-sama ftw!