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My impressions, part 1
I guess I should give my impressions now. Ha, I don't even know what to write, or where to start. I guess I should start with some random thoughts. Let's start with the main character, Aizawa Yuuichi.
I didn't really like him. I don't know why, he felt, ahh, generic. He felt like a persona of the main character of a video game. I mean, that's exactly what he is. Kinda like the old Yuuichi, but entirely different. I guess he's better than alot of harem leads, but really, so what? By the end, I didn't really end up knowing as much as I wanted to know about Yuuichi. The biggest fault, to me, was the lack of narration. I imagine the game was filled with it, and I think this contributed as to why the show felt lacking.
Maybe I should talk about something else now.
The story structure, I liked it. There's a bunch of ways that it can be put, but first I'll present this one. Home -> School -> Town -> Home. The first part focuses on Yuuichi at home as he gets used to his new life. The next part focuses upon the school Yuuichi attends, and his school life. After that, Yuuichi starts to spend his time around about the town, and then he finally comes back home. This isn't exactly literal, but just an impression.
Even beginning with the first episode was… interesting. It started with Yuuichi on the train, then cuts quickly to him on the bench, waiting. The place that'll be used alot, in front of the train station. There, we are introduced to Nayuki and Yuuichi's sarcastic humor.
Nayuki and Yuuichi are good friends, that's what we're supposed to see here. Although Yuuichi teases Nayuki often, it's done in a playful matter. During the tour of the town, we find that he's like this with everybody, specifically through his interactions with Kitagawa and Misaka.
The introduction of the various characters was also well done. Shiori had just a minor scene that Yuuichi will soon forget, and with Mai and Sayuri, it showed that they were important, that they were friends, and that Mai is friendly with animals. The most important, was probably with Kitagawa Jun, and Misaka Kaori. It showed how Yuuichi generally treats other people, as well as how Nayuki perceives everything. This first scene probably gives more insight into Nayuki than any other.
And then we get into the introduction of Ayu. Waiting outside the store, Ayu runs right into him. After the attack, Ayu leads Yuuichi into Hyakkaya, where we first hear Canon. This scene was well done.
We don't really learn anything about Ayu here. She is kept mysterious. She comes out of nowhere and simply disappears after the meeting. Although little is learned of Sayuri or Mai in this episode, they're not shown as being mysterious. Ayu is, she's only ephemerally present. Perhaps this could be the first indication of her being less than real. In any case, shortly after Ayu leaves, we're left with the immortal phrase:
"Usotsuki."
At first, it seemed a little unfair to Yuuichi. He himself was waiting for two hours just the previous day, while Nayuki didn't have to wait nearly that long. Of course, Yuuichi had the knowledge that Nayuki would (eventually) come, but Nayuki couldn't be as sure. However, by the end of the episode, we have a pretty good hint that it probably wasn't the first time, nor was it going to be the last time. That by itself seems to intensify the feelings about Nayuki's abandonment.
At the end of the episode, we see the first of many flashback scenes. Each and everytime with the same music. Most the time, we see them right after Yuuichi goes to sleep, or right before he wakes up. Either way, it's clearly indicated that it's his dream, his memories that he's re-remembering. So why? Why now?
Some of the memories were probably triggered through the environment. The town. However, if it was simply that, he would've had a dream the night before, of the day he arrived in town. So, I think it was triggered by Ayu, or rather the Ayu Yuuichi created after he arrived. Yes, I still hold the rather controversal belief. Ayu was created by Yuuichi. Their meeting together triggered memories which Yuuichi saw in his dreams.
The first dream was basically a redo of the earlier scene of the episode. This repetition becomes a theme for the series, everything happens over and over again.
The first episode set the groundwork the series, and it did it very well. It did its job well, although it probably appeared to be too generic for some. My complaints about the episode would be Yuuichi's narration. Looking back, it seems out of place, as he does it somewhat often here, it's basically gone by the end of the series. It now just seems out of character for him, but it's just a minor complaint. The next episode, however, was a complete disaster.
…and I think I'll end it here for now. I'll post more later.
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) ~ so the emotion wasnt enough to push some people over the edge...and i also think the same as well...kinda disappointed that i didnt sob...not at ayu's arc neways (shiori made me close) ~ it was more anguish than sadness ~
