(L) Mashiro-iro Symphony

[Enternal]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I agree with Skyfall here, pretty much. There's no flash here and we've seen a million of these adaptations, but there's just something a little different about this one. The best friend isn't a sex-crazed idiot, but student council president. The boys and girls act differently, but neither side is mocked and belittled. It has a nice, relaxing pace, treats the characters kindly and doesn't overplay the silliness for cheap laughs. In short - it's good. Nothing flashy - just likable and approachable and just different enough.

Exactly this.

@ hyl
So they did tried to make an anime of Sakura Strausse before. I always had hoped that they would make that one into an anime since it was also a relaxing one as well. And always thought the backgrounds for that anime was wonderful. At least La Campanella was made into an anime as well since personally I loved that one. But since they chose to make Mashiro Symphony into an anime, I guess the chance of them doing it for an older game is much lower now... so sad...

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Enternal

I guess the chance of them doing it for an older game is much lower now... so sad...

Well, doubly so because on the off-chance that this anime happens to sell well (and I say that with some regret, because I do like this show), it probably won't spawn "we need to adapt more games from Palette!" thinking, but rather "what other games like this one are on the market now ready to be exploited". That said, it could increase the chances for future Palette works to be given the anime treatment, having built the relationship.

[hoarfrost]

My gut instinct is mockery and derision, but this is the first time I've found accidental pervert scenes amusing since the first time I ever saw one. The timing of them and the sheer inconvenience was unusually funny. I literally face palmed when I saw him walking into the girl's changing room, and not at the show.

The show, brings nothing new to the table and is inane in some places, but I guess I liked this episode (exceedingly more than the first), though I highly doubt I'll be able to stick this one out for long. The conflict about integrating the school is the only interest I have, and I expect that will end with a whimper and the show will devolve quickly into the all too typical hormonal tsundere drama.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

I just like how I can take 20 mins at the end of the day to relax and watch this. I'm not watching for laughs or for action but rather I'm watching because it's really got this nice feel to it. It kinda warms me up inside and I can forget about my hectic school life for a little bit.

[Hooves]

..... I'm astonished actually. For a perfect setup for cliches like an all-girl school changing, I was expecting the the casual "boy gets caught in misunderstanding situations with girl".. Well it did happen, but something felt different from how it presented itself. It also handled things in a relaxing way that it didn't have to overexert itself to try to be hilarious. I got a good smile from this episode for some reason.

[Master_Yoma]

Well it was a good second episode but there wasnt enough of Sakuno

[.:Jason:.]

Originally Posted by Master_Yoma

Well it was a good second episode but there wasnt enough of Sakuno

Not enough Sakuno? Damn, and she's my personal favorite of all the girls.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Moral of the story for episode two: Guys are only good for eating till they puke their guts


It is the one skill they brought to the table.

[zeniselv]

this episode reminded me of those eating competitions where skinny japanesse won all the time.

[Reckoner]

Well cliches and and usual VN harem tropes abound makes usually for a less than impressive viewing for me, but there was just something different about this Mashi-Iro episode that made itself separate form the usual failings of these typical checklist events.

I am kind of confused on where the story is planning to go now because it already seems like they cleared the one major plot point given to us, the two schools assimilating properly (Specifically the guys with the girls). Now beyond a romantic coupling I just don't see what else they plan to do to entertain us with, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now.

Typically the VN's I have enjoyed the most always had some sort of plot force driving it or some internal conflict in the main lead which eventually culminated into something touching or cool. So Mashiro-Iro seems to be of the other brand of VN's which consist of hooking up with random heroines in some arbitrary setting. The heroines usually have some sort of back story or inner trouble that the main lead and her eventually overcome, and so unless that backstory or inner trouble happens to be interesting enough then it could lead to problems.

However I don't want to get bogged down by potential tunnel vision in this show. For now, I am enjoying it and its atmosphere/pacing. I guess now I'm a little worried if Sena will be able to entertain me enough as a character since all she does is treating the main lead like a pervert in typical fashion. Seen that, done that before of course, so where else is this show planning to distinguish itself? Right now I'm not getting much of a personality at all from Sena, but I guess that is natural since we've barely been introduced to the story...

My point is that if the romantic coupling takes forever to occur in this show because they decide to mesh every route into the story, then we'll be hanging by loosely on the Shingo/Sena situation for much too long, which can get very tiresome very quickly.

If they do get together faster in this anime that I expect, then wonderful... But I doubt it. Perhaps they'll try to develop Sena throughout it, but typically these kinds of VN adaptions jam in all or most of the development in the end, which is quite maddening.

Still more about episode 2 specifically...

Shingo is showing himself to be competent and useful and good natured. Not a bad lead.

Each of the heroines so far are pretty likable overall.

The atmosphere is good.

Overall just a rather pleasant watch, even if a tad too generic, so I'll be pressing forward with this. I just hope not too many problems I speculated could arise do happen.

[OceanBlue]

The cast aside from Sena [for now] seems very likeable and I was very pleased by the second episode. I feel as if the pace was really good. The MC is a nice character [I like him more than the rest of the cast aside from Sakuno, actually] and his friend is actually respectable. It's such a nice atmosphere.

I really hope they don't keep the antagonistic relationship between Shingo and Sena to the end though. It'll be hard for me to like her as much as everyone else if that happens.

Originally Posted by Hooves

..... I'm astonished actually. For a perfect setup for cliches like an all-girl school changing, I was expecting the the casual "boy gets caught in misunderstanding situations with girl".. Well it did happen, but something felt different from how it presented itself. It also handled things in a relaxing way that it didn't have to overexert itself to try to be hilarious. I got a good smile from this episode for some reason.

In my opinion, since they didn't make a big deal out of the reaction, it wasn't that big of a deal. I almost saw it as Shingo's issues with adapting to an all-girls' school, if anything, instead of a harem cliche because of the lack of tsundere retaliation that usually occurs. I also had a smile through a lot of the episode, though. It's really enjoyable.

[Guardian Enzo]

What struck me about all those clichéd "accidental peeping" bits is that not once did Shingo walk about with a big red handprint on his face. Sena got upset (though all were accidental, of course) but there was no physical abuse. That sort of speaks to how this show is subtly different than most others of it's genus.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

What struck me about all those clichéd "accidental peeping" bits is that not once did Shingo walk about with a big red handprint on his face. Sena got upset (though all were accidental, of course) but there was no physical abuse. That sort of speaks to how this show is subtly different than most others of it's genus.

If anything, it might also clue us in on how the staff plan to treat Sena's personality. She seems level-headed outside of those situations, so maybe the lack of physical abuse is just an extension of that.

[amoirsp]

Well, I like what I see.

It's nice to see the character balance and the pacing which I had hoped had occurred. It also seems like there's a high ratio of faithfulness with what was in the game in terms of the scenes that were already aired. For episode 2 I actually liked the fact that Sakuno was used less given the emphasis and location (likewise used more in episode 1 for similar reasons).

Though I would agree that it does seem slow. Personally I thought some things we will likely see in episode 3 would have already been shown in episode 2 but that's not the case. [Likewise I thought some things seen in episode 2 could have been in episode 1.]

Well, if Manglobe avoids deviation, at least the anime will be less subject to be even more cliche. That and as mentioned several times on topic, things you typically would see didn't lead to any smacking or whatnot. The events were thrown in as reasonable accidents instead of shoved in to specifically show that. So yes, I do like the presentation in that regard. It's left concise too.

I don't remember the last time a primary girl actually stated she understands that the protagonist had no perverted intent. I like the differentiation of the chain events as opposed to something like the protagonist getting whacked by an item.

I still think the X-factor in this series is Inui Sana. So far I'm really liking her fair integration and allocation. Neither too much nor too little, just right. The only part I thought was odd was the fact that the anime did not actually do an Inui Sana introduction. Well, it's implied anyways. That and her role, or the classmate factor, etc. [I'm still amused the first episode didn't point out all the names despite fair air time.] Anyhow allocation among the girls has been satisfactory thus far. No particularly large over/under usage.

Anyhow I'm strictly looking at this as what relentlessflame called a sugary sweet romance overload. Thus while I can see in an anime viewer's eyes that there's nothing that really stands out other than small things (or that there's a number of cliches). I had a discussion with an anime watching friend and cliche was pretty much the first word.

I think there's a big advantage in the character cohesion. You don't actually have characters completely independent from one another despite large variety.

Looking forward to the next episode.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Hmmm, I find that Shingo isn't a interesting character to follow- I can accept alot of flaws when it comes to male leads and I'm not saying he's bad (even though he does come off as abit useless in the first half) but he just doesn't give entertaining responses or even good ones sometime, and it can be rather painful watching him 'screw up'.

(To be fair, if I was dropped into an all-girls school I would behave like a fish out of water as well, but still...)

The girls' were surprisingly 'normal', even if they don't like the idea of boys coming into their school, they weren't being overbearing about it- more off a passive-aggressive. Sena to my surprise was able to control herself well, I mean that was three times Shingo should have died but didn't, and each one even more suspicious than the last !!

It's also good that not every girl is against this merger and by the end the boys seem to redeem themselves in their eyes...

...
...
...

...By eating till they drop... Seriously... That's all we guys are good for...

For a second episode, the pacing is okay, but hopefully things get a more on quickly in the later stage.

P.S - I like the ED better than the OP, it's catchy

[hyl]

Originally Posted by amoirsp

I still think the X-factor in this series is Inui Sana. So far I'm really liking her fair integration and allocation. Neither too much nor too little, just right. The only part I thought was odd was the fact that the anime did not actually do an Inui Sana introduction. Well, it's implied anyways. That and her role, or the classmate factor, etc. [I'm still amused the first episode didn't point out all the names despite fair air time.] Anyhow allocation among the girls has been satisfactory thus far. No particularly large over/under usage.

Well Sana is my favorite character from the original game, but I am sure we will get to see more of her later on and then we get a more proper introduction of her.

Spoiler for game spoiler for Sana, so don't read unless you want spoiled:

Sana was originally not one of the main heroines. However, because she was so popular as a side character Sana got her own story for the psp game

[Mahou]

Shingo is a good male lead so far. After Da Capo 2's Yoshiyuki it cannot likely become worse (disregarding "hardcore" scenarios). I much prefer a too normal main lead than one of the clichéd "loser"-types or those beyond clueless. Of course in terms of romance, Shingo has yet to show his value ie. how quickly he can manage to find out that x likes him or vice versa.

Generally, I have no problems with a "too normal" type of anime. I have read so many romance-drama VNs that the last few month I welcomed more lighthearted experiences (which except rare cases still had the character-drama near the end ...).
Give me a likeable cast, nice VAing and I'm mostly satisfied as long as I have no "WTF did just happend?!"-moment.


@sugary sweet romance overload: I come out and say this is one of the main reasons why I'm watching the anime Or to use some puns mentioned many pages ago. "I do not fear being diagnosed with diabetes"

[winhlp32]

- The cold open with Shingo talking about his asthma has no relation to the rest of the episode whatsoever, so I'm wondering if that will be a plot point later or its just there to set the atmosphere.

- Manglobe's animation continues to be competent yet overly deliberate. But overall I'm glad the characters are moving plenty.

- I also like how interactions between characters are low-key and mostly civil rather than loud/obnoxious. Though this could change as we get to know the characters and their quirks more. The key is how the adaptation handles it.

- As contrived as the string of events that led to Shingo being suspected as a pervert is, I found it amusing. Plus there's no weird sound effects or zooming in-and-out camera shots.

- The episode was pleasant overall. Pacing was fine.

Spoiler for Game stuff:

- Not used to Sakuno talking so competently. In the game she talks slooow. And it made her funnier. But she hasn't had a lot to say in this anime yet, so we'll see.
- Moshiraba would make a good anime. But theres no Kyubey lookalike in that game. Only Chihaya.

[SoFarGone]

episode 2 full of cliche scenes.

[EroKing]

See girls, that's how you do your homework