[eggplant]

Just saw Episode 1.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

Had high hopes for this title, seeing this was a ufotable x Starchild production that brought us Futakoi Alternative.

Just love the character designs, although both the manga and anime are done by ufotable, so there isn't much room for alterations, unlike what happened to the recent Kujibiki Unbalance. The only thing is that, episode one focuses on the student council election, which constantly reminded me of Kujian.

Another thing which had me worried was the seiyuu casting, consisting of very recognizable voices (and names, being a Starchild production). No matter how you hear it, Horie Yui, Nonaka Ai, and Hirano Aya sound exactly like themselves, so I suppose it's a matter of getting used to (probably another reason why it reminded me of Kujian). Perhaps that's the reason why I felt Inoue Marina's role of Mutsuki to sound the best out of everyone.

I'm sure the story will expand and develop as the episodes pick up, and since there is a manga to base it on, I don't think this will become the ufotable disaster of Coyote Ragtime Show. Since I'm on the issue, yes, the ending sequence is a clay animation one, although quite cute. And Starchild queen Hayashibara Megumi singing both the opening and ending songs is a bonus (although there is no opening song for episode 1).

Manabi Straight! has plenty of moe potential, although it was apparent the artwork was testing the limits of the TV Tokyo broadcasting codes.
Despite somes drawbacks, I have a feeling this can deliver, and what harm can a Horie Yui anime do?