Wow! I was quite surprised by the episode - it was very well done, even though it wasn't spectacular and deep like Utena, it wasn't meant to be, and instead has really humorous elements of it... the freaking roses! And the slightly whimsical and nonsensical setting... the best thing about this show is how it takes all the silliness in its stride and makes it all feel perfectly natural, and most importantly,
really funny. I was really laughing through this show, I never thought I'd find it funny!
Spoiler for Lots of fangirling!!11oneone:
It may not be kill-my-guts funny as, say, Hare nochi Guu was for me, but damn, the directing was good! It felt like a huge humorous jab at all the fangirls out there
...It's like those shows poking fun at moewotas by having the stereotypical set of girls - iinchou/meganekko, loli, sporty type, cool type, etc. Hehe. I'm not a fangirl in
that way, but I totally understand that feeling... I know a few people who are like that IRL too... And yes, the directing - the lightbulbs was just a brilliant touch! Where's the LOL smiley when I need it?
Dammit, I was slapping my thigh laughing when Tamaki finally realised - him blushing was the best part of it all, I couldn't stop sniggering and sniggering... And you got to admit, he looked kind of cute, what a blockhead, not realising until that time! I'm grinning even when I write this, it was so funny.
And yet besides the comedy, they did the slightly more serious scenes very well too - it may have been expected, but the bit where Tamaki decided to help the 'low-class' Haruhi find her wallet was great! I was as surprised as Haruhi, to be honest - and when he told off that bitchy girl and said Haruhi's not that kind of guy, it
was really nice. I like it when whimsical and silly characters like that have a serious side to them.
But the best part was Haruhi!! I think I enjoyed this so much because I could relate to her in every way! I love her character so much!! (I'm not turning into a lesbian, I think.) I can totally sympathize with her, wanting to find just some place to study and get away from the frivolousness of it all... but if you get stuck in a bizarre situation you can't get out of, and you've got these hilariously silly bishies, why not just go along for the ride! And the way they ended the ep with her wondering about calling herself "ore" and smiling was really, genuinely cute. I had to smile with you too, Haru-chan~
Crap, I've gone completely into fangirl mode! There is no salvation for me! But this first ep was so hilarious and well-done that I'm definitely watching this right to the end, just to see what'll happen - and for the laughs.
If the show keeps up this quality it'll have a notable position in my head as one of the very few shoujo things I have watched, and enjoyed immensely.
oh, and as a last note - I was very surprised by Maaya Sakamoto's voice acting. It sounded COMPLETELY different from what she's done! She almost sounded like Houko Kuwashima if you ask me. And I loved it!