(L) Mashiro-iro Symphony

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by viperdk1

Even though Airi was nice and caring towards Shingo and Sakuno, she made it damn well clear that the student body (her included) would not accept the arrangements now in place. [...] it is the concept that she despises, not those involved as a result of the concept.

I think this is very well put. It's basically a fear of change, compounded with the sort of insular culture that can develop in these sorts of gender-specific private schools (even in real life, though probably not to this degree). If you consider the image of the androphobic teacher, you have a bit of that to some degree. Also as you can see, Airi sees herself as "the responsible one" when compared to her mom's sort of free-spirited "take things easy" nature.

Originally Posted by Tenchi Ryu

Installing the idea that her and the entire body was against this in the final 3-4 mins of the show was a poor way of pacing. [...] ...the way it was done, it was completely out the left field....

Well consider that this was very much on purpose, because you're following the story from the perspective of Shingo. Consider how unexpected the change felt to him (and Sakuno); as a viewer, you're supposed to have the same feeling. The reason for this juxtaposition is precisely so that you can see that she's not a bad person... but she can't stand the idea of her school going co-ed. If they had prepped the viewer in advance for this development, it would have totally changed your impression of her when you first met her and you'd misunderstand (or miss) the reason for her "sudden change". So now the question is "why is an apparently-nice girl like Airi so vocally against there being boys in her school?" Stay tuned to find out...

Also, I should say that it's not that the "entire body" of students is against the merger, it's that "the entire school has not accepted" or "not everyone in the school has accepted", meaning some are opposed -- and her in particular. You get the impression from Airi's comment that this might have been something her mother decided "on a whim", and she just launched into it without warning, not giving people a chance to react or adjust. Change is hard.

[KyriaL]

Well i hoped for Airi to be the type with the happy personality, but a tsundere right in the first episode? Guess they are following the guidebook that in a harem there must be girls with different personalities, and that all will somehow eventually fall for the same guy.

[Hooves]

That's how a harem works basically but did seem kinda strange that Airi would be blunt like that after how kind she was. Maybe her anger towards this transition has strongly affected her judgement.

[Mahou]

It's been a long time since I last watched an anime, but after reading the catch word of "sugary-sweet romance" I had to look at it .

Anyway: The first impression + episode was quite lovely. Sakuna was simply cute and may have the potential to rival Sana (Ranma Tensei) with it . Airi seems okay, I assume her personality will change depending on wether the characters are in the school or not (as in normal/nice when in town and harsh when in school); at least it would be for me acceptable. The maid was fun with her surprise of Shingo's "tadaima". Poor teacher though, being rushed with a sudden school merger .

Then opening is quite catchy and sounds well.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Mahou

Then opening is quite catchy and sounds well.

Lovely work by Chouchou can enchant anyone to getting addicted to the song

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Hooves

but did seem kinda strange that Airi would be blunt like that after how kind she was. Maybe her anger towards this transition has strongly affected her judgement.

Well, it's still possible for friendly people to act headstrong regarding something that deeply affects their ideals, and it seems like the merger is a pretty big deal for Airi. It would affect her further school life for a few years after all, and for whatever reason she feels said change wouldn't be positive.

She wasn't being mean to Sakuno/Shingo specifically in that scene after all, she came there to address to whole lot of the test students - to make a statement and make it clear how she, and apparently the student body, feels about the proposed merging. She didn't seem to be in the best of moods either, coming straight from a public argument with her mother, who obviously doesn't agree with her daughter on the matter, something which would likely upset her a good deal.

All in all, while it does offer a contrast to the personality she showed earlier, the circumstances are quite different. Even kind people can show fangs when they feel their personal space being invaded, and she was in irritable mood to start with due to the conflict with her mother. Coupled with the fact she was there to deliver the message to the new students that they aren't welcome, I can see why she would go in rather psyched up. (Though realizing Sakuno and Shingo are standing in front of her obviously knocked the wind out of her for a while. Not enough to deter her from delivering the message she had set out to deliver, but she's clearly not all bad )

[MagicaLideaL]

Originally Posted by KyriaL

Well i hoped for Airi to have the type with the happy personality, but a tsundere right in the first episode? Guess they are following the guidebook that in a harem there must be girls with different personalities, and that all will somehow eventually fall for the same guy.

She is not a tsundere. She was very kind towards Sakuno and Shingo up until she met them in the school. She is simply annoyed by the fact that 2 of them are part of the test student batch which enter her school.

[KyriaL]

Originally Posted by MagicaLideaL

She is not a tsundere. She was very kind towards Sakuno and Shingo up until she met them in the school. She is simply annoyed by the fact that 2 of them are part of the test student batch which enter her school.

Pardon me then, but is that still not tsun-ing? In part at least. Perhaps this is different in that we get to see her dere side first instead of the other way around.

[KLGChaos]

Originally Posted by Mahou

It's been a long time since I last watched an anime, but after reading the catch word of "sugary-sweet romance" I had to look at it .

Anyway: The first impression + episode was quite lovely. Sakuna was simply cute and may have the potential to rival Sana (Ranma Tensei) with it . Airi seems okay, I assume her personality will change depending on wether the characters are in the school or not (as in normal/nice when in town and harsh when in school); at least it would be for me acceptable. The maid was fun with her surprise of Shingo's "tadaima". Poor teacher though, being rushed with a sudden school merger .

Then opening is quite catchy and sounds well.

I'd rather not have a Sakuna ending personally. Incest isn't my thing. Plus, her slow way of talking annoys me. >.>

Though, Airi didn't really impress me with her 180 either. I say hit on the principal. I like the hot older chicks (that may be because I'm a bit older myself, though). :P

The maid really made me laugh, too. Something about the outgoing genki girls that I enjoy.

[ookamigirl]

This one kinda reminds me a visual novel.
The weird cat thing was pretty cute. First episode wasn't much, but it still looks like it has some potential, will give it a try.

[KLGChaos]

Originally Posted by ookamigirl

This one kinda reminds me a visual novel.
The weird cat thing was pretty cute. First episode wasn't much, but it still looks like it has some potential, will give it a try.

I'm not surprised. It's based off of a visual novel.

The cat thing reminds me of the Button the baby boar from Clannad. Weird, animal like thing that it is.

[Syed_Seinaru_Migi]

Ermmm that protagonist Sister(forget there name haha) the cloth she wear in the midnight just like wearing a Bra only ...LOL...btw i will keep this story in my list....

[Kameruka]

I'm picking this one up since there aren't too many people watching it. Nice bgm though. Yosuga no Sora without incest.

[germanturkey]

the wincest is strong in this one too.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Kameruka

I'm picking this one up since there aren't too many people watching it. Nice bgm though. Yosuga no Sora without incest.

Possibility of an incest in this one. But with Airi stepping in the game, it could simply be a love triangle since the other candidates don't seem to have a strong impact on our main protagonist.

[jzmagic]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Possibility of an incest in this one. But with Airi stepping in the game, it could simply be a love triangle since the other candidates don't seem to have a strong impact on our main protagonist.

Yea Airi is being set up to be the end girl, though I wouldn't mind a wincest ending.

[broken270]

Nice start, and I agree with some that one cannot consider Airi a tsundere based on this episode. She was clearly ill at the fact that her school had to go on a test run at being co-ed and was highly against it. Shingo and Sakuno just happened to be one of the people in the test run.

[Hooves]

Yeah, Airi seemed really disoriented at the fact that the nice people she met yesterday just happened to be the test run students that she strictly went against. Mixing her beliefs with friendships was a hard choice, but she still blurted out that she stands with her beliefs over a co-ed school. Hopefully our main protagonist will be able to help Airi cope with this issue.

That's what I got from her face expression atleast.

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Possibility of an incest in this one. But with Airi stepping in the game, it could simply be a love triangle since the other candidates don't seem to have a strong impact on our main protagonist.

Personally I think Airi seems like the blatantly obvious destination indeed, but I wouldn't be so quick to discount any potential impact others might have on Shingo - after all he hasn't had much in terms of interactions with anyone yet (And as a good anime male lead, has to set up flags in all directions ), or even at all in case of Miu! (As far as impact goes, he was certainly caught staring at her )

As for Sakuno ... *shrugs* who knows - I wouldn't call it incest to start with, and at least the first episode didn't give me the impression she harbors romantic feelings for Shingo. Granted, they seem very close and get along well, so that is always subject to change, especially with other potential love interests stepping up to the plate, but as far as episode 1 itself goes It didn't quite feel like potential "incest". Though hey, could be me.

[Midonin]

Spoiler for Iroiro 02 - A Maid's Pride:

Oh, there's a Sena (as a surname) and a Sana (as a first name) in the cast, so the one I said had to defrost last week was actually Airi. My fault.

The second episode was a little quicker paced than the first, now that the world building is mostly done. Angie stole a lot of the scenes here, including her idea of refreshment being to bring an entire pot of water to the field. Mostly, though, the focus seemed to be on Airi and Shingo getting to know each other a little better (in various senses), concluding with the cooking session. The integration of the schools is going pretty well. Miu also got a mite bit more screentime. I look forward to seeing her in the spotlight in the future.

The atmosphere remains the same - congenial and warm, in spite of the cool color palette in play. Leaves one with a good feeling once all's said and done.