Nijuu Mensou no Musume

[Deathkillz]

I think this is the first series this season to leave a "meh I don't care at all" to everything. There wasn't anything particularly bad about the first ep but I just can't get into the story no matter what, this is probably just not my type of genre. And considering the amount I already have on my list this will be a drop *shock*.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I thought it was an excellent first episode...

Spoiler for ep1:

...well directed, with setting, action, an economically told story, some psychological interest, and strong myths: Robin Hood; Superman; Sherlock Holmes; Cinderella; the myth of being in constant mortal danger; the myth of being so unhappy that you long to be anywhere but where you are...and then are rescued by your hero, in the sudden fulfilment of a fantasy. The tone was old-fashioned, but created an atmosphere that worked for me. The backgrounds and animation were good.

I thought Uchida Yuya (Nijuumensou) and Hirano Aya (Chiko) both did great jobs. I thought Hirano was especially good in the scenes where she was conveying raw emotion. I thought the tone of the rest of the voices made it possible for her intense style to work. Whereas in the lighter, more comic first episode of Zettai Children, even her funny voice seemed over the top. (I found her voice more effective in ep2.)

It now depends on where the script goes. It looks as if Chiko undergoes some serious change into the thief-girl. I hope character development continues and the capers continue to be inventive.

And I thought the OP (sung by 369) was very good and the ED (sung by Hirano Aya) was outstanding, with energy, rhythm, good phrasing, good pitch, and emotional hooks in her voice.

Spoiler for aroduc:

I didn't think Chiko was "an unbearable little bitch." She was an intelligent girl in despair because she was under constant threat of being poisoned by her aunt/stepmother.

[Sonhex]

Originally Posted by aardvark

Yep, retro is the best word to describe it.

In tone and look, it reminded me a lot of those older european flavored anime from the 80s, which were so prominent back then, but mostly non existant now (a few exceptions, I know). If you were able to watch those kind of shows as a kid, this will be a nice dose of nostalgia

This is music to my ears. I love stuff like Nadia, Lupin, Secret of the Cerulean Sand, Porco Rosso etc.. all those kind of European themed adventure series, with Victorian sensibilities mixed with steam-punk technology. With this and Allison and Lillia I'm sure to be happy this season.

Needless to say I enjoyed it immensely. Would have welcomed a bit more humour though, as it was it seemed a bit joyless despite all the madcap shenanigans. Still the car chase was the highlight, and a good use of 2D and CG without being too much of a blunt transition. The twin envelope zeppelin was a little disappointing though. Small gripe though.

Aya Hirano did a good turn as Chiko. Her performace could easily have ruined this for me, but she was very good when called on to dole out the emotions. I still don't like the ED (and who the heck are the Detective Girls?)

[Kaoru Chujo]

I've done a full blog post for episode one.

[DangerMouse]

Great job on the blog post since I can't fully watch the ep yet!

Since it's listed as an MFI series I guess we can't say anything more specific than this, but it sucks that according to the who subs what list we are down to only one group listed for subbing this, on the bright side it's fortunately one of the more skilled ones, after one of them backed out...

I guess this will be my sleeper hit of the season if it fulfills some of that trailer's promise and some of the stuff shown in the OP.

[Tofusensei]

Just curious, has anyone seen any official (or official-looking) lyrics for either of the songs (scans from music books, promo materials, 2chan, etc.)? I was translating them last night and the engrish in the ED is pretty incomprehensible. ^^;

-Tofu

[feRfe]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I thought it was an excellent first episode...

Spoiler for ep1:

...well directed, with setting, action, an economically told story, some psychological interest, and strong myths: Robin Hood; Superman; Sherlock Holmes; Cinderella; the myth of being in constant mortal danger; the myth of being so unhappy that you long to be anywhere but where you are...and then are rescued by your hero, in the sudden fulfilment of a fantasy. The tone was old-fashioned, but created an atmosphere that worked for me. The backgrounds and animation were good.

I thought Uchida Yuya (Nijuumensou) and Hirano Aya (Chiko) both did great jobs. I thought Hirano was especially good in the scenes where she was conveying raw emotion. I thought the tone of the rest of the voices made it possible for her intense style to work. Whereas in the lighter, more comic first episode of Zettai Children, even her funny voice seemed over the top. (I found her voice more effective in ep2.)

It now depends on where the script goes. It looks as if Chiko undergoes some serious change into the thief-girl. I hope character development continues and the capers continue to be inventive.

And I thought the OP (sung by 369) was very good and the ED (sung by Hirano Aya) was outstanding, with energy, rhythm, good phrasing, good pitch, and emotional hooks in her voice.

Spoiler for aroduc:

I didn't think Chiko was "an unbearable little bitch." She was an intelligent girl in despair because she was under constant threat of being poisoned by her aunt/stepmother.

Spoiler:

it was because her mother and father were rich and the greedy bastards want the inheritance right? creepy evil tt

AiGhT SoOt G!
i love this series (:

[Kang Seung Jae]

So many good stuff, so little time.....

[W-General]

The Engrish was so bad I couldn't tell what she was trying to see, which is a good thing - Engrish is always more awkward when you can tell how wrong it is. Apart from that I really liked it - this is the signature Hirano Aya music I know and love

The episode was fairly interesting, I'll see how it goes from here.

[psme]

Chiko ROCKS (from the OP that is!)! As other member said, a Lupin show with a cute and strong girl lead! Wonderful! Seriously the new season is great great great without much of the moe/loli and date game show!

regards,

Li On

[DangerMouse]

Yeah, I'm looking forwards to that character development so that she'll be participating in the action like in the OP.

[tenkenX6]

Originally Posted by Tofusensei

Just curious, has anyone seen any official (or official-looking) lyrics for either of the songs (scans from music books, promo materials, 2chan, etc.)? I was translating them last night and the engrish in the ED is pretty incomprehensible. ^^;

-Tofu

If you haven't already figured it out already, maybe I can decipher the Engrish in the song. Oh and BTW, this is one of your TLCers from L-E.

[Tofusensei]

Originally Posted by tenkenX6

If you haven't already figured it out already, maybe I can decipher the Engrish in the song. Oh and BTW, this is one of your TLCers from L-E.

Hehe, I appreciate the offer, but trust me, no one is gonna figure these ones out ><;

-Tofu

[DangerMouse]

Yes, nice timing with the weekend about to start.

[Kaoru Chujo]

So having watched ep1 for the third time now (with help from tenkenx6 and others this last time, thank you very much) I'm still just as high on it. Twenty-Faces' voice is really perfect. With the old-fashioned TV and the steam train and the reference to the war, it looks as if the show is set around the early 1950s, if it has a definite era. I also still love both the OP and the ED. Especially nice to have at least some more idea of the words now, and they seem quite fitting.

[OMchan]

I have no idea why but when I first saw the promos for this series, I couldn't help but think of Gallery Fake (a series didn't really pan out for me). Maybe it was because of my low expectations, but after watching the first episode, I was quite impressed with how enjoyable it was (which was quite surprising) It seemed like a type of series that I would get bored of mid way through the episode because of the "slowless" but I actually stuck though it all the way. The way things are stolen (with a warning letter and stuff) reminds me of D.N.Angel and Kid from Detective Conan. Can't wait for the next episode and to see how things unfold.

And I'm also curious as to what Engrish is sung in the ED song.

[Woland]

http://www.lantis.jp/special/hirano_unnamed/

Wow, I didn't Know Aya had an haircut (but she is definitively cuter now)

[Irkalla]

Time to share my cup here.
I absolutely loved it! I'm really a sucker for all retro stuff and this is definitely the best pick in this season.
At first the girl kinda ticked me off, since I was really thinking she was just too selfish and spoiled..then we learn that her actions were actually justified.
The whole kidnapping scene was a little weird, like a pedothief..but regardless I have high expectations for this show in the future.
Btw, is there going to be a time skip soon?

[SuperKnuckles]

Another Bones show, another great anime! Actually, this might be THE favorite of mine this season!

The lead guy reminds me of Roger Smith in Big O and yeah, the Kaito Kid (Detective Conan) feel is there.

Also, the production value is through the roof. Not only does it have fluidity (like Soul Eater, but slightly less so), but even frozen frames look amazing.

And the music is impressive even from a relative newcomer.

[Shiroth]

I'm rather surprised with how enjoyable the first episode turned out to be, even if it is just the prologue of the series. I guess i can understand now what has Kaoru Chujo enjoying this show so much.

Twenty Faces is pretty wacky, and that's what i love. He's like Lupin crossed with Kenji Murasame from Giant Robo, and that's what i like to see.