Snapshot: Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka - 01 October 3
OP Sequence:
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OP: “Hatsukoi Parachute” 「初恋パラシュート」 by Hashimoto Miyuki (橋本 みゆき)
Watch the OP!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Streaming ▼
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ED Sequence:
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ED: “Sweet Gift” by Kugimiya Rie (釘宮 理恵)
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Streaming ▼
「あかね色のファーストキッス」 (Akane Iro no Faasuto Kisu)
“Madder-Red First Kiss”
First Glance:
It’s a little bit concerning when I can go through the cast list for a show and instantly recognize every single name on it (in Japanese) off the top of my head, but that’s what we have here with Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka—quite possibly the romance comedy of the season. In a mouthful, we basically have three-quarters of the Lucky Star cast, two leads from Gundam SEED, two-thirds of the ARIA cast, a couple of girls from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, plus Kugimiya Rie and Hatano Wataru playing the two leads. Throw in the ever-so-funny Koyama Rikiya (Shinigami-sama in SOUL EATER) to play the teacher Sugishita Seijirou, and we’ve got series that’s overflowing with too much talent. Question now is, does it have the production quality and substance to go along with the cast?
Since I’ve been eyeing this show a lot more than the others this season, that question’s been on my mind for a while. Much to my delight, the first episode didn’t disappoint one bit. Based on an adult visual novel developed by feng, Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka may inadvertently turn some viewers away, but my experiences with visual novel adaptations has been surprisingly good. It’s been so good in fact that I actually look forward to them quite a bit, since they generally have interesting characters that can be easily adapted into a romance comedy—my favorite genre. With that said, I absoluted loved every minute of the first episode, with each of the characters quickly showing their little nuances that will undoubtedly carry on throughout the series.
Fans of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu should make an easy transition over to this series, since Ayase Yuuto’s seiyuu now plays the surprisingly similar Nagase Junichi. Being a fairly level-headed male protagonist unlike the ones you’d typically expect in a harem-like series, Junichi reminds me a lot of Yuuto, except he’s a bit better looking (subjectively speaking). Between these two series, Akane Iro no Somaru Saka comes across as more of the type of show I was hoping for in Nogizaka Haruka, primarily in the comedic department. Here, we also have much more interesting male sub-characters in the form of Junichi’s friend Nishino Fuyuhiko and teacher Sugishita Seijirou, who add that extra comedic flair when it comes to our male protagonist. Add Inoue Marina into the mix as classmate Kiryuu Tsukasa and you have the sarcastic teasing element that was sorely missing in Nogizaka Haruka.
So wait, it’s not all comedy though right? This is where Kugimiya Rie comes in as Katagiri Yuuhi, a new transfer student at Junichi’s school who was helped out by him on the first day. Having not caught his name though, she takes an unexpected interest in him, only to be kissed the next day when Junichi misunderstands things. Being the rich, strong-willed, stubborn girl that she is, Yuuhi naturally doesn’t respond well to her first kiss being taken away, but later moves in with Junichi and his sister Minato as per marriage arrangements by Junichi’s parents. While I’m sure hearing “strong-willed” and “stubborn” will make most most people think of Kugimiya Rie’s typical tsundere roles — Louise, Shana, and now Taiga in Toradora! — Yuuhi’s actually really cute and timid for the most part, making me feel that this is how a tsundere should be. (Note: I love tsundere characters when they’re portrayed well.) Rie doesn’t use her usual high-pitch voice here, so it’s not deafening when Yuuhi blows up either. As such, I find her much more amiable than Taiga as well. Yuuhi aside, other notable appearances this episode were Tanaka Rie as the student council president Shiina Mitsuki, and Katou Emiri as the assertive, class-rep-like Ayanokouji Karen.
Production-wise, TNK did an impressive job on this series, which I feel is miles ahead of their work on School Days. Much like Rosario + Vampire, Akane Iro has lush colors that pop out at you, fluid animation, and cute character designs — all of which simply add to the overall appeal. The opening song is performed by Hashimoto Miyuki, which instantly made me think of her catchy songs in SHUFFLE!. In what seems like a rarity this season, there’s an actual opening sequence rather than a video collage of episode scenes too. As for the ending song, it’s performed by Kugimiya Rie and sounds a lot better than Rie’s usual songs, since it’s not overly silly like her Zero no Tsukaima ones. Length-wise, I have yet to confirm from an official source how many episodes there will be, but given the current pacing, I think a good single season series is preferable to a stretched out two-season one.
Anyway, romance comedy of the season — I’m making my stake on it here. If I turn out terribly wrong, we’ll address that when the time comes. I have high hopes that this series will turn out to be just that if the first episode was any indication of things to come.
Notable Cast:
- Nagase Junichi (長瀬 準一) : Hatano Wataru (羽多野 渉)
- Katagiri Yuuhi (片桐 優姫) : Kugimiya Rie (釘宮 理恵)
- Nagase Minato (長瀬 湊) : Hirano Aya (平野 綾)
- Kiryuu Tsukasa (霧生 つかさ) : Inoue Marina (井上 麻里奈)
- Ayanokouji Karen (綾小路 華恋) : Katou Emiri (加藤 英美里)
- Shiraishi Nagomi (白石 なごみ) / Shiraishi Yutori (白石 ゆとり) : Hirohashi Ryou (広橋 涼)
- Shiina Mitsuki (椎名 観月) : Tanaka Rie (田中 理恵)
- Tachibana Mikoto (橘 ミコト) : Hadzuki Erino (葉月 絵理乃)
- Nishino Fuyuhiko (西野 冬彦) : Ishida Akira (石田 彰)
- Sugishita Seijirou (杉下 清次郎) : Koyama Rikiya (小山 力也)
- Fujimiya Sai (藤宮 彩) : Kobayashi Yuu (小林 ゆう)
- Nijou Aya (二条 亜矢) : Fukuhara Kaori (福原 香織)
- Yocchan (よっちゃん) : Toyosaki Aki (豊崎 愛生)
xfyux at 12:47 am on October 3rd, 2008
dam. this one looks fun. cant wait
Chicle at 12:48 am on October 3rd, 2008
Oh hey, you like romantic-comedies too. Whoo.
So yeah, I thought this was a pretty good premiere episode for the series, myself. Hopefully the rest pulls through, not like Da Capo.
Random Boy at 12:48 am on October 3rd, 2008
Haha looks pretty interesting.
JoeDX at 12:49 am on October 3rd, 2008
Hmm, looks good, will check out.
isteb at 12:49 am on October 3rd, 2008
looks rather interesting.
xD at 12:54 am on October 3rd, 2008
ive heard a lot about this anime
think ill follow till the end
lol, it’s not cool to say you are first
Chimasternmay at 1:02 am on October 3rd, 2008
this was a great episode, i knew they were gonna kiss from the description, but the whole episode itself turned out to be fun, and the end was even better, it was expected but still.
Putang at 1:09 am on October 3rd, 2008
:O!!! GAH!!!!!!! this season is soooo awesome right now T_T…. but…..
why…. if only all these came out in summer…. theres sooo much to watch T_T
Peanutbutter003 at 1:25 am on October 3rd, 2008
http://randomc.animeblogger.net:8000/image/Snapshots/Akane%20Iro%20ni%20Somaru%20Saka%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2029.jpg
I’m still thinking what’s the hell with that?
Exia at 1:29 am on October 3rd, 2008
ill give it a peek. i watch all that is funny.
calde at 1:30 am on October 3rd, 2008
While the original H-game does have pretty good characters(I assume Nagomi, the spy girl in the ending squence of this ep could get very popular and Yuuhi’s tsundere certainly won’t disappoint) and interesting plot(surprise engagement, tsundere, spy movie flavor and all) but lacks real appeal on its storytelling especially in action and conspiracy sequence.
With a competent combo of the director and the chief scenario writer from School Days(the latter also wrote Utawarerumono anime), and tons of talented voice actors, I think that this show could be one of those cases where the anime version is actually better than the original. And judging from the 1st ep, it will very likely be up to my expectations.
Anyway, basically it’s tsundere comedy, so relax and enjoy the ride folks.
hobli at 1:34 am on October 3rd, 2008
Minato reminds me of Nanoha
divine at 1:36 am on October 3rd, 2008
*relaxes and enjoys*
ZeMBe at 1:44 am on October 3rd, 2008
thanks
i’ll check out
Sailor Enlil at 1:52 am on October 3rd, 2008
I’ve been waiting for this, especially with the premise that the main protagonists have been set up in an arranged engagement. Makes you wonder how they’ll work it out.
Though admittedly,
http://randomc.animeblogger.net:8000/image/Snapshots/Akane%20Iro%20ni%20Somaru%20Saka%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
Minato is IMHO a real beauty the way she’s been designed. I almost wish she was the protagonist girl instead. And I agree with hobli, she looks kinda like Nanoha Takamachi.
relentlessflame at 1:56 am on October 3rd, 2008
“While the original H-game does have pretty good characters […] and interesting plot […] but lacks real appeal on its storytelling especially in action and conspiracy sequence.”
- calde
Well, the original PC game was very, very campy. Deliberately campy, especially with the “action and conspiracy” stuff, because it was going for comedy in those parts. It seems that a lot of the story got re-written/re-worked, though, in the PS2 release. And now, of course, they’ve made a big point with this anime that it was going to feature another original story that was going to focus even more on comedy (though they’ve kept some of the game elements, at least in the first episode). I think it’ll end up being a matter of preference as to which version people who’ve seen them all will like best. So far, I have to say that I liked the storytelling in the first episode of the game a bit better, but we’ll see what they do next.
Amoirsp at 2:36 am on October 3rd, 2008
Well, this was the primary series I had intent to watch this season. Seems like a good start. Characters seemed reasonable (I like the character design, too). If it stays balanced in momentum, it should flow fine. So yeah, it really is up to the production cast and quality.
In terms of duration I hope it’s a simple 12 or 13, as 24+ would seem overkill (unless the PS2 version was that much longer, which I don’t know). I was concerned the PS2 exclusive character wasn’t in the show since it didn’t show up on cast lists I’ve seen, and now I’m relieved it has every PS2 notable, rather than just every PC notable.
I think I’ll enjoy this, or at least attempt to watch it all the way for sure. Thanks for the snapshot.
Kaitune at 2:51 am on October 3rd, 2008
Seem better than I though although it hasn’t yet caught my interest, unless most of the shoe that I intend to watch end up being total crap, which isn’t that likely because at least I am pretty satisfied with 3 of them so far.
But I guess I will keep in touch to see how this series will go, in case that you continue to blog it.
setsuke at 4:33 am on October 3rd, 2008
So your going to take this series? Great, this series has potential but the beginning, main character, and some charter sure are weird.
divine at 4:37 am on October 3rd, 2008
setsuke:
If you mean blog this series, I’m not sure yet. The amount of time I can commit this season is questionable, but we’ll see how I feel about things after the slew of premieres. Right now, I’m just focused on getting these snapshots out so that people have a good idea of what’s airing.