(L) Mashiro-iro Symphony

[relentlessflame]

Spoiler for Episode 2:

Yeah, I have to agree with Midonin that although the pace of the plot did speed up somewhat, it still kept a lot of the same feeling of the first episode. It actually still managed to feel a bit pensive, with Shingo trying to give a lot of thought into how he could resolve the situation. His "read" of the situation was pretty good, and though I'm not sure if there's really anything "manly" about forcing yourself to eat so much food... it's good that they're slowly tearing down the barriers. It's also obvious that he's the sort of silent leader of his class, with everyone else looking to him and following his example. The turn of events at the end is a pretty obvious way of pushing the story forward and resolving the main barrier to be resolved: the situation with Airi.

One thing I'll say is that the fanservice scenes, while present, continue to move by very quickly -- they don't dwell on it very long. Just enough to cause the misunderstanding, and then move on. The emphasis is more on the "bad vibes" the misunderstandings cause, and Shingo worrying about how to fix it.

Ange also continues to provide the comic relief and levity that she's good at, helping prevent Shingo from "brooding" too much and reminding everyone that they'll make it through this. She's definitely a bit (okay, a lot) on the silly side, but her upbeat optimism balances things out nicely.

The Mio introduction was all sorts of awkward but cute. Though she's a bit innocent/naive (lol at when she gives him a "good look", and then again with the "nadenade" ), Shingo is totally entranced. Note that later on when he, Sakuno, and Hayata see Pannya again they play back to the thing in the first episode where the other two see Pannya (talking about the mysterious creature), and it leads immediately back to Shingo thinking of Miu and blushing.

Edit: One more point I noticed about this -- notice Shingo's reaction when he first sees Pannya, which is like "I think I've seen that before...", but when he notices Miu he immediately remembers "oh, back on that day". Makes it all the more clear.

Also as a side note, the world was a lot more populated with extras this episode.

So yeah, as was said, this mostly finishes up the world-building, and we're now sort of settling in for the plot to continue developing. I have to say the pace feels very "smooth" to me so far, which is a good thing. As was already said abundantly, 12-episode VN adaptations are really hit-and-miss. We'll see how they continue doing...

[Kameruka]

I have strong feeling that Sakuno is not related by blood to Shingo much like Da Capo and probably Akane-iro Somaru Saka. Despite having the sister as part of the harem(as proven in ED) but its pretty obvious that this show won't become another Yosuga no Sora.

[hyl]

Spoiler for episode 2:

The pacing of this episode feels much better for me than the previous one and the other 3 characters get more screentime on this episode.

I liked that Sana is appearing alot in this episode (kinda expected, because they are in the same class) , but .... (*avoids game spoilers* , we will see what happens in the next episode during the lunch break).
The way how they kept Miu's introduction mostly the same as in the game is good and for the people who haven't played the game the anime does a nice job of describing her personaility.

The focus of this episode is like relentlessflame said, is to make both classes get along with eachother, probably more importantly for Shingo: to get along with Airi better. But this is for building up the story for the rest of the characters, if this hurdle is overcome.

The little ammount of fanservice in this episode didn't bother me, because they were there for the misunderstandings and atleast one of these scenes also appeared in the game. Eventhough the scene in the game was in SD to make it look funnier.

Overall i liked this episode better than episode 1, the atmosphere is still just as good while the story is building up. If manglobe keeps up doing a faithfull adapation of the game then i am sure they will be able to pull of the story in 12 episodes. I do have some nitpicks, but i will save that for the game discussion page.

edit:

Spoiler for episode 2:

Changing my opinion about the pacing.
The pacing of episode 2 is better, but still slow for someone who knows the whole story from the game. Eventhough this episode is meant to explain the
settings , speedwise it's probably at this point a little too faithfull to the game. The problem is this is an anime and not a VN.
I think this might hindera little character development for some characters, seeing that we only have 10 episodes left while at this point it has not build up too much character development indivdually.

[Shimapan]

Ep. 1: Now this was a very nice episode. A bit slow perhaps, but I liked that a lot more than Majikoi, where you're thrown right into the middle of it, and everything goes right over your head when you haven't read the novel or manga

Character designs are done very cute and lovable, big plus on that. Airi's zettai ryouiki is very lovely. The obligatory cute animal, a ball with ears and tail, is also there.

We get introduced to the little sister, who apparently has no sense of direction whatsoever... at least she's smart enough to take a mobile phone with her and can take pics to help her onii-chan find her. Just too bad she didn't check the battery before running off - she seems a little scatter-brained overall and easily gets distracted.
I wonder why she hasn't got herself a mobile phone with Gps function - or rather, why her onii-san hasn't got one for her. Picking up his lost sister seems to be happening frequently. If she had Gps, he would be able to pick her up very quickly, without having to search for her.

Next, at the school, we have him (along with few other lucky boys) being admitted to a previous girls only school. Jackpot!
The tsuntsun princess is not all that happy about that, though...
Oh, and we do have an androphobic *sensei* here. I think that's a first.

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.

I would put Airi as a very *typical* tsundere even. While we do start out seing her deredere side first, which is unusual, her behaviour at school is very typical tsuntsun behaviour.

So we have a second "Sena" here... although here, she has "Sena" as the family name rather than the personal name, as in Bokutomo.

[Mazryonh]

One voice I heard in the background in the first episode was Ryouko Tanaka, whose last starring role in a mainstream anime series was as Hinata Kagura in H2O: Footprints in the Sand. I also heard her as the mother of one of the characters in Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi earlier this year.

I really must wonder what it takes for these eroge seiyuu to break out of their mould and get into more mainstream anime work. It probably must be rather difficult given how few actually succeed.

The slow pace of this adaptation again makes me wish that Palette, the parent company behind the original game, had adapted Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba for an anime instead. That game's premise would have gripped us right away.

[Mahou]

Spoiler for Episode 2:

Poor Shingo, walked in three awkward situations contiuously ... Besides that, the atmosphere was quite heavy and I give him big credits for trying and being able to break the ice during the cooking class except for Airi. For her, he needs to bring out a big hammer to smash her "ice walls" . It was obvious that he will be suggested as the next class rep (or was it student council rep.?) together with Airi.
@Miu: So she's the softspoken/gentle character of Mashiro-iro. I liked her introduction. A lovely Sempai

I just notice the - maybe - obvious: The drawn hearts on each girl in the opening, resemble the main female leads (or if you want, the selectable girls in the VN?), I assume. I wondered about it already in Ep. 1 when the main cast wasn't introduced.

[KLGChaos]

Right now, my only hope is that this doesn't turn out like almost every other VN based anime I've watched (outside of Clannad) where the romance is shoehorned in during the last couple of episodes. It makes most of them not only predictable, but usually quite boring to watch... not to mention you end up with zero interest in the characters or the romance itself because nothing is really built up.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Mahou

I just notice the - maybe - obvious: The drawn hearts on each girl in the opening, resemble the main female leads (or if you want, the selectable girls in the VN?), I assume. I wondered about it already in Ep. 1 when the main cast wasn't introduced.

Well, they're the five main heroines in this anime adaptation.

Spoiler for Very minor comparison to game structure -- no future-event spoilers:

One of the five heroines here wasn't actually "selectable" in the original PC game (though did have a role), but was added as a full heroine in the recently-released PSP version.

Originally Posted by KLGChaos

Right now, my only hope is that this doesn't turn out like almost every other VN based anime I've watched (outside of Clannad) where the romance is shoehorned in during the last couple of episodes. It makes most of them not only predictable, but usually quite boring to watch... not to mention you end up with zero interest in the characters or the romance itself because nothing is really built up.

I think this is one of the regrettable aspects of these adaptations being so short. They're taking a 40-hour game and compressing into a little over 4 hours, plus generally trying to include some scenes from as many different routes as possible so that fans of different heroines will have something to enjoy (even if only one heroine will be "chosen"). So it's really not an enviable job, as I imagine it's pretty hard to pull something together that meets all those criteria (likely required/insisted upon by the marketing folk). To me, the better adaptations have all been those that either had plenty of time/episodes (i.e. Clannad, Da Capo, etc.) or ones where they really just focused on one route and a bit of the other routes (i.e. Lamune). Some of the ones where they boiled it down to a love triangle were pretty good too (i.e. Canvas 2, Gift), but it varies wildly. (I'm also a fan of the omnibus adaptations (i.e. Yosuga no Sora, Amagami SS), but that's clearly not what they're doing here.)

All that to say, I have some hope that they can pull it off in this case, but only time will tell. Certainly, given that a story like this is all about romance, it doesn't do it justice if the romance feels tacked-on in the end. This is why the flags that are being dropped now are pretty important.

[KLGChaos]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I think this is one of the regrettable aspects of these adaptations being so short. They're taking a 40-hour game and compressing into a little over 4 hours, plus generally trying to include some scenes from as many different routes as possible so that fans of different heroines will have something to enjoy (even if only one heroine will be "chosen"). So it's really not an enviable job, as I imagine it's pretty hard to pull something together that meets all those criteria (likely required/insisted upon by the marketing folk). To me, the better adaptations have all been those that either had plenty of time/episodes (i.e. Clannad, Da Capo, etc.) or ones where they really just focused on one route and a bit of the other routes (i.e. Lamune). Some of the ones where they boiled it down to a love triangle were pretty good too (i.e. Canvas 2, Gift), but it varies wildly. (I'm also a fan of the omnibus adaptations (i.e. Yosuga no Sora, Amagami SS), but that's clearly not what they're doing here.)

All that to say, I have some hope that they can pull it off in this case, but only time will tell. Certainly, given that a story like this is all about romance, it doesn't do it justice if the romance feels tacked-on in the end. This is why the flags that are being dropped now are pretty important.

I agree that most need more time to really develop anything. The last series I watched, I remember mentioning how they really needed more than 12 episodes to develop the characters. The two best VN adaptations I've personally watched are Clannad and Shuffle (never got around to Da Capo), both of which had 2 seasons to work with (and if you include After Story, that's 4 for Clannad). The characters were well-established in each and they had enough time to develop the romance. Sadly, most adaptation won't get that treatment.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Ok...lets do this lol

Spoiler for Episode 2:

Eh....this show has caught my interest to keep going, but it does have its problems....They are trying way to hard just to keep this drama going, the first "fanservice catch the girl naked" moment was expected, but then it got annoying to see it the next 3 something times in a row. And she truly is clueless if she truly didn't expect him to be elected.......come the hell on, after that superhero moment he had in the cooking class, you really thought he wouldn't get it? Yea I know its part of the cliche, but still....really?

[Skyfall]

A very enjoyable second episode, liked it more than the first one (and I already liked the first a good deal). It retained the calm, unhurried flow of the story that the first ep introduced, but the relaxed pacing was spiced up with the more eventful happenings during the episode. Personally I really appreciate the relaxed flow of the story - it doesn't feel like the show is in a rush to go anywhere and it adds to the atmosphere. They have a pretty good thing going for now, I hope they can maintain this calm feeling without running in to time issues in the long run.

As for the ep itself ... poor Shingo, despite best intentions, things just didn't go his way. It was borderline comical how he kept landing himself in compromising situations, one after another, until the point where girls from his own school were starting to feel shady. Talk about bad luck never coming alone It will certainly take a while to melt the ice between him and Airi at this rate, though the two of them working together as the class representatives (if they can manage the working together part) should offer plenty of chances to do so ... or to fail even more!

After being subject to all those accidents and getting the cold shoulder from the combined female body of both classes, the encounter with Miu couldn't have come at a better timing - must have been like an oasis for a thirsty man in a desert. A lovely and kind senpai, perfect for dissuading the built up tension. (Something which both Sana and Ange accomplish bit by bit at other times as well - the situation never really stays gloomy for long). Loved the interactions between the two as well, Miu taking great care to examine Shingo and all Sadly I have little illusions about them heading for Miu's ending, but I certainly wouldn't mind such. Ah well, at least she has evidently left an impression on Shingo so far - that blush at the end was pretty telling.

All in all a nice episode, both giving more character exposition (zomg, the male lead's best friend is actually a decent guy, not incompetent comic relief ?!) and moving the merger along. Now that it has been established that boys are not bad and are even good at something - namely eating () - it will be interesting to see where they go from there in melting the ice between the two populaces. At least Shingo has properly determined Airi being the main opponent to woo over. No doubt he will succeed in time, the only question is - how many more blunders he will have before that in front of her. Stay tuned to find out I guess.

[Bonta Kun]

I don't know whats wrong with me these days, seems I nitpick more and more at the little stuff in anime which makes me really hate myself>_<

But what the hell here I go.

Well I think the only real nit pick is the tolietroom scene.
My problem comes from slapping whatever logic I deem necessary for me to enjoy the series which in this case isn't a great deal, like many other VN animes.
But the half-arsed labelling of the toliet doesn't sit well with me(yea you can see why I hate myself for nit picking at such a stupid little thing-__-)
If your doing this merger thing, even if it's just trial period you should have prepared for it best you can but we really don't get that here.
Feels like the setting is just there for the sake of story, which generally is fine for me but doesn't mean I won't whine about the small stuff, always feels good to get it off your chest.
There are others but I don't want to go it all, I'll just hate myself even more.

Still whatever nit picks and moans I have is just stupid and doesn't really take away from what is a very pleasant and fluffy series so far

The one thing that caught me out but I should have guessed from the 1st ep was the red head, Sana-chan!
I tell ya now that I thought she was totally gonna be type cast as a fiery hot headed tsundere but thats sooooooo not the case and for that she has my attention

Also good to know most of the classmates aren't just there for the sake of it, they actually seem like classmates.

be warned, I suspect more pointless nit picky to come!

p.s I'm surprised we didn't get a "god fall(aka girl falling on top of guy but some how guy ends up on top of girl and breat groping her)" or should I guess that is still to come?

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Bonta Kun

But the half-arsed labelling of the toliet doesn't sit well with me(yea you can see why I hate myself for nit picking at such a stupid little thing-__-)
If your doing this merger thing, even if it's just trial period you should have prepared for it best you can but we really don't get that here.

I'm not really sure what the issue is with the labeling... basically, the school doesn't have male and female washrooms side-by-side like most co-ed schools would, and given that the school is still 95% female, they just decided to designate one washroom as being for men, with all the other washrooms everywhere being for women. Shingo was just being careless/thoughtless when he opened that door. I guess they could have put a female sign on the door, but that's sort of redundant since they're all female except the designated exception. Better to put a male sign on the one exception, and for the guys to just know the rule.

At least, that seems like a logical approach on the surface, notwithstanding thoughtless mistakes like this one.

[ars89]

Poor Uryuu started off on a bad note. Luckily some encouragement from Sakuno helped him out. The guys stepped up and do what they do best pig out.Miu is adorable, is it known what kind of animal Pannya is? As expected him and Airi are the class reps. Glad Inui was welcoming like Angie

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by ars89

is it known what kind of animal Pannya is?

Suffice to say it's highly unlikely you will find a corresponding animal in real life. In-story wise, I think it's to be considered a cat ... a cat that has been mascot-ified in terms of appearance, but a cat non the less

[velvet]

Mai Gotou is love. I remember listening to 2 of the drama CDs quite sometimes ago.
Sakuno's part, damn if it isn't pure sweets, making me grin like some pervert (listening it while driving in public didn't exactly helping, had my share of people staring at me).

Good execution at the home economic scene. It really felt like the girls are sincerely depending on the boys, while the boys sincerely doing their best to help. When the boys started chowing bowls of kurigohan one after another, I realized a smile is plastered on my face.
The ending also confirmed to prolong my smile (a.k.a addicted already) into the preview, in which Mai Gotou was waiting for me. Bless me.

NB : I recall Ange being a huge annoyance at Sakuno's drama cd (her voice was more grating?). But now I can clearly state that it would be impossible for me to say no to that ever-smiling-turns-brighter-smile face of hers (see ED sequence for more info).

[hyl]

I am sure that Ange always sounded like that, even in the 3 drama cd's that i bought (i don't own Ange's drama, because i don't like her as a love interest.).

[Shimapan]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

The slow pace of this adaptation again makes me wish that Palette, the parent company behind the original game, had adapted Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba for an anime instead. That game's premise would have gripped us right away.

And that game's promise would be...?

I think the premise here, with the male MC going to a new school which was female-only before, is very good already

[hyl]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

The slow pace of this adaptation again makes me wish that Palette, the parent company behind the original game, had adapted Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba for an anime instead. That game's premise would have gripped us right away.

Eventhough i liked moshiraba as well, it's unfortunately an eroge that's much older than mashiphony. The chances of having older eroge an anime adaption is less likely than newer ones. The most recent eroge anime adaptions were not older than 2-3 years from when the game was sold. Yosuga no sora (game was released in december 2008, close enough),Oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai, hoshizora e kakaru hashi, Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! and mashiphony were released in 2009 and fortune Arterial aired in 2010 when the game was released in 2008. Moshiraba is from 2006.

While in the subject of talking about anime adaptions from Pallete, they were intending to make a sakura strasse anime but it got cancelled.

edit: basic premise for moshiraba: story from a little what i can remember, because it was quite some time ago and i am sure that forgot to mention a lot

Main protagonist lives with 2 girls who are not blood related. Main protagonist develops feelings for one of girls and confesses to her. One day that girl dies from sickness and after some moment of grief, she returns as a ghost.

[Guardian Enzo]

I agree with Skyfall here, pretty much. There's no flash here and we've seen a million of these adaptations, but there's just something a little different about this one. The best friend isn't a sex-crazed idiot, but student council president. The boys and girls act differently, but neither side is mocked and belittled. It has a nice, relaxing pace, treats the characters kindly and doesn't overplay the silliness for cheap laughs. In short - it's good. Nothing flashy - just likable and approachable and just different enough.