Catchy opening theme, gaggle of girls with the same half-dozen designs seen in every other contemporary shounen romance anime, bland male protagonist? Check, check, and check. Welcome to Mashiro-Iro Symphony, an adaptation of a slice-of-life romance visual novel that is more or less like every other such adaptation you've ever seen.
The show opens with our protagonist, Shingo Uryuu, running out into the night to help his little sister find her way home. She, meanwhile, appears to be wearing a bra and a dress on top of a turtleneck and skirt, or something...it's odd looking. Anyway, the sister, Sakuno, chases after an adorable fluffy creature while her brother searches for her and gets even more lost. While Sakuno waits in the rain, a girl named Airi Sena spots her and shares her umbrella. She's also lost, so together they call the brother and arrange to meet up in a nearby park. They succeed, and Shingo gets all wide-eyed upon meeting Airi in person.
So! Shingo, Sakuno, and guy-pal Hayata, as it turns out, are also serving as representatives from their school, which is merging with another (formerly all-girls) school. The trio will attend the new school, which is naturally chock-full of female characters: a teacher who's nervous around boys, a be-ponytailed , and of course, Airi Sena, who turns out to be opposed to the merger. OBSTACLE!
The main thing to enjoy in Mashiro-Iro Symphony thus far is its soundtrack, which is full of enjoyable orchestral arrangements (although the charming, heartwarming music that went with the opening scene felt kind of out of place for a rainy night). Other points: Sakuno, while largely the standard little-sister-with-a-brother-complex, offers a wry response about girls feeling clumped together when she and her brother are confronted with a mass cluster of their new classmates. There's also a thus far unintroduced character randomly playing with the generically adorable mascot character outside of the school building who suddenly stops to stare at the camera again. These are pretty much the only surprises in the episode.
While the art itself is detailed and crisp, the character designs are a bit overdone, and the characters themselves generic (though points should be awarded to Sakuno for her wry response about how girls feel in clusters upon witnessing their new school). As for pacing: kudos to the show for not being excessively blatant in its introductions to Shingo's new classmates, but the overall pacing is still a bit off. In particular, the opening scene feels oddly leisurely, with bits where more snap to the dialogue and action might have given the protagonist's intro a little more energy.
Thanks to ANN
No comments:
Post a Comment