Ookami-san To Shichinin No Nakama-tachi
One of the first new series of the summer season that aired was “Ookami-san To Shichinin No Nakama-tachi”, based on the light novels written by Masashi Okita and with art by Unaji.
This first episode makes it clear right away that the cast is an amalgam of oddball, crazy characters, though not in the same sense as we saw in “Working!!” or “Kanamemo” but more like in “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu”.
No doubt this will be a defining trait for the series and where for me personally it will be a hit or miss. So far the cast from “Ookami-san To Shichinin No Nakama-tachi” seem more like caricatures of existing characters seen in other series.
In that context what unfortunately struck me was how much Ryouko Ookami resembled Aisaka Taiga from “Toradora!”, not only in terms of character design but general demeanor as well. Felt the same when watching “Angel Beats!” whose female lead Yuri had an uncanny resemblance to Haruhi from “The Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi”.
Although where Taiga in “Toradora!” quite early on was shown to have weaknesses, Ookami so far is presented as a tough as nails girl with lethal fists and a likewise personality.
Was actually surprised by the scene where Ookami berates Morino for standing by helplessly without taking action while he sees someone he loves get attacked. If Ookami was such a tough girl or tsundere, would she not rather say she’d never need any help from the likes of him? Future episode may show the ferocious girl’s softer side.
Maybe the resemblance to “Toradora!” can be attributed to the fact JC Staff is the studio behind both series. In comparison, the art style of Unaji for the “Ookami-san” light novels is distinctly different from that of Yasu used in the “Toradora!” novels.
Labeled as a romantic comedy, am curious how much real romance the series will see or whether it will mostly be a comedy driven show. If the first episode is any indication, what little romantic endeavors there are fall pray to becoming comedy plot vehicles and unable to achieve any true romantic atmosphere.
What is a definite treat though is the cast of excellent seiyuu. Ookami is voiced by Shizuka Itou who also voiced Hinagiku in “Hayate No Gotku!”, Kanae Ito who voiced Saten in “To Aru Kagaku No Railgun” does Akia’s voice, Kiriki is voiced by Yui Horie who also voiced Tsubasa in “Bakemonogatari.
The telltale voice of the narrator is Satomi Arai, known for her role as Kuroko from “To Aru Kagaku No Railgun”. Though did feel the narrator’s interventions were a bit overdone or overly frequent, less might be better.
Am not sure I will be picking this series up, maybe I’ll watch a few more episodes before deciding.
Had this series noted cuz “Ookami” in title ^^
Not rly what I expected from the series (lately nothing is), but I enjoyed 1st ep.
Guess can’t expect serious plot from this one and expecting some crazy stuff ^^ Still I hope, they are gonna keep it within some borders and avoid fan~service (but those parodies(?) with narrators comments were funny ^^)
Well main heroine – Ookami-san is quite cute tsundere~wanabe ^^ And Neko knuckles are hilarious.
Also “Kuroko” as narrator was nice surprise xD I know, one of my friends will have hard time with this, as he can’t stand her voice xD
One of the few shows I looked forward to this season, so I’m glad that it delivered.
Enjoyed the characters, good comedy and the premise is interesting.
I wish that they could have gotten another voice actor for the narrative though, I found her voice as Kuroko kind of annoying aswell. +_+
@Shiddo
As I had never watched “To Aru Majutsu No Index”, I was unprepared for Kuroko’s rather grating voice in “To Aru Kagaku No Railgun”. Took me many episodes to get used to it, the first few it was rather unbearable.
Guess speaking of expectations may hit the nail on the head, had more or less expected a normal school love comedy and instead this is rather far out there in terms of silly impossible comedy style.
@Fabrice
We need Norio Wakamoto, the legendary narrator from “Hayate No Gotoku!” for things like this!
I really enjoyed Satomi Arai as the narrator. To me it sounds like a crazy old lady, which is perfect for the fairy tale angle. I too think this is going to come down on the comedy side of romance-comedy.