天下制覇

I wasn’t aware Japan had so many cows.

Impressions:

Man. If not for Rio and Abnormal Phys, I’d really have to be rethinking my opinion of Xebec. This show is surreal. Not like Enma though, much more subdued and I think much more effective because it doesn’t run at full tilt the whole time. There’s still the Xebec pastel colors and the T&A everywhere, but this feels more like it was made by Shaft coming off of Pani Poni Dash than one of Xebec’s usual affairs. It’s quite funny, delights in subverting cliches, and is often weird just for the sake of it. I have no idea why their school is crawling with cows, but as long as they keep eating the tennis balls, I’m okay with it.

I will say that the show is extremely formulaic and tied to its presentation format. You can almost feel the pages of the source comic locking down between each segment as there is absolutely no attempt to transition between them at all and they’re linked only by a vague sense of time passing. The T&A is also rather obviously shoehorned in through Asuna’s delusions. Most of the time, the show could do without it, especially because the other jokes are so much better. It’s very well made all around as well, but Xebec’s been pretty good for production lately, even if it sometimes ends in robot sharks.

All in all, I thought this was a very good start to the show. It’s witty, uses its visuals well, and got right to the funny with barely any introductions at all. I swear, if I have to hear one more self-narrated… *Ahem* Kotone could stand to tone her twin-tailedness down about four notches, but otherwise, this was a very solid slapstick comedy and I’m looking forward to seeing what else they can do with it.

Just Maria Holic and Merry left! The end is in sight!

Preview:

Twintails everywhere.