(24 episodes)
What’s it about ?
Oh, look, another rural fantasy show !
Characters
Harutora, our protagonist. He’s part of a branch of a powerful mage family, but doesn’t feel he’s talented enough to undergo mage training. He’d rather stay in this little town with his “normal” friends forever.
Said friends include Touji, the usual perverted best friend ; and Hokuto, his tomboyish not-girlfriend, who’s really pushing for him to become a mage.
Natsume, his cousin, is the actual heir of the family, and poised to become the super-mage. They’re still somewhat on good terms, but have grown apart, especially as she usually lives in Tokyo. Harutora assumes she’s in town because it’s summer vacation, but that may not be the whole story.
Suzuka, a girl who shows up out of nowhere, looking for Natsume for nefarious purposes. She’s a big deal enough for a bunch of MIB to try and contain her as soon as she shows up ; she makes short work of them. After the initial confusion where she mistakes Harutora for Natsume, she leaves him with a message for her. And forcefully kisses him in front of Hokuto, just for kicks.
Production Values
That’s some very clunky CG for Suzuka’s summon, and the MIB’s black vans. But overall, this isn’t half-bad looking, if a bit generic.
Overall Impression
I don’t know. There’s nothing particularly wrong with any of this : it’s decently paced, it introduces the characters and the main conflict well, and overall it’s perfectly competent.
But it doesn’t quite grab me ; it’s not a genre I have that much time for, and it doesn’t do anything particularly new or fun with it. And I don’t feel like signing up for six months of it. It’s a busy season where I need to make choices among the many “not loving it” shows, and this one doesn’t make the cut for me.
