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Now in Japan
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Saturday, 30 July 2005 12:32 |
 First, Sousei no Aquarion brought us the overly-aroused mecha pilot. Now, Amaenai de yo!!
brings us the overly-aroused trainee monk. Is this the start of a
trend? Are there just too many frustrated people working in anime
at the moment? Could there be better subject matter for basing a
harem comedy around? Hopefully, probably, and yes...
1 - Don't Let me Come!
When Ikko Satonaka recites a sutra to summon
a dead spirit, it initially seems to go quite well - until an unwanted
spirit tries to cross, at which point his colleagues have to resort to
Ikko's unusual special power to get rid of it. When Ikko gets.. ahem..
'all worked up' over a scantily-clad girl, the amount of... umm.. power
that he can... ano... release is really quite impressive. ^^; Just as
well his fellow trainees at the temple are all high school girls, then, isn't it? But
perhaps it's tempting fate when Joutoku-baasan, the nun in charge of
the Saien temple where Ikko and the girls are studying, chooses Ikko to
recite another sutra at an upcoming event, and wouldn't you know it
goes wrong again, leading to an attack by a group of possessed plush
toys and dolls. Time for Ikko to do his thing, with a little help from
Chitose...
2 - Don't Play at Night!
It's summer, but rather
than enjoying the beach, Ikko and Chitose are stuck cleaning the temple
and giving lectures on enlightenment to the local senior citizens.
Sometimes working sucks - especially when the rest of the girls have
taken the day off and have been out having fun. Come darkness, though,
there's the chance for Ikko and Chitose to make some summer memories
together when they sneak out of the temple. With karaoke and purikura
out of the way, their trip takes a turn for the worse when they're
confronted by a group of local yobs while trying to leave the game
center - no normal yobs, either, but lingering spirits. Time for one
of Chitose's inspirational lectures...
Watch out, world, Naru Narusegawa has a rival in the 'excessive
violence against her love interest' department in the form of Chitose Nanbu, Saien
Temple's fiery redhead who misses very few opportunities to inflict
pain on poor Ikko. Can't say I blame her, as so far she's the
only one he's turned to when needing to get worked up. For the
rest of the harem, there's blue-haired cutie Yuuko Atouda (who's only
too happy to help Chitose out of her kit when required, whether Chitose
likes it or not), Sumi Inuina, control-freak Sakura Sugai and her
little sister Hinata, and blonde Haruka Amanogawa, who between them
cover the usual range of personalities that you'd expect to find in a
harem show. Keeping them all in check is Joutoku-baasan, the
wizened leader of the shrine. So far, so formulaic.
But for all that I'm almost all harem'ed out these days, I enjoyed this
- the whole concept of how Ikko gets his powers adds an extra level of
ecchiness to the show that lifts it above dull, while the second
episode shows that there's more to it than just looking for excuses to
get the girls out of their yukata for Ikko's benefit - there's quite a
sweet, romantic side to it that's just as enjoyable as the
comedy. Okay, so it's clear from the first few minutes that
Chitose's going to eventually be Ikko's girl, but we still have to see
how they get there, and if these episodes are anything to go by it'll
be great entertainment along the way. Amaenai de yo!! is great fun so far - here's hoping they can keep it that way.
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