If there was ever a studio that has the feel of “generic” attached to it, it would be ZEXCS. Their shows generally have about the same look – middling animation, slightly washed-out color scheme, very, well, generic style. They tend to have supernatural elements and fairly gratuitous fanservice, usually school-themed. Occasionally they transcend themselves and come out with something of genuine quality like Wagaya no Oiniri-sama – a show with a nice look and genuine sweetness to it – but mostly it’s shows liked like one. ItsuTen seems to fit right in the same slot that nearly every other ZEXCS show does, and the premiere didn’t hold much interest for me.
Based on a LN series (and later manga) by Kagami Takaya, Itsu-Ten has a little bit of Kore wa Zombie in the story of a high school boy who dies after having been hit by a truck. Due to a contract he initiated with a girl vampire, Himaea, as a child, Taito gets another go-around. The hitch is that he’s her servant for all eternity.
It’s all here – the childhood friend (Haruka), the brooding and handsome rival and supernatural powerhouse (Gekkou Kurenai), the endless and not very artful panty shots. I was pretty bored through most of it, to be honest. I’m sure the story gets more interesting as the supernatural and comedy elements become more forward in the mix, but in a busy and pretty solid season as this one I just don’t have the time to stick around without a bigger potential payoff as a reward.
lkaze
July 10, 2011 at 9:51 amI'm addicted! So Enzo what you mean ,is that you won't blog this ?
admin
July 10, 2011 at 3:31 pmSorry, Ikaze – right now I don't think so. I may give the 2nd ep another chance to "wow" me, but my schedule is pretty full and the 1st ep just didn't do it for me. Enough people seem to like it that I'll give it one more go just to make sure.
marinasauce
July 11, 2011 at 9:58 amI can't blame you for not being interested in this show, since I had a hard time looking for good points when I watched the first episode. However, I don't fully agree with your assessment of the art style as washed-out, as I found the visuals of Himea, in particular, as highly saturated and vividly colored. I was also surprised at the thought put into the girls' hair styles, giving them gradients instead of solid color blocks.
admin
July 11, 2011 at 4:13 pmMarinarasauce: I'll look closely at that when I try ep 2 on for size.
lkaze
July 12, 2011 at 12:48 pm@Enzo
Can't be help, you can't really blog ALL the anime. You are right about at least 2 episode to judge this.
Do you have any anime that you confirmed blog? I know one of them is Natsume (otherwise it will be weird to have it background.)