You’ll have to bear with me if today’s posts are a bit abbreviated.  Even more so than most, this season is absurdly Friday night-heavy (which effectively means Saturday for me).  And while none of these series are elite, there are so many in that nebulous middle zone that until I pare down the coverage list for the season, I have a ton of shows to review on Saturdays (on top of a week’s worth of errands and, hopefully, a life).

I’m definitely in that grey area with Iroduku Sekai no Ashita kara, but leaning towards “yes” at this point.  It’s amazing how so many P.A. Works shows take on a familiar hue – not just visually but tonally.  It’s almost as if they’re put through a filter before they hit the screen.  But I’m kind of digging Iroduku for the very reasons some are dropping it, namely its rather sedate and restrained temperament.  Frankly, it’s refreshing to see a PAW offering in this vein free of Okada Mari’s emotionally overwrought drama and combative gender politics.  Mind you we’re only two eps in, but so far Kakihara Yuuko’s more measured style seems to be a good fit for the PAW template.

I won’t deny that protagonist Hitomi isn’t making much of an impression – frankly, she’s a bit of a lump.  I know she’s supposed to be a lump, and her personality kind of fits the overall aesthetic, but she’s not offering much yet apart from a nexus point for the other characters.  But between the supporting cast and the Nagasaki setting I’m still being drawn in to the story.  I like the little details like Aoi and his kouhai Fukasawa Chigusa (I guess by law all shota types must be played by Murase Ayumu now) working at Glover Gardens, and the “Close the door – cats will come in” sign at the school.  Even by Japan’s standards Nagasaki is insanely overrun with cats – they love all the hillsides with their hidey-holes and narrow, winding streets preventing cars from driving fast.

Hitomi coming to school was a bit of a trope, but certainly necessary to move the plot along.  She’s forced to sign a liability contract because her granny caused so much damage with her magic – the same reason most of the other students treat Hitomi like a live grenade.  Naturally she’s drawn in by the same circle that rescued her on her arrival, which turns out to the photography (crossover with art) club.  Whether Kawai sent that video to the whole ‘net or just Chigusa-kun everyone is assuming Hitomi is Aoi’s girlfriend, which creates problems of its own, and he asks her to show off her magic to help clear up the misunderstanding and make her explanation more believable.  The results are underwhelming, but do at least seem to puncture the mystique surrounding her.

The assumption here would certainly be that Hitomi and Aoi are destined to hook up – it’s his drawing that finally allows her to see color, after all.  And I think there’s potential for a romance between the “depressing” art boy and the grey magic girl, but the photo-bu president Yamabuki Shou (another Shou?  Hmm – no coincidence, that) almost certainly is developing other ideas (he’s big on developing).  That scene at the end where he’s watching her practice magic and the light clicks on – that was magic, P.A. Works visual magic.  This show is a slow burn, no question, but I see a fair bit of potential here and I’m anxious to see if it bears fruit.