Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai – 01
It’s East Fish Sunday here at LiA Towers. Both shows here are from this relatively unknown studio. Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai is from a very well-known director though – Ikehata Hiroshi, who’s been behind all kinds of good stuff (most recently Tonikawa). That made Kaya-chan a sleeper going into the season, even though I have no experience with the source material and it doesn’t get especially sky-high aggregator scores. When a name director takes an obscure project on you’re hopeful for two reasons. First, because you know the direction will do its part. And second, because maybe they saw something in the material that caught their interest.
I wouldn’t say this premiere answered all my doubts, but I liked it. As you’d expect it was crisply paced and smartly directed, with a distinct sense of style. The premise finds a kindergartener named (coincidentally) Kaya-chan who’s constantly getting into trouble for saying “No!” to the other kids. Turns out she has a very good reason – there are malevolent spirits all over the place trying to hurt them (or worse). The swings, the picture books, the toilet – nowhere is safe for those unlucky tots. Fortunately they have Kaya looking out for them – although she knows no one will believe her if she announces the reason for her behavior.
It’s the unlucky newbie sensei Chie-san who gets assigned to look after the problem child’s class. But Chie-sensei catches Kaya in the act of saving a boy from something – it’s not clear why she can see it this one time – and after that she becomes Kaya-chan’s secret champion. She deserves a bap for just leaving a pile of cursed books by the curb, though (the Enchou-sensei promptly takes them to the used book store). There’s also something very wrong at Kaya’s house – her mother is definitely in a bad way…
Is that the source of Kaya’s connection to the spirits? Is it why they seem to be attracted to her – I mean, I can’t imagine the school and town being absolutely infested with them is a coincidence. A lot of unanswered questions here, but Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary is off to a very solid start. It’s an interesting spin on the haunted school subgenre, at least so far.
Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki – 01
‘Tis the season for shoujo. At least it sure seems that way – I don’t remember the last time we’ve seen so many shoujo adaptations on a schedule. Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki is a shoujo romance, and if I’m brutally honest they have a bit of a hill to climb with me. The tropes tend to rub me the wrong way, plain and simple. Other shoujo genres are another story, but romances I go in as a skeptic.
As compared to the other East Fish production today, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk is the more polished and sparkly. It looks more expensive but in a less expressive way. It also splashes for both an OP and ED from UNISON SQUARE GARDEN, so it seems like there’s some budget here. Story-wise we have a handsome boyish girl Takiguchi Yoi (daughter of a curry shop) who all the other girls call “Prince” or “Hero”. And while her actions play into that, Yoi is understandably not totally enthusiastic about it. She accepts this is who she is, but doesn’t like it.
Into the picture steps Ichimura Kohaku, the “Provisional Prince”. Blonde, earring-sporting, and loaded (not least with attitude). He’s a walking shoujo trope, though not the most obnoxious version I’ve ever seen. Kohaku literally bumps into Yoi and takes an interest in her, making him the first guy who ever has (at least to her knowledge). He even offers her a princess carry when she complains about the way people talk about her, though that doesn’t go over especially well.
They’re fine as a pair, and none of this is particularly obnoxious or anything. But it’s pretty formulaic stuff, I don’t care what anyone says. And like almost all male leads in shoujo romcom, Kohaku is pretty disrespectful towards the female lead, in an offhand and casual way. Also, the manufactured drama at the convenience store is par for the course. Maybe it’s me, but this genre just doesn’t seem to have much organic flow to it very often (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a very rare exception that springs to mind). I keep coming back to the well hoping one of these shows will win me over, and keep leaving thirst unquenched. Maybe Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki will surprise me and be another exception, but this sort of show and I just don’t seem to mesh.
