neko's thinkbox

One of the best openings I’ve ever seen in any show

There’s things you won’t reach even with outstretched hands;
There are things that will fade into the distance once you let it go;
People are always seeking these, and before they know it;
Become lost.

Ever think that life is like sand, in that the tighter you try to hold onto it, the more you seem to loose through your grip? I, like many others, have often wished that I could turn back time,to relive my youth. I’ve also wished as a child, in typical me fashion, that I could become older than I am, to be included in ‘Adult’ discussion. Of course, these wishes will never come true, but we still make them all the time.

Just this once, this dream has been granted to two different people.

Karada is a young japanese girl, you know, loli by most standards of Anime/Manga. She doesn’t like being treated like a child, much like most young children do.

Shoko is a young japanese woman, once Karada’s brother’s girlfriend, who, after he leaves her to take care of Karada, wants to start a new life.

This is Asatte no Houkou, and I will state, ZOMG!

I had first seen this anime about a year ago at a big Anime party a friend had thrown, and was quite impressed. I had only reseen the first episode last week-end, and it was better than I remember it being. (Trust me, after watching ALL of Jubei-chan before this, memory was hazy).

So, before tl;dr kicks in, let us get down to brass tacks.

My initial (re)impressions of this show were a bit skeptical as to “Ok, this sounds like a gender-bender”, until I remembered that a woman and a loli young girl exchanging ages wasn’t gender switching. Flawless art work (an EXCELLENT opening sequence, I may add. EXCELLENT I SAY!), a well thought out story of romance/friendship/family/comedy/drama/slice-of-life, good soundtrack (did I mention the AWESOME opening?) and an incredible delivery have made this my recommended rain-day old anime to check this summer. Or anytime.

I’ll take a minute to say that the characters in this series all have a depth to them that has been lost compared to most anime nowadays. The two leads (Karada and Shoko) show immense self-awareness, from knowing their strength to understanding how this is affecting those around them. Even secondary characters, like Tetsu and Touko, have more depth an development than many leads. This development really manifests itself later in the series.

Note though, If you read the manga of this, things are different for select characters (Mainly Tetsu and Karada).

Some points worth a mention:

Karada is hawt as an 18-year-old.
Shoko is cute as an 8-year-old.
This show has an awesome opening.

I’m trying to watch quite a number of shows ATM (neko knows how this feels), and between Queen’s Blade, Maboraho, UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie and Otoboku, I’ve become a sad form of a man, vegetative and grumpy. Personally, I can’t wait to start reviewing full episodes of this (and a few others as well), and hope most of you will watch (or remember, if you’re old like me) this adventure unfold.