Subculture Anime Blog

TRIAL AND ERROR!

Summary:

Arriving in Tokyo, Sora starts to travel towards the magic institute. Dazing off during a bus ride, she remembers her mother’s parting words. Meanwhile, a boy named Midorikawa Gouta leaves his father in annoyance after receiving his usual allowance. When an automotive accident occurs in the city, Gouta does his best to help an elderly woman on the street. Sora, on the other hand, stops a large falling truck from injuring several people. Sora recieves many words of praise afterwards, but as Gouta asks about her display of magic, Sora states that she needs more training. Gouta thinks otherwise, and when Sora asks for directions towards the magic institute, he only suggests that she continue walking. While continuing to search for the institute, Sora reveals that magic abilities are decided by D.N.A.. In her case, her father was a mage. After certain magic users are old enough, they would have to receive training. The two things that Sora has to do are to receive internship from a mage, and study under an institute to be recognized as a mage.

Sora finally makes it to the magic institute, but she finds that she is extremely late. When Sora enters one of the classrooms, she is easily recognized by the professor inside. After Sora introduces herself to the class, the professor announces an immediate test for everyone. Afterwards, one of the girls from the class treats Sora to a drink. She introduces herself as Yamabuki Hiyori, quickly getting on good terms with Sora. Hiyori then reveals the previous professor’s name as Kawada, and her assistant as Morishita. When everyone returns to the classroom for the next assignment, Sora finally notices that Gouta is also there. Kawada-sensei soon has the students display their magic ability, asking for them to turn water into ice. Sora amazes several of the students with her ability to create a chandelier-like display, but a girl named Asagi Honomi refuses to lose to her. Honomi suddenly asks if the rumor that there is magic that could bring the dead back to life is true, but Kawada-sensei explains that this is logically impossible. A boy named Kuroda Kouji soon introduces himself and states that this is obvious, but Honomi accuses him of copying her when she sees that his ice looks quite like hers. The rest of the class continues to be amazed by Sora’s display, so Honomi and Kouji are disappointed when they are not given the chance to redo their projects. Meanwhile, Gouta stares frustratingly at the water that he was unable to change.

Sora expresses how exhausted she is after leaving the classroom, but Kouji states that this is a given since she has just come all the way from Hokkaido. With this, the two share a bit of small talk while out in the city. Later, Sora becomes fascinated with the stores around Tokyo When she finally reaches the magic office, she is happily greeted by Hara Seiichirou. Seiichirou allows Sora to go to her room, stating that there is another trainee staying at the office. When Sora reaches her room, she is surprised to see Gouta outside. Of course, he is actually the other trainee who will be staying with her.

Preview: Sora.

Impression:

Sorry, I had to say it again. So like, I’m glad that the pressure from the series first impressions batch is gone now. That means I can enjoy this show on my own time, which is really how one should approach shows like this. This episode introduced the true setting of the story, as well as many of the main characters that will be interacting with Sora. I really loved the transition from the countryside to the city, because I could relate to seeing such changes while traveling around the area I live in. I was actually surprised to hear Inoue Marina play Honomi, but I thought the role was played very well (it might be weird coming from Sekirei to this on Wednesdays though, since she plays a character in there as well). Gouta is obviously going to play a big role in the story, and his difficulty with magic will probably be the main conflict with his character. I’m sure Sora will work some magic so that he will open up to her eventually.

There has been a lot of talk about the visuals in this show, so I thought i’d just give some of my thoughts on this. If it wasn’t already apparent, I absolutely love the visuals. This includes the photographic backgrounds, as well as the stylish character animation. I think many people forget that animation can actually be a form of art, rather than a simple form of entertainment. Out of the hundreds of anime I have watched, there have been few that I would whole heartedly consider artworks. It may be that so many people are turned off by style changes and creativity these days, that it just doesn’t happen very often. Natsu no Sora may make the list for me though. I also love the attention to detail this series has displayed so far. Simple things, like the conversations in the background while Sora traveled through Tokyo, just made this episode all the more easy to connect to.

Rants and serious business aside, I also loved Sora’s room! Next week should be just as awesome, though I’m sure the previews will be close to worthless every time in helping us guess what the episodes will be about.