Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan – First Episode Review

Episode Summary: While many more dramatic things are going on in the outside world, the girls take a reprieve to train and hone their skills.  Ryuubi notices that she’s gained a bit of weight around the middle, and begins trying to lose the extra poundage.  First she attempts a new training regimen with the help of the others, but she has a long way to go before reaching their level of expertise.  Then she attempts the “don’t eat anything” method, but the starvation diet just makes her wake up in the middle of the night in search of snacks.  The others wonder what could be wrong with her, and come to the conclusion that Ryuubi might be pregnant.

Dr. Kada and General Kasshin arrive just as Ryuubi is going into labor; Kada can tell right away that the problem is actually food poisoning from some rotten preserved bamboo shoots and so he uses acupuncture to heal her.  Then he implores the others to help Kasshin, who has become the victim of a vicious curse.  She was force-fed a cursed pill that is slowly transforming her into a cat, her most hated animal, and the antidote requires three very rare ingredients.  The group pledges to help, and they split into groups in order to obtain the ingredients.

Thoughts: Did anyone else read the title as “Otome Train” when they first read it?  No? Guess it was just me.

I was actually considering not bothering with this episode.  While I believe that checking out sequels of series one hasn’t seen isn’t a waste of time since good sequels will make the viewer want to go back and check out the original, this is the third installment of a series that I haven’t watched at all and really have no interest in.  However, while reading the season synopsis on another website, I really had to chuckle; since when to cat girls have anything to do with classic Chinese literature? So even though I figured it would probably be a waste of my time, I watched the episode anyway.

I’d love to say something like, “and boy I’m glad I took the time to check this out!” but unfortunately that would be a lie. While the synopsis is pretty funny, the first episode meanders around and wastes time putting the characters into awkward situations to garner a few cheap yuks before diving into the meat of the story, which to be honest is about as meaty as a vegetarian Thanksgiving.  The episode wasn’t even half over before two of the characters ended up on the floor in a compromising position together, though I do have to give the writers props for referencing the situation later on, including having one of the younger characters claim that one of the two in the supposed tryst was “hung like a horse” (and yes, both characters are female – just try to piece that one together if you can). I couldn’t quite tell if the writers were consciously lamp shading the fact that the characters are all female versions of male heroes, but kudos if it was on purpose.  There are a few panty shots now and then, but not enough for me to really feel that the creators were really putting their hearts into it – since it’s the third season I’m betting that they’re probably operating on cruise control while they rake in the dough.  There’s also, of course, a brief bathing scene, which makes liberal use of convenient anime fog to distort any boobalicious views, though I suspect that this is just an artifact of the early-broadcast version I obtained.

I would probably be marginally more enthusiastic about this show if it featured some more action.  Though I don’t recall it very well, I do remember the first episode of season 1 having multiple fight scenes.  While that wasn’t enough to keep me watching, it was at least enough to keep me from falling asleep.  This episode focuses more on character interaction rather than story progression, and while this could very well change as the episodes unfold, so much focus on an ever-growing cast of characters who don’t really interest me as people doesn’t bode well for the possibility of investing my time further. All is not lost however; though brief, there’s a very well-animated training battle partway through the episode that’s worth watching (remember when I mentioned that sakuga doesn’t necessarily only show up in great series? Here you go.)

This is really all I have to say about the show.  I might be disappointing some readers (though from others I might be denying them some fuel for their anger with me) but there’s just not enough for me to love or hate with this show.  It’s a good example of what happens when creators let things go on auto pilot; the show is everything that’s profitable and nothing that’s too offensive or that pushes boundaries too far. At this point, I’m just curious as to how much further it will go before petering out into obscurity.

Pros:

• The overall plot for this season at least sounded like it could be amusing.
• There’s one well-animated action scene in the episode.

Cons:

• The whole affair seems as though it’s the result of its creators not really caring anymore – the plot and characters just feel as though they’re phoned-in.
• Rather than dive right into the plot, there’s a whole bunch of useless, goofy character antics.

Recommended? No.  It’s not something geared towards new viewers of the series, and the premise is just kind of used-up at this point.