DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Don_Don_Kun said: Eudaimonia said: Simply beautiful. This episode managed to impress me on several levels: The male protagonist received some really solid characterization, not through internal monologues (which is far too often the case in anime) but through his interactions with others and lots of little details revealing a multi-facetted personality behind the rather plain character design. The budding romance was depicted in a very sweet and natural manner that didn't feel forced or overly cheesy and it's great to see a natural sibling-relationship for once. The sound effects and BGM stood out in a positive way and added a lot to several scenes and the scenery composition was drop-dead gorgeous on some occasions. Yeah, this is how you use your setting: Show, don't tell us about it as this episode successfully avoided any major infodumps to tell its story and instead dropped some subtle hints about the character's backgrounds. There is a lot of ambition behind this series and I certainly hope it will succeed in bringing all these interesting ideas together in a satisfying manner. Great write up! It echoed a lot of my thoughts on the first episode and gave some good insight into quite a few elements! For a first episode in a fantasy show, I was actually pleasantly surprised. The characterization was quite solid overall - as previously noted, the sibling relationship was portrayed fairly realistically, which is something we (sadly) rarely see in modern anime. As for the protagonist, while he came across as your typical shounen male harbouring sentiments of revenge, there was something about his demeanour and actions that made him easy to relate to. While the physical setting wasn't really explored in detail, I felt the strong screenplay more than made up for this by showcasing the beauty of the natural landscape - succeeding in the element of visual immersion. Likewise, the show avoided the pitfall of stale infodumping (ie. via external narration or an unnatural-sounding script) by weaving in a more character-driven narrative. Simply hearing the characters exchange remarks about the floating island was more than enough to get a sense of the world around them. That said, I do hope the series will expand upon the setting in later episodes by getting more into the political situation . My main complaint about this episode (as many others have already noted) was that what is likely to be the show's core romance felt a bit sudden - not that it was unreasonable, rather I've never been a fan of the whole "love at first sight" trope. But other than that, a very solid first episode and I'll be looking forward to seeing what direction the show goes. Hopefully it doesn't take a nosedive (hehe) due to the small episode count, adaptation decay or just poor writing. I think what made it work was that the presentation of his feelings wasn't overboarding and only shined through some short but poignant outbursts of rage concealed by his rather ordinary appearance and him getting to display a wide range of emotions throughout the episode. Indeed, I very much prefer a show that reveals the unique aspects of its world in small steps rather than getting spoon-fed. Regarding that I thought the bike ride through the clouds was a clever way not only to build up an emotional scene but also in showcasing its setting and using it to its advantage. Based on the intro I'm pretty sure this show will follow that parh eventually though I hope it skips the rather mundane scenes hinted at in the OP, it would be very disappointing if a singe-cours anime wasted its time on beach episodes or any stale anime formula for that matter. While some parts might have bordered on saccharine it still managed to steer clear of that pitfall for the most part. That or I'm just a hopeless romantic, haha. |
EudaimoniaJan 7, 2014 8:02 AM
 |
Amarrez said: Our MC really doesn't waste anytime, huh? Hope it stays that way |
| The music choice is a classic for such kinds of anime. And the black haired girl is really damn cute, I hope to see much more of her scenes in the future because her presence is really what made the episode for me. Looks like a great start for a Romance Drama anime. :) |
 |
| hmmm romance...okay why not, just already at 1 ep? Fast O.o Show's looking pretty interesting so I'll keep watching this and I liked OST ^^ ooking forward to next episode :D |
yellowperil said: I wonder what Kal-El's reaction will be when he found out that Claire is Nina Viento. Great first episode so far. Agreed. This anime shows promise. The two reactions shown when he saw Claire and Nina (on the plane) were crazy different. Maybe he'll pull a knife or something when he finds out. |
HESTIA   APPROVES |
| The romance happened a little bit fast imo but other than that the first episode was really well done, and I think this show has the potential to be really good |
| yay, adventure, flying, cute love story. seems to me like a more genki version of "last exile" with love. ^^ i have to watch the movie in the next days. and some fligjt stuff reminds me a little bit of "captain Balu", wich isnt a bad thing. =D aaand the opening is something, i like it alot, song and scenes! ending looks also rly great! ureshii~~! ^^ |
| Will probably keep watching this series look alright so far |
yellowperil said: so that's the drama for this series? got some last exile feel too, especially when with the 2-man planeI wonder what Kal-El's reaction will be when he found out that Claire is Nina Viento. Great first episode so far. will see another episode, hope not all budget already used in that opening scene :) |
| Not really into romance so that aspect of the show i don't really care for but I really like everything else about this series just hope the romance doesn't overshadow everything else in the future. |
| I really enjoyed the setting and they really set the story up well for the other episodes. Excellent first episode that makes you want to watch more. I still can't get the feeling of Allison & Lillia and Fractale out of my head though. I hope that's just my mind playing tricks on me though. |
| Ok™ |
| A little cheesy but still a good watch. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| A mediocre episode. There was barley any establishment to the show other than the romance which was disgustingly rushed. The first two minutes of this episode tried to reel the viewers in with a boring excuse of a dog fight with shaky camera angles that would make J. J. Abrams nauseous, all to take away attention from the poor CGI. The characters didn't draw me in and instead pushed me away at this point. The chemistry between the characters was unbearable as well. Overall poor presentation for a first episode, it is trying to set up too much in a short amount of time and I just can't grasp onto what kind of show it wants to be. |
DurbikinsJan 7, 2014 9:57 PM
 |
| I think it was a good start ^^ |
| I'm not that big of a plane fanatic but the brother and sister bickering is pretty entertaining. Good first episode. |
  |
| Hmm, the smell of tragedy though. |
bla bla bla The endless debate between fans and haters. At one point, after spending a lot of time on MAL, you just realize it's totally pointless.Niko-kun said: On MAL, everyone who has used the lame rating system becomes a critic and an intellectual by default, haven't you heard? |
| This is one of the bests of Winter 2014 so far. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
xXwehrabooXx said: The physics and engineering is however downright appalling. Without a massive amount of power, your plane can't take off like that, especially when you rotate your goddamned wings, losing all the lift you can get as you now have no surface area to ride the air on. And two engined heavy fighters engaged in turnfighting with a single engine light fighter and actually somehow working? What kind of crap is this? The idea of a single engine aircraft is that so it's lighter, therefore less inertia and therefore a much tighter turning circle. Not to mention, how did the twin engine heavy fighters not break apart pulling all those Gs with their rotating wings? This show is not bad, but the physics is just downright appalling and painful to watch. Add in propeller powered giant airship and propeller powered floating island |
| A friend and I started ShoukoChan Anime T-shirts. We design modern and fashionable anime T-shirts you'd love to wear on a day out. Come check us out! |
Katsurararagi said: Gives me sort of an Allison and Lillia vibe which I love and despite the fast romantic development, I thought it was a good introductory episode. Just watched Allison and Lillia just to see if it feels similar. Yep, definitely got its vibes. Wil could learn a thing or two from Superman Kal-el. |
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness." "May those who defy their fate be granted glory." |
| I got so huge Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku - vibes from the beginning that it's chilling :o This has potential to be a really good series, the movie which this spin-off is based on was such a great one after all :) |
 |
| Kal-el shouting furiously at Nina's name was really random. Anyway, it was a good episode but still has tons of unexplained stuff. |
| Nice romance, i hope they don't ruin it. |
| Loved the art style, characters and animation. Felt a little too rushed with the love scene though, and at times (e.g. When he was standing in-front of the lake) the art looked really copy and pasted. Overall not bad. |
| Clark seems kind of bi-polar in this episode. Dude's all happy and then mad as fuck all of a sudden, then he's head over heels over some girl. |
 |
| Well, I can tell I'm in a minority here. I thought the episode was rather boring, at the 5 minute mark I was starting to regret my decision to try it. However, I will say that the second half of the episode was enough to at least make me give another episode or two a try. I can't make a fair assessment of this series from this one rather lackluster episode. I'm yet to be impressed by the winter season's line-up, but I'm open to suggestions. So far, for winter 2014, I've tried this and Witch Craft Works. I'm also about to try Hamatora. I may have missed some of the winter 2013 line-up so feel free to message me with suggestions(since it would probably be frowned upon in this thread). But, I digress, this episode had beautiful visuals. The scenery was very well done, and nice to look at. The brother/sister relationship has a natural dynamic, but god she's such an annoying character! The weird white haired guy was mysterious, but not so much that it made want to know anything about his mysteriousness. Kal-el, seriously? Anywho, regardless of the name issues, he's very much the human male teenager and unsupervised to boot! He seems bipolar to an extreme, I think I have mental whiplash from keeping up with his emotional trainwrecks from pole to opposite pole. Claire? She's cute, definitely the sheltered nobility type of girl, but really? A noble interacting with a "commoner" like that? I don't care if he is Superman, that just doesn't work. Oh, and physics? Good lord, don't even go there. Planes don't work like that, that's all I'm gonna say there. The dynamic between Claire and Kal was realistic enough(until I found out she's a noble), I could see two normal teens interacting like that if there wasn't such a gap in status. Even if he really is a prince, she doesn't know that yet. Unless she's hiding something, like has been suggested, but even then if she knew him prior to this encounter he should also know her, there's been no hint towards any amnesia in his background. So, overall, I'll give another episode or two a try before making any real assessments of the show. /endrant |
| Odds are I'm not going to find my way back to a thread after my first post, it happens on occasion but not often. So, if I say something that offends you and you feel the need to force your opinion on me because obviously everyone should have your opinion or none at all, feel free to post it in the thread that I'll probably never see again. However, if you are interested in intelligent discourse, feel free to message me. |
| Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this :) Quick romance development, just the way I like it. |
 |
Leio said: This is one of the bests of Winter 2014 so far. +1 |
| I wonder if my interpretation of Ignacio is correct or if there's something deeper there... |
| There is no such thing as shit taste. Only idiots who think everyone should have the same taste as they do. |
| Can't find character info anywhere god demn i want to know more about this Ignacio. |
<img src="http://i41.tinypic.com/inhkdz.jpg" border="0" /> |
| This anime has supernatural ? I liked, the scenery is good. |
 |
| I guess its back to the 'couple matching game' LOL |
 |
| nice :3 7/10 that moment when kal see viento nina O.O so unexpecting btw the emotion on this show is good :3 I like when kal throwing the stone :p and that girl.. :3 hoho I see some romance.. hope its gonna be great.. so much flying things~~~ |
| Loved the first episode, can't wait for more. This anime is gonna get really good i have a feeling. |
| Not bad for a pilot episode. The romance was developed too fast though. |
| Totally agree that the romance escalated so quickly. So far, I really enjoyed the first episode. I really laugh at the part when their plane almost got blown by the wind and the "Save me, Same me" tease. |
| Romance. Taking its fleet already. Great animation. Nice opening. Potential Rivalry. An okay humor. and the line with no guarantee to come back. And already creating a breach for me to watch the next ep. |
| Our anime starts with adrenaline pumping action in the form of aerial combat, I am thinking 'Okay haven't seen something like this in a while, could be interesting' Then our hero spouts a very shounen line "I'll protect everyone" or something like that, the funny part? We haven't even started the opening yet and already he saying things like that, yeah, that's a good sign! After the generic opening, we see our hero, who the subbers have hilariously decided to name Kal-El engaging in flashbacks before saying goodbye to his family(adoptive?) and riding off with his sister who's upbeat, mischievous and likes to poke fun at her brother...like every other little sister of every other main character we have seen before. Then we meet the cold, mysterious and grumpy pretty boy who I like to call McBroody, who does nothing the entire episode then act mysterious and give the hero cold looks, why? I don't know, stalking is his hobby? Half way into the show and we still have no idea what the hero's motivation is, we get some not so subtle inklings about a revenge plot but with very little details on the how or why. We don't even know why he's joining this military academy, all we know is that he doesn't want to be there...but at the beginning I distinctly remember him apologizing to his sister for dragging her along...so you don't want to be there but you have to, and this would have been fine, if it had been explored further, but no time for that when you have theunnaturally developed and hastily jump started romance plot with what appears to be the moe character of the show, that makes our main character forget all about his revenge plot and his desire to be elsewhere...bloody wonderful... The show attempts to do some world building, and I won't lie the world does seem interesting to an extent, but besides that there is nothing to draw you in, no problem that is facing the protagonist, no clear motivation or goal besides the vengeance thing that isn't even explained, which is fine, if you actually made the character interesting enough that we can wait for the explanation in later episodes, but he isn't; honestly if the main character died in the next episode I probably would only be surprised that the studio went with a non cliched event, but wouldn't really care about Kal/Carl. Animation is pretty much hit and miss, one could see that they really want to raise the quality during the important scenes but drop them to huge lows during others, guess the budget wasn't as much as they'd hoped. I know, I know its only one episode, but if the first episode can't even get me to want to check out the second to give the show a fair chance, then it has failed in every sense of the word. |
| This was a fascinating first episode and seems like a promising series. I really like the fantasy setting, it's a nice change of pace. Planes usually aren't my thing, but it was pretty intense watching them go at it and I felt the weight of the planes like when the white haired guy landed hard. That was pretty intense when Kal's eyes got red and it did some screeching noise in the background on that brief flashback. Also Claire is really cute and it seems like the romance is kicking off asap which is nice. Kind of puts me in the mood for Ace Combat now. |
 |
| I was bored through most of the episode. That bit of romance at the end saved it. |
  |
More topics from this board
Poll: » Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )Amarrez - Mar 31, 2014 |
191 |
by Alkimia
»»
Feb 23, 11:16 AM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )Stark700 - Mar 24, 2014 |
111 |
by Alkimia
»»
Feb 23, 10:38 AM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 )Stark700 - Mar 10, 2014 |
81 |
by Alkimia
»»
Feb 22, 7:55 PM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )Stark700 - Jan 27, 2014 |
189 |
by Alkimia
»»
Feb 22, 2:03 PM |
|
» Is it one big love triangle?Gamewolf - Mar 23, 2014 |
12 |
by ZGUEGCHOV
»»
Feb 25, 2022 1:23 AM |