Kamisama Dolls – First Impressions

First Impressions

So here is another late First Impression of an anime.

Even though this was a Brain’s Base series, when I first saw Kamisama Dolls, the poster turned me off, the “cute” looking robot with two females on the front made me think that it was going to be a mellow slice-of-life anime about a bunch of girls, but if I had actually bothered to look at the plot summary and the categories of the episodes I would know it was not. Afterall, the words “Super Powers” kinda gives it away.

Does that poor girl not get a backache from her boobs?

Plot summary

Kyouhei, an ex-seki (Noble Shrine Doll User) recently moved to Tokyo from a forgotten village after being disowned due to unknown reasons from the past. One day after a party, Kyouhei and the girl he likes (Hibino) discovers a dead body in a lift. That night Aki, a Blood-Maniac, attacks Kyouhei and his sister who was sent to Tokyo to capture Aki. In the process, Kyouhei’s house gets destroyed and is forced to live with Hibino and her dad together with his sister who he is meant to help train up her skills as a Shrine Doll User.

Review

Now, I have mixed feelings about the first episode. I did fear that this was going to be filled with fan-service and would lack in quality. However, whilst there were a few fan service moments in it, the plot maintained a serious and relatively dark atmosphere. I actually like the two male characters in the first episode (go figure) and have yet to form much of an opinion on the two female leads. Utao’s role is that of a clingy/slight-brother-complex younger sister who has a cute attitude whilst Hibino on the other hand is meant to be the attractive unattainable girl who is nice and kind and has really big breasts. Thank god that the fan service in the show was done relatively tastefully and in a subtle manner, thus the scenes were not obscene, which meant that the female viewers would not actually get turned off by it.

One thing that I don’t really understand is the sudden and immediate one-sided bond that Hibino has for Utao. I understand that perhaps Hibino sees Utao as a younger sister that she has never had, but her enthusiasm was a bit odd, even if it was in character.

On the note of Super Human Powers (AniDB category description), I don’t think you can consider controlling a robot-looking “god” as a power, at least not as a super-human power, though Kyouhei’s reflexes and ability to protect his sister was quite superhuman i.e. when she was toss against a wall. How did he appear behind her from the other corner of the room anyway? I guess his speed is related to his past.

Speaking of Kyouhei, there was this scene right after Aki tosses Utao out the window where he got really angry. Was I the only one who wanted a typical “powers released” scene when Aki kept taunting Utao. I appreciate the fact that they did not do that and instead went in a different direction but… I was disappointed because I wanted to see some cliche ass kicking.

In the end, the first episode left some questions as the base of the series for the viewers: What is the village? Who are these gods? And what is the relationship between Kyouhei and Aki?

The episode seem to have killed off Aki, but I refuse to believe that he is dead as that would not make sense due to the good deal of time spent in the episode at hinting at Kyouhei’s and Aki’s dark past. I guess I will just have to watch the next few episodes to see and let you know.

The animation in this series is crisp and since it is a Brain’s Base production you know that there will be a certain level of animation quality. I also love the color palette that they have chosen for this series which is a pastel-darkish sort of palette as compared to the vibrant palette of Mawaru Penguindrum or the light pastel tones of Natsume Yuujinchou. I just hope that this is a hint to the atmosphere of where this story is going to go toward – a more mature plot. Afterall, Brain’s Base already has a slice-of-life and a comedy anime running this season, what better way to top it off than for some nice action.

Brain’s Base really is dominating this season with a bunch of not just entertaining but quality anime. I just hope that this series lives up to my expetations of it.

Rating: 7.5/10

Review Summary: The first episode was a bit of a roller-coaster ride for me due to the slight inconsistency in the mood due to the random light humour thrown into the midst of some serious situations. Overall, it was a decent episode with some action moments.