Jan 31 2009
Winter Anime Review: Asu no Yoichi - Ep 3
Asu no Yoichi – Ep 3
Studio: AIC
Genre: Harem Comedy
Talent is introducing and ruining two characters within one episode while still telling a mostly fulfilling story.
The Story
Two more characters are introduced in episode three in the form of Tsubasa and her caretaker (for lack of a better term) Angela. Followers of the Swallow Benten style of martial arts, they have arrived in the city for one reason and that is to defeat Yoichi. Hired by a mysterious person who promised money and support to rebuild their school, the two will infiltrate the school in order to accomplish their goal.
Good and the Bad
One thing that ‘Asu no Yoichi’ has managed to do well so far is to keep things unpredictable. While the initial episode was filled with pratfalls and boob jokes, slowly the series has managed to pull itself away from that and begin setting up their jokes in much less predictable ways. I can’t even think of a single instance in this episode where Yoichi accidently grabs someone’s breast and for ‘Asu no Yoichi’, I’m willing to see that as a positive first step.
The addition of Tsubasa and Angela to the cast adds an interesting twist to the series. Not that they are there in the first place, honestly when they first appeared it became very easy for me to draw out a map in my head of how I thought the episode was going to play out. Imagine my surprise upon seeing something new and even funny thrown in every few minutes.
As the villains of the episode, these two are really presented as well as they could be. Despite requiring fan service in order to actually play their roles (yes, “require” is the correct word there), the two are established very quickly as dangerous adversaries for Yoichi to fight. Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t get too attached to these character designs as by the end of the episode they will be completely different. Without giving away major spoilers for the episode, it is worth noting how frustrating the final few moments of the episode are.
For most of the episode, the audience gets to know these two as the tough warrior villain characters but then they are completely repackaged. It seems a little redundant to get to know them as one character type only to have to re-get to know them afterwards. There are many other things to enjoy about this episode though. The jokes are definitely getting funnier as the characters become more familiar and the relationships are already starting to take shape.
Music
It’s been long established that music is not the focal point of ‘Asu no Yoichi’ and there’s no real reason why it should be. Mostly electronic sounding, there’s little that stands out in the musical department and even the battle themes managed to stay in the background remaining less than memorable.
Cast
It’s very easy to pick Hitomi Nabatame as Angela and Yui Makino as Tsubasa in this episode. All throughout the episode these two really presented characters that were instantly likable. Just very well done throughout and while it’s easy to see how Tsubasa could get annoying in future episodes, Makino really keeps that in check here.
Overall
There’s little about ‘Asu no Yoichi’ that makes it really stand out from the rest but it’s enjoyable. The jokes remain fairly predictable thus far but the story has presented enough twists and quirks to keep it interesting and fun. I may not stick with this series all the way through to the end but as long as ‘Asu no Yoichi’ keeps giving out an entertaining story than I’m willing to turn off my brain for 30 minutes and laugh.
