Kobato. – 01

HALLELUJAH!

It’s finally here! CLAMP’s latest piece is now an anime. We have Kobato Hanata [CV: Kana Hanazawa], origin unknown, coming down to Earth with a mission…

And that’s to win SaiMoe 2010.

Nah just kidding~ Kobato is here to heal scarred hearts and collect each shards on a special bottle. But before she can do that, she must get that bottle before, that’s why she’s currently taking Ioryogi’s test, which is also her companion, to see if she can live in the human world.

But before that could even start… OP sequence TIEM!!

OP: “Magic Number (マジックナンバー)” by Maaya Sakamoto

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwBOKHCIk0Y

Well Maaya Sakamoto… First of all, I’m still recovering from her dark and villainous role in CANAAN as Alphard so the visions of her singing a very energetic, bright and cutesy song is just funny. But on the other hand, this is mahou shoujo OP done right! Maaya Sakamoto is putting up a fantastic OP to start off this fantastic series ^^. Also, costumes? Check. We’ve been given a glimpse from Kobato’s eternal closet. The Chi-family and Kohaku’s nowhere to be found here yet though…

We have Kobato and Ioryogi on their “secret base”. Yosh~ plan for yer mission!!

Err- Kobato’s not taking it so much seriously so she got her CLAMP butt fried in just a few minutes at the start of the show. Don’t worry girl, one of the rules of anime is that you could get burned without turning to ashes ^^.

So she better get on her butt and start her mission and less dumbness~

Oops. Too late. Fried again…

Ok it’s official. This dog is srs scary.

Nuuu~ I feel bad for Kobato having her hair burnt T__T. But she still looks cute because it’s on chibi and it’s… Kobato~

Ok, here’s some trash. It’s just simple. You just have to throw it on the bin. You know, B-I-N. That stinky thing in front of you.

”’orz

This is why you must not trust crows…

And this is why you must not trust random CLAMP guys walking down the street… No matter how bishified CLAMP made these strangers look like.

And this is why you should trust Ioryogi. Because a fire-breathing dog knows best.

Nooo!!! These dirty bastards are touching our angel!!! Poor innocent Kobato!!! Needs HALP!!

:cute:  :kyaa2:  :blush2: KYAAAA~!!!

Yeah, beat them up~

It’s none other than Fujimoto!!! My fangirl senses are officially saying that this is the first encounter of fate~ Ok so there’s so much reason to love Fujimoto right now already.He is obviously the cool yet mean type, but he’s secretly kind. Look, he’s rude to Kobato but he did saved her so duh~ Kyaaaa <33 *fangirls* But for now, he’s still a stranger to Kobato so~

Too bad it seems like Fujimoto’s already focused on different other things and several jobs. But we can say that this could lead to something more later on~ So yeah..

DAMNIT! They could have at least bumped! Lol.

Urgh~ but obvious hints are obvious that these two will meet along again somehow, since it’s shown here not meeting. Lol ironic xD.

Anyway, back to Kobato being… uh, Dobato.

”’orz

Don’t worry, it’s the ball’s fault. It has a boomerang inside it. That’s one of the mysteries of these show, actually.

You can do better Kobato, try being a waitress and serve these old lolicons some Nabe. So here’s how to make Nabe, Kobato style:

Drop the veggies fast, before it gets air contaminated.

MEAT of course, since vegetarians are so last season.

MILK, calcium and bones…

CHOCOLATE, for… happiness?

And this random thing I forgot how it’s called but it’s shown so much in several other anime. Anywho, look at Kobato’s face on how she’s enjoying it.

And here’s the finished product:

Looks like someone jumped in that bowl and died… Probably that’s how the river Styx from hell would look like.

But the thing is, PEOPLE LOVE IT. Yet again, another one of the mysteries of CLAMP and this show…

Anyway, going on with the obvious…

THESE BUNNY COMMERCIAL EYECATCHES ARE FREAKING ADORABLE!!!

I want to take them all home!!! Plushies, please? I made y’all gifs! Though the second one looks just screwed up but it is what it is on the anime actually… Are you questioning my gif-making skillz?!

Uwaa *AAA* Bunnies <3

Anyway, moving one with another cute thing…

No, not the baby..

THIS:

And do you know what makes Kobato officially more awesome?

THIS:

Girl can sing. She has a very angelic voice! Kana Hanazawa is just plain awesome. I already started having confidence about her singing after hearing her Bakemonogatari OP, which sounded very cute and awesome, but this one for sure nails it. Ok, so it isn’t all that perfect but at least it still keeps with the cuteness.

Kobato -The Musical-. Yep~ And it’s just very fitting with the cold Sakura background in her Lol Sakura memorial lol. And I must say that the animation here is great. Probably the only great one throughout the entire episode.

So idol Kobato do want? She’s already popular and it just took one episode. That’s our Kobato *tear*~

And after all that…

She fails the test.

…Just kidding, thanks to the grandma that gave gratitude to her, making Ioryogi convinced to pass her in the test.

Congrats Kobato~!!! You finally received the cutest bottle I have ever seen in my entire life.

Uwaa *AAA* it’s just a very pwetty bottle~

D’awww @ that signature smile. Aww~ It’s the end of the episode already?

ED: “ Jellyfish’s Confession (ジェリーフィッシュの告白)” by Megumi Nakajima

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTXnZstQPBs

Well we have a rolling bottle for an ending sequence. I guess this one’s better heard than seen. The song is very calm and soothing, and Ranka Lee Megumi Nakajima’s back to being listenable again. Make moar songs like this hunnie, definitely better than her whole recent album. But overall, it’s not what I had expected to be, since I thought we’ll get to see Ioryogi dancing to an energetic ED T__T.

—

Hell yes~!! This is surely one of my favorite shows of the season already. I noticed they cut off a few parts in the manga to make the exam part shorter, I guess. If it is for the good then I’m ok with it. I personally didn’t like that part too much btw.

The animation isn’t the best one around, but it’s still keeping up with the cuteness so it’s still win. Props for MADHOUSE making a series that’s not what they’re used on making. I love the backgrounds, especially with the lush cherry blossoms in this episode. I’m alright with the character designs. Also, I can’t wait to see Kobato in different outfits each and every episode~

On the seiyuus, I would totally give so much props to Kana Hanazawa since she’s definitely shaping up to be the best moe-voicing seiyuus currently. Kobato’s voice is just A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E to bits and the dojikko-ness is working effectively. Not to mention about her singing too ^^. I can’t wait for more song numbers and a mini album for all the singing ^__^. Ioryogi is also pure win as well. Tetsu Inada, who also voiced another CLAMP character before (Kurogane from Tsubasa Chronicles), is also doing a great job being a furious dog ^^. Fujimoto is voiced by Maeno Tomoaki, which is auto-ship on Kana Hanazawa already since they had played a couple role already in Someday’s Dreamer’s ~Summer Sky~ so I’m confident about how much chemistry will play on with their voices. I can’t wait for the other characters to show up soon, and on how Kohaku will play out, since she’s been always in the promos.

So yup~ I’m definitely sticking to this. It’s fun, heart-warming, sweet, comedic, and fangiling too~ Yup!!!

>> Screenshots @ Komatome