First Impression – Sousei no Onmyouji
In Japan you need to start setting them up early before they can form harems
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Time got away from me and now this anime is 2 episodes in, but I feel like the 2nd episode really rounded out what the first one introduced. So this was probably a good thing. |
Rokuro seems okay for your basic lead protagonist. There wasn’t too much focus on how much he liked regular daily life since most of the first episodes have been onmyouji stuff. His desire not to become an onmyouji was pretty genuine though, and whatever happened in his past really must have been tragic. Though it seems pretty safe to assume that Rokuro’s friends were all killed while fighting Kegare and that’s what has stopped him from wanting to become an onmyouji. Maybe there are other circumstances too, since you would think that he would want to prevent other Kegare from killing people by becoming an onmyouji. But the anime is surely going to go into that later.
On the other hand, there’s Benio. There’s not a lot to say about her quite yet, since she doesn’t say much. I do hope they go in to why she wears a fox mask when nobody else seems to (though as far as aesthetics go, she certainly looks the coolest). However, my first impression of her was that she kind of seems like she’s a bit behind Rokuro. She has his old mentality about onmyouji, and she seems to struggle in battles when Rokuro probably could have finished things in half the time she did. Though seeing how their battle types are different, that might explain some things. Plus maybe she can make the “becoming the strongest onmyouji” thing work where Rokuro failed. Having both characters as protagonists works well story wise too. The second episode ignored Rokuro a bit to show what was happening over with Benio. …Even though she was in a conversation about Rokuro.
If Rokuro’s best stat is strength, then Benio’s is speed. If we’re going by RPG logic, then they have a well balanced team. …Or they will at least whenever they inevitably start working together. It’s also nice that Benio can fight too and isn’t stuck in a healer role or something. From the first episode, it seemed like he was more powerful just from that one hit K.O. where Benio struggled so much, but the second episode helped even them out. It still seems like Rokuro has the upper hand a bit just because it seems like he has to exert less effort while fighting, but maybe even further episodes will prove that they’re equally strong, since that seems to be what Arima implied. Plus different Kegare seem to have different traits (such as some having tougher skin than others), so there will probably be need for both of their strengths.
There’s still a lot that this anime could go in to, such as what Kegare even are (aside from being just something that needs to be fought), what that alternate world that they go into is, or the history of how this battle all started. How does the society of the onmyouji even work? Can anyone become one? There are a lot of unanswered questions. I assume that most, if not all of these questions will be answered in the upcoming episodes. However, as far as the initial premise goes, things are pretty interesting.
What the average fan looks like when shipping their OTP.
One thing that this show also has above a lot of shows is a predestined OTP. No one seemed to question Arima (despite his personality and choice of underwear) when he said he saw a vision, so in the onmyouji world, what he says seems to be the truth. How will the protagonists react to being told that they have to marry and have a kid when they barely seem to like each other now? Will they try to fight this or will they accept it? It should be really interesting to see this relationship develop. They don’t really seem to have much chemistry so far, but watching them start to get along should be fun.
Sousei is pretty shounen-y and they haven’t quite finished the world building part, it seems. However, the fight scenes are pretty interesting (which really is the focus for a battle shounen anime) and well animated. Actually, everything in the anime so far looks pretty great. The real hook for me though is the relationship between the protagonists. Benio and Rokuro might not get along now, but it seems like half of the fun of the show will be watching their relationship develop. They’re probably going to have to wait until they’re legally old enough to get married/ have kids, so this could take a while… In the meantime, it should be interesting to see if the entire onmyouji community ships this or not. This might be the one time underaged pregnancy is encouraged.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Sousei’s by the same mangaka who wrote Binbougami-ga!/Good Luck Girl, but Sousei’s more towards action than barrels of laughter.
What does everyone think of the original fox mascot as voiced by Fukuyama Jun?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You can tell what’s intended just by the difference of the feel. Authors really try to challenge themselves by going outside their comfort zones.
For example, Index/Railgun author Kazuma Kamachi wrote Heavy Object. Gakuto Mikumo wrote both Dantalian no Shoka and Strike the Blood. Takaya Kagami wrote Seraph of the End, Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi and Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes).
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Mascot is fine, it’s standard to have mascot in series. And wow FukuJun? Didn’t recognize his voice because he sounds so spiteful just like the mascot. So he did a good job at voicing it. Besides, the author did put the mascot there by himself
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A standard supernatural show (Which isn’t a bad thing, mind you) that’s easy enough to get behind of. As it’s definitely within my strike zone, I fully intend to continue watching.
Rokuro and Benio make the ideal representation of Yin and Yang in both ability (Speed and Strength was a good description) and personality. Their first meeting is rocky, as is expected of most first encounters but as the story progresses, what makes the opposites will surely attract.
It definitely feels like RPG logic due to seeing Kegare of various shapes and sizes. Which also implies types and there will be times when Kegare will have to be destroyed by different means showing that one method won’t always work. It provides a challenge in my opinion and will keep the setting from getting dull and repetitive.
As for why Benio has a fox mask as opposed to everyone else. I believe it something that was simply made for her character to make her unique and stand out even though there’s sure to be a story wise explanation why she has one. Seraph of the End for example. Yuu has a single Japanese sword, Kimizuki has dual swords, Yoichi has a bow, Shinoa has a scythe and Mitsuba has an axe.
I had to laugh at the prophetic pairing Arima put on Rokuro and Benio. How he just told it to them out of the blue. The reactions of the two were well warranted. Ignoring the fate of the world, that’s no different than an arranged marriage.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Wow, this show is riffing really really hard on my Ranma 1/2 vibes. She is sooooooo tsun!
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
They’re 14 and already dating. I’m XX and…. *sob*
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
it’s an okay show…i hate benio though…i’m going to watch it