They all say that.
The first episode of my first show. I was attracted to this when I first heard about it, although I am very prone to falling into the ‘over-hyped show’ trap. P.A Works certainly have a good track record in quality shows, so I’m looking forward to this. I think.
Summary of Glasslip Episode 1
- An everyday summer festival at a pretty coastal town, showcasing all the main characters. Just your average opening episode, right? School is about to start again, so a merry band of 5 schoolkids make the most of what little time they have left until they have to do the daily grind again. Touko Fukami takes center stage as the assistant of a glassblower, amateur illustrator, chicken keeper, and general happy person…until the obligatory transfer student arrives into town. And now after meeting him, Touko begins to wonder what’s the meaning of life.
My Take
- P.A Works definitely got the title wrong here. Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, may I present…the Touko Fukami show. It’s blatantly obvious that she takes charge. So obvious in fact that the other 4 friends are so in the background that they’re ‘blink-and-miss’ almost. Touko acts like some kind of airhead, getting excited by the tiniest of things, pouting at her family, and saying her friends should be BFF, but I still think she certainly has a mind of her own…after all, she enjoys working at the glass factory and looks like she wants to be a glassblower herself, she enjoys sketching those silly chickens, and just…well…she just exudes happiness. But somehow, with great difficulty, I could make out who the other characters were.
- Yukinari has a crush on Touko (duh!) but nobody seems to care, but everyone already knows he has no mind of his own, and instead acts like Touko’s puppy dog. And he has such the potential of becoming a good character too…a decent character…an okay character…something to watch…one of those…
Fetch, Yukinari! There’s a good boy!
- Hiro, on the other hand, is something else. In this episode, the 2 most exciting things he does is hold a phone to his crush, Sachi, and hold a chicken. No, seriously. He does nothing in this episode. Sachi’s the cute dandere glasses girl with a book-in-tow, but we’re not quite sure if she’s constantly in thought or just too slow to catch up with the rest of the world. But then with so many shows with know-it-all characters, Sachi could just be one of them. Yanagi just flounces around in their local cafe with her hair bow (which, I admit, actually suits her a lot). She might not do much in the actual group, but her general aura of cuteness just makes up for it. I think this might be the most exciting and thrilling show this summer!
She compares every guy at school to David. Then the guys slowly step away.
Fireworks? What fireworks? My lack of emotions are more important!
- We already know that the arrival of the transfer student Kakeru (presumably from Tokyo, like every transfer student comes from) is a main part in this show, and could potentially make it interesting to watch. If only he wasn’t too busy trying to be overly intimate with Touko and waxing philosophy about the cruelty of the life of a chicken, that is. But he already pisses her off by not being as happy as her loyal friends, what with his lack of emotions, proclamations of hearing the future and generally being a douche, so, for some strange reason, Touko forces her compatriots to babysit those chickens, maybe to make sure Touko doesn’t have to listen to Kakeru spouting more nonsensical philosophy. A decision that is somewhat controversial to Touko’s family.
Save some leftovers, fava beans and chianti for the chickens!
- …but then, before I realised it, the show had ended, and I was in a state of confusion somewhat. The robot walks into the cafe and ‘introduces’ himself to the gang of five, and I was expecting…well…more emotion from everyone. Did the opening episode of a show about kids doing nothing in their summer break need to be so short? Did we have enough time to make our minds up on whether we liked the people in the show or now? It may well be me just doubting whether I should be keep on watching slice-of-life shows if they’re all going to be like this in the future. Puppy dog Yukinari might man up and tell Kakeru to back off his girl, Hiro might man up and confess to Sachi, and Yanagi might just…well…keep on doing the same things she normally does. I think that that usually what would happen in a slice-of-life show like this.
- But I genuinely think P.A Works nails it when it comes to what schoolkids do on summer break; next to nothing. I might be wrong, of course, and the next 12 episodes will showcase that they all have good qualities and are actually visible (and not just Touko and Kakeru), and want to make the best of their last summer break at high school. Or maybe some tiny little thing from a faraway planet tells them that they’re Earth’s only hope (actually that would make the show more fun to watch; P.A Works should have thought of that instead, maybe!) I am convinced though that Glasslip will just have episodes totally devoted to one character, as opposed to the entire show being about all 5 characters + Kakeru all at once. But as for right now, I’ll just leave my judgment aside and hope episode 2 will actually bring out the best in this show.
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Neomo
I’m British, and live about an hour outside of London. My first encounter in anime was with bargain bin DVDs at my local rental store, but it was only until around another 5 years later when anime took over me properly...so to speak. I used to turn to fantasy shows a lot (including magical girl shows) but now I’m more of a sucker for school and slice-of-life shows. Don’t even turn to me when it comes to mecha; can’t stand it. I’m also a Final Fantasy 14 addict. And I’m allergic to mushrooms.
Latest posts by Neomo (see all)
- Notes of Glasslip Episode 1 - July 4, 2014
- I’m Writing More and More Stuff Now. - May 28, 2014
