• Insane animation – check
• Epic soundtrack – check
• Yuri-ish – check
• Aoki Ume – check
• Story – ?

So, everything (except story) is just as expected.

Animation-wise, it’s SHAFT. In normal scenes, it’s good. And then there’s that scene which apparently really loved by Shinbo.

Character design-wise, it Aoki Ume. And I believe it’s even closer to the original style than Hidamari Sketch. Or maybe it’s just me but the drawing style is more “manga”, less “anime” – the “sketch” feel is clearer in this. The result is beatiful.

Apparently, for some reason, yuri is quite strong in this one. Probably influenced by Aoki Ume but still weird, I don’t remember seeing any hints of yuri from the writer (Urobuchi Gen). Or maybe it’s just me missed that part in his previous works? Whatever, it’s good thing anyway :]

Soundtrack is handled by Kajiura Yuki, which needs no question. It’s good. Really good. And match with the theme (I can’t imagine if my other favorite composer, Tenmon, handles this kind of anime). Kinda feels like Mai-HiME – especially the last few minutes. Nostalgic.

Overall, everything is within my expectation. The only thing left is story – I liked Urobuchi’s previous works (Blassreiter, Fate/zero, Phantom) though so hopefully this one will be good too.

Self-docking? We'll see in next episode!

Oh and the fanservicey opening is rather unexpected. But hey, just about right fanservice is never a bad thing (just about right fanservice is when the fanservice used in correct amount – examples of not just about right is Seikon no Qwaser and Queen’s Blade for obvious reason).

…and what a good way to start this season.