First Episode Impression: "Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san"

Synopsis

Amano is a high school girl who upon getting lost in the forest, finds herself rescued by a vampire girl named Sophie Twilight. Struck by her doll-like appearance, Amano decides to befriend the modern-day vampire. This results in her not only moving in with Sophie uninvited but also learning more on the girl such as how she never attacks humans, but purchases blood and anime goods via mail and lives a modern life. Thus begins the comedy tale between a modern-day vampire and a unique high school girl.

The Good

There’s a good framework of introduction in the episode. That was the main thing that stood out with the episode. Sure enough, there was a different and rather cute take on the whole vampire concept and the characters did form a nice dynamic, but the way that the episode establishes its story and characters was well-done. From how Sophie survives in the modern world and how Amano slips into her life, it does well in giving the viewer just enough to get them hooked into watching the next episode.

The Bad

While the episode does well in establishing things, it does hold a bit more dialogue scenes than expected. What’s more, it was rather expected that Amano would be this quirky character and that Sophie would have this seemingly calm character who gets flustered with Amano’s antics. Actually, when you take out the whole supernatural concept, it may as well be a simple friendship story. It’s not bad but the idea of quirky girls being friends has been done before. It’s a nitpick for a first episode but it’s there.

Conclusion

It’s quirky and cute, that much was expected. The way that it establishes the story and characters though is well-done and does well in bringing the viewer in. As a first episode, it doesn’t have any large flaws but it does have some predictable points and a little more dialogue than expected. They’re little things that in hindsight, don’t really leave a mark, but the episode does leave a typical impression in the end. Basically, there’s a good story with cute characters, but it doesn’t really stand out in comparison to the other anime being released.

Rating: 7/10