Sneak Peek at Episode 1

I'd like to introduce an anime that caught my eye after a quick peek at the first episode.

Your Lie in April

"Your Lie in April" was recently adapted into a live-action film and has been generating quite a bit of buzz.
I'm sure everyone knows that it's a "youth + music" story.

The original work is a manga. Thinking, "The anime is closer to the manga than the live-action version, so maybe I can get a feel for it from the anime?", I decided to give the first episode a try.
Here are my impressions after a quick peek.

• The colors are beautiful.
• The characters are beautiful.
• It's just beautiful.
• I only watched up until the opening, and I've decided to watch the whole thing.

Masamune-kun's Revenge

A summary of my impressions after a quick peek.

• The anime's title was so lame that it actually piqued my interest.
• The main character is a total narcissist from the very beginning, making me feel embarrassed watching him.
• However, it seems the main character had some kind of traumatic past, and he wasn't as handsome as he is now.

• The "cruel princess" setting, which is supposed to be the heroine, seems a bit cheap.
• What's with the idea of a popular and cruel young lady?

"She's the top of her class and incredibly beautiful, but unlike Makabe-kun, her personality is..."
"Also, she hates men terribly, and mercilessly gives nicknames to boys who confess their love to her and drives them away."
"That's why she's known as the 'Cruel Princess'. Her name is Adagaki Aki. She's also the daughter of the Adagaki Group."

• However, it seems there was some fateful event in the past between the protagonist and the Cruel Princess.
• While I knew these two would end up together, I was curious to see where they would go.
• Perhaps the pacing is good, because before I knew it, half of the episode had passed.
• Just when I thought that, an addition was made to the Cruel Princess's setting!!!

"I can't believe she's a fan of the massive bento lunchboxes that blue-collar workers use..."

• Contrary to her appearance, the "Cruel Princess" is a big eater.
• In addition, as a "young lady," she can't let anyone see her eating like crazy, so she eats alone in the gym storage room, hiding.
• The protagonist finds out about this.

The "Cruel Princess," who hadn't shown any weakness to anyone until now, is immediately exposed by the handsome, narcissistic protagonist who has just transferred to the school.

The series begins to take on a promising romantic comedy feel midway through episode 1, building anticipation while hinting at a past feud here and there. The contrast between the heroine's cruelty and her gluttony was refreshingly cute, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.
I decided to watch every episode.

She and Her Cat

I was intrigued by the gentle atmosphere of the illustrations, so I looked into the details and discovered that it was a work by director Makoto Shinkai, known for "Your Name" and "5 Centimeters per Second."
I decided to take a peek.

• The illustrations are very warm and fuzzy, but the somewhat worn-out atmosphere gave me goosebumps right from the start.

• The male narrator sounds like a cat, and you feel as if you've entered a world where time flows slowly.
• The story depicts the life of the protagonist, an elderly cat, and his job-hunting girlfriend from the cat's perspective.
• The story flows at a truly leisurely pace.

• It's so pleasant to watch.

This series consists of four episodes, each seven minutes long.
I was so engrossed in the atmosphere that I ended up watching the whole thing in one go.