Much like The Daughter of Twenty Faces, I went into Amatsuki with low expectations. It looks mediocre, in the sense that it’s overflowing with cliche bishonen character designs and therefore, blatant (almost Get Backers-esque) homo eroticism. The animation isn’t especially good, but again, the overall feeling wasn’t bad at all. Story is basically that modern, apathetic boy gets thrown back in time to Edo-era Japan. You know, that same period depicted in Rurouni Kenshin, Peacemaker and every other samurai anime. Yes, Amatsuki is set in a familiar place, but there are supernatural elements too. Next few episodes will be crucial in determining whether it’s merely pretending to be interesting.

The more anime I see, the more I find myself making comparisons between series. If you’ve seen Last Exile, it’s worth noting that new anime Allison and Lillia could be renamed (the adventures of) Lavie and Claus. It is kind of fun, albeit very sanitized, good honest fun. Flowing blond Allison is the spunky girl-pilot ready to take on the world, while her friend Will is the clever, yet timid male lead willing to be dragged along for the adventure. Their bright optimism and slow home lives, surrounded by colourful, open countryside, will be at odds with the (so far unforeseen) horrors of war. Again, this wasn’t an amazing episode of anime, but it was competent enough to be worth another look. Better than Amatsuki, at least.