Hamatora Episode 1 | TFP Review
Buckeye: Going all the way to the bank just to withdraw 430 stinkin’ yen?
Thus is the life of the Hamatora at Cafe Nowhere. It starts off a kidnapping case and a safe bodyguard case. Turns out they are related as the kidnapped girl works for the bank where the safe is. Midway through the episode, the superpowers called as Minimum are introduced in the form of a big guy with superhuman strength known only by a string of letters and numbers. But leave it to Nice to “see” sound and deliver a suckerpunch in the face. Oh, and inside that safe is a bunch of porn mags.
Alright, that was a rather silly episode here, one where it is part action, part incompetence, and part mystery. This show looks like it will be fun to watch, though my fun show quota is filling pretty quickly. It’s got enough style and bright colors in its animation, so at the “Minimum” I am up for another episode. But I am not sensing much substance in this much in the way Nice can see sound.
Ingraman: A kid running the police department? Mostly-obnoxious kids operating as P.I.s? It’s not off to a good start. CG nuigurumi’s quite annoying because it sticks out like a sore thumb. Loud people with powers and posing. <sigh> I was bored.
Momoka Kibi: Let me get this straight, my reward for being bored to death watching this was to have annoying visuals during the powers scene. No thanks, I think this series is not for me & it will be my second dropped series of the season.
chidecki: It might be mine also, but I’m looking forward a tad to see what that short girls powers are, other then eating.
GingaDaiuchuu: Looks pretty promising. The first episode put a lot more effort into showing off its style than really getting into why we should care about it in the long run, but it’s got a decent enough hook that I can see it being able to back up its flamboyant display with some decent workmanship in other rights.
27CansOfTuna: Hamatora PI agency with these minimum holder users is a unique and fun premise. The agency situation itself with just a nice mix of friends feels like a family right off and all are easily warm and welcoming with their own quirks and unique personality. I cant wait to see what other duo and trio setups are used as we go further specifically I would want to see BIrthday, Murasaki and Nice team up and maybe some Nice and Birthday as well and at one point some Nice and Art which ought to be a good one (and for them isnt that Valvraves Haruto and L-elf duo by voice actor grouping).
EyeOfPain: Well, that was rather tiresome. I’d compare it to Darker than Black, but that feels insulting to the characters that made up for the lack of substance there. Add on a “dual mystery” that was so cliched I had figured it out that twist before the girl could say “two”, and with no real pay off, it just felt like a waste of time. Maybe if any of the sex jokes were funny, this might have worked, but they all felt like they were in poor taste.
So it pretty much boils down to generic male characters standing in cool poses, with nothing of value for me.
