Glasslip | Episode 1 | TFP Review
GingaDaiuchuu: Not entirely sure what to make of this series yet, but from a first impression it seems decent if in no way spectacular. Obviously P.A. Works guarantees a pretty strong visual standard, although this seems just a little bit softer and less polished than some of what they’ve done. There are also CG crowds, but I know that’s common and I’m just nitpicking about those.
And nano.RIPE returns to P.A. Works. A combination that was meant to be.
Sly05: Well that was strange. Its hard to draw many conclusions about the series based on this episode. I can’t say it even did much to introduce the characters. The CG crowds are pretty common for PA Works stuff, but to go off of what GingaDaiuchuu already mentioned, the frequent use of still pans did make this seem a little cheaper than usual.
EmperorBrandon: This director must really like chickens. Had me thinking of True Tears, which he also did. I love how the chicken that gets put with Sachi is the most content. All nice, peaceful, and quiet for him.
Starts off with heavily iyashikei feeling, and then it seems we’re getting into some romance by the end. I was amused at Touko’s facial expression after the first thing she thinks of with the new guy is a naked statue. Definitely interested to find out more about these characters going forward.
Hitsugi Amachi: That was visually impressive and incredibly boring. Hand it to PA Works, they make very beautiful products (even if there was a good number of still pans used; perhaps the budget is not quite a high for this one). But whoever is doing the writing has decided to keep their powder dry. Except for the love polygon that’s developing, the episode was largely empty of content. Nothing about the characters, even their names, have stuck in my memory…and I just finished watching the episode 5 minutes ago.
Sensuifu: Interesting start, a little bit weird and random from the usual style I’m used to for a P.A. Works project, but should be entertaining.
The chickens have some nostalgia factor, but if I were taking this really seriously, you wouldn’t want them inside a house…unless you don’t mind the dung and the rest of the filth. And yeah, they won’t lay eggs if they aren’t hens.
bctaris: The chicken stuff was distracting for that usual P.A. Works realism… Definitely don’t want them in a house…cats aren’t a threat to full grown chickens; dogs are…free range still means they’d have a coop…unless they really are all roosters (hens don’t crow in the morning)…so, just silly mascots for the show. Wasn’t this supposed to be about glass? For more than 30 seconds, at least?
Otherwise I’m left very lukewarm. Just another adolescent group of friends/lovers in a small, idyllic town–that just happens to feature this glass making hook (supposedly). Which is what I feared it would be. I just don’t have the interest in yet another of these stories, no matter how pretty they make it. (And it is, as usual; but more again of the vanishing, mythic idealism of small towns, unusually friendly people, and happy, carefree kids.) Sharper writing, as Hitsugi suggests, or a more sure premise than the “new kid shows up” angle might hook me better. Tari Tari began similarly, but it had a more appealing humor to it from the start. And as far as a premise goes, still waiting for a successor to HanaIro.
Library-chan: I wonder if this is the spiritual successor to True Tears. It got the chickens. Although, I wonder want happened at the end. Everybody looked like they wanted to kill “David.”
EyeOfPain: I’m having trouble remembering exactly how this played out, and I only watched the episode about an hour ago. Not a good sign.
Like Sly05 said, it was hard to get a good read on the characters, and their relationships to each other. I understand that some have been friends longer, but that’s about it. Also, I still don’t understand why the main girl felt the need to take the chickens home. Clearly, they had survived on campus for some time already, so what’s changed? Just the new kid? It would also have been nice to get at least a little information on the glass blowing thing.
contention: Hrm, strange, I thought most of the characters were pretty obvious. Perhaps I’m misreading it though.
Basically, looks like Yanagi likes Yukinari, but Yukinari doesn’t notice.
Yukinari likes Touko, but Touko doesn’t notice.
Touko is interested in “David”, who just showed up. “David” is just…..strange. Possibly interested in Touko. Possibly just strange
Heck, for that matter, it kinda looked like Hiro liked Yanagi, stretching the chain even further :p
The only puzzle is Sachi. Why’d she get so angry when Touko seemed interested in David? Did she know David previously, and was interested? Did she like Touko, in that way? Or, is she just afraid her circle of friends will fall apart, if this heads the way it’s going?
The show actually reminds me of Anno Natsu, but with glass blowing instead of aliens
Sensuifu: That scene [of Sachi angry] was cheesy simply because of Sachi’s reaction to David’s arrival. It also didn’t help with the BGM selection accompanying this tension, all the while Touko scanning everyone’s reaction. It was laughable As for Sachi’s anger, I’m guessing she’s upset at Touko for ‘betraying’ Yukinari. She probably sees that Yukinari is interested in Touko, yet Touko’s oblivious. It don’t think Sachi was upset at David because she wouldn’t have been blushing at first sight of him.
Kakeru, aka “David”, is probably a stalker, or at least interested in someone who also saw that ‘ufo’…er, shooting star, during the festival.
Jun Kuga: You know, I’m just running through the episode at speed for avatars, and something that didn’t really register when I first saw the episodes was Sachi… I am getting serious yuri vibes from her, and I have a feeling she likes Touko as more than just a friend. It seems every time the scene moves to her, her eyes are focussed mainly on Touko – and when Kakeru appears, she gives him one of the dirtiest looks I could imagine.
EmperoBrandon: I did get the yuri vibes there too, though it didn’t hit me until that scene you mentioned at the end (that reaction of hers really stood out from how she acted the rest of the episode). Now that I look, the key visual seems to suggest it too.
Sensuifu: The ‘tension’ at the end felt a little silly and given the heavy use of chibi art, especially in the ED, I’m not expecting anything overly serious from this series. Though I’m always up for surprises; we’ll see.
EmperorBrandon: Well, True Tears had chibi characters in the ED (yet another thing the director seems to have done again), and that got to be rather serious. Doesn’t seem like there any family issues here, which got to be the most interesting thing about the drama in TT to me (more so than the main love triangle, really), though I guess we shall see. Glasslip does look like it will be on the lighter side even with some likely romance drama ahead, though curious regardless.
Sensuifu: yeah, but I’m also considering its use and the overall cutesy style within the episode as well. Seems to be more frequent moreso than any other previous works. I’m not expecting True Tears level of drama, but I’m curious to how they’ll mix these chibi elements. Kawaisou did it exceptionally well, so I’m wondering if this series is attempting to follow the same.
—
Episode 2 | TFP Review
Buckeye: So after a first episode that was pretty vanilla plotwise, this one gets straight to the point it’s all about the future, listening to the voices of the future, as well as romance. Touko wants to see the future seeing how she is uneasy about future relationships, and that sets the stage for something interesting to come down the line. So with that, I will stick with this show a little bit longer to see where it goes before making a decision.
stardf29: Love polygon drama, full speed ahead! And let’s not forget the whole future sight element, too!
Yeah, can’t say I’m a fan of the premises involved, but at least execution-wise it’s decent. So I’ll go forth with it for now, though it will probably have to fight for those last slots on my viewing list.
Sly05: That was much better than the first if only because it actually had some substance to it. I can tell what this series is actually about now!
We’ll see if it does anything interesting with the seeing the future gimmick.
GingaDaiuchuu: Attack of the still frames! Not quite the budget you usually have, P.A. Works?
At least we get a better idea of what the show is actually about here, which might’ve been better to touch upon in the first episode than filling it with chicken hijinks. I can’t say it really makes me more enthusiastic about the series, though.
Hina has the right idea. Make some cash from a power like that.
EyeOfPain: Hey, we got a whole ‘nother 10 seconds of glasswork!
The relationships between the kids were much more obvious this time around, but that might be because I paid some attention to the opening, which spells everything out quite obviously. Unlike the relationships, that future vision stuff felt like it came out of far, far left field, but I don’t remember any of Touko’s “glass visions.”
@P.A. Works: If you’re going to use so many still frames, at least go full postcard memories.
Hitsugi Amachi: So, when Tsumugu and Manaka are together they can see the future? And in this version, Miuna has a crush on Manaka, while again drawing the adoration of Random Schoolboy A who liked her the last time, but has been elevated to secondary cast member. And Chisaki is still crushing on Hikari, who still loves Manaka who is utterly clueless about it, but again Tsumugu makes things difficult for Hikari. Oh…wait. That’s not quite right… Let me start again.
So, when Kakeru (David) and Touko are together they can see the future? And Sachi has a crush on Touko, while drawing the adoration of Hiro. And Yanagi is crushing on Yukinari, who is in love with Touko who is utterly clueless about it, but Kakeru makes things difficult for Yukinari.
I’m not really sure I can handle this again
Sensuifu: Yeah, seems like it’s NagiAsu all over again, but I’m hoping it won’t be as dull. Wasn’t really fond of that show, so maybe I’ll find the supernatural, future-vision plot device in this series a little more interesting. Since I was able to finish NagiAsu despite its numerous flaws, I can’t see how Glasslip could be any worse…unless P.A. Works ends up still framing the rest of the episodes more heavily than what we’ve seen so far. I’ll keep watching since I’m a bit more interested in the characters this time around.
EmperorBrandon: Yep, seems like Sachi has some pretty deep feelings for Touko. The no dating rule they had going is obviously breaking down (love the imagery of the bike falling over when Yuki confesses), and it amused me that Hiro wasn’t even aware of it. They didn’t even have to fill him in. Hehe… So, Sachi is apparently sickly. I do wonder if we will see drama come of that later.
So there is an actually a bit of a supernatural bend to Touko’s glass visions. Going to be interesting to see what role this plays in the relationships going forward.
