Inu x Boku SS - 1

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This is the one I have been waiting for! Just from reading the plot of the manga I got excited, and since I had the same reaction with Mirrai Nikki I thought I might be able to pick another winner. A story about a depressed girl, running away from everyone in a desperate attempt to gain freedom via independence may not scream excitement but the addition of a peculiar Secret Service does make it more interesting and worth checking out.

So can I be 2/2 with picking anime to watch

With somewhat of a depressing start, I thought that the first episode resembled a shojo Black Butler but it quickly stopped being anything like it once the episode progressed. The biggest shock came from the overall turn the story takes during the 20 minute episode; starts off seriously, then goes humourousfor a long time with a serious moment or two and then ends on a dark fantasy style note - almost resembling Nurarihyon no Mago. I never got into either of the aforementioned mangas/animes so I wasn't drawn in right from the beginning or that much towards the end of the episode.

As a main character, Ririchyo comes off as somewhat of a useless loner. Though she is probably "running" away from her past, hence explaining behaviour but more importantly making her more likeable as a character - generically so since this is a shonen series afterall. Bearing in mind, she does need to have flashbacks/inner monologue moments in order to explain her history, I didn't care so much for the use of blank pages with singles sentences being spoken by her (just didn't feel right, a flashback would have been enough). For me, the most refreshing part about her is the comedic expressions and tendencies that resemble Yamada's from Working!!

As with this type of story, the main supporting character ends up being on par with the main character when it comes to importance of character development and overall. Soushi is a very likeable character, who is made more appealing through his unrequited love for Ririchyo. Again though not 100% like Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler, the resemblance is uncanny with the one major difference being that Soushi comes off as slightly uncool. The rest of the characters seems to be your bog standard group of misfits: the shy one (Karuta), the out-and-about lesbian (Nobara) and the acquaintance who just happens to be part of this world also.

Overall I liked the first episode but the one worry I do have is that the shojo element to this story could overwhelm the shonen plot which can effectively change the interpretation completely - but there are bit of fan service that just pop out, as if only there to remind us that this is series is meant to be shonen. Only other thing I didn't like was the rather disturbing foot-fetish scene between Ririchyo and Soushi looked a little more than unrequited love. I can't say for sure that I am 2/2 for picking a new series as one to meet my expectations.