I thought the first episode was rather solid. I can see where Studio Shaft's influence comes to play, even as someone who's only seen a couple of their works and is not as sensitive and well-versed in the habits they've become (in)famous for. It wasn't overbearing though; certainly not like Shaft threw-up on it, as quite a few people were fearing when they were first announced as the studio working on this series. Not as powerful as it could be for a premiere episode, but then again, I personally think the manga's true worth doesn't start making itself obvious to most until it gets past the introductory chapters. And speaking of which...
The fact that this episode is showing the titles and numbers of the chapters they're adapting has me a little worried; I seriously hope they're not planning on going by this chapter by chapter without any alterations or condensation of details that may be necessary in an adaptation, especially since the first three episodes are vital in hooking most on-the-fence viewers in for the rest of the ride. There's being faithful to the source work, and then there's adhering to it like its law or religious scripture. If Shaft goes with the latter approach as far as story progression goes, then I'm uncertain whether or not the anime will get to where it needs to go by the end of 22 episodes in order to strongly stand on its own as a work.
That aside, I'll be keeping my eye on in this thread. I'm quite interested in what manga-readers pre-release have to say about this adaptation. Looking around, I can tell it might be divisive for some; Guardian Enzo of Random Curiosity already tore the first episode a new asshole with a rather scathing opinion on his own personal blog, while others seem to be surprised at Studio Shaft's restraint. From where I've looked, I'm seeing a pretty even split among the pre-existing, established base.
On a lighter note, the music, from the OP/ED themes to the BGM and inserts, is wonderful. So are the backgrounds (did they really have to keep the 3lion ads on the train, though?).
And I suppose Kyoko's going to be the one doing Shaft's infamous headtilt? Already sort of seeing it in the anime-original frames for the opening scene, even if they are zoomed onto her mouth... lol
EDIT: Also, I hope they keep that "spoken sound effect" thing to a minimum, even in the comedic scenes. That's gonna wear out on me quick. XD
Edited by Vance Finiraldi, 11 October 2016 - 09:02 AM.