Akira-sama, how I worship thee. You are my goddess of Special A!
For those using IE, Impz did something stupid yesterday. That is why you cannot access it. Yes, blame it on me ;_;
After waiting for so long, Special A is finally released to the lovely shores of THAT Anime Blog. Being an absolute avid fan of the manga (I bought them regularly at the bookstore), I know that this is a series that has a good story in the manga. Fans of school-based romance/comedy will definitely fall in love with the manga. However, we all know the issues that can plague the transition of a manga to anime. Will Special A suffer from the same fate?
Please beware that I am a fanboy of the manga series before you read on.
Episode summary
A young Hikari has been trained by her father to fight. She felt that she is very strong, until she meets Kei, the son of her father’s friend. He easily dispatches her, resulting in her goal in life to defeat this boy. Years have past since that incident. Hikari grows up to be a beautiful high school student. Before she steps out of the house, her father tells her to win Kei for once. In the school, Hikari is known to be part of the S class, a group of the top seven elites in the school. She is worshiped like a god and she is clearly uncomfortable. Akira (the daughter of an airline tycoon, rank 6th) appears and says that it is normal that they are swooned by the other students due to their “special status”.
In their special garden, twins Jun and Megumi (music producer and singer, Ranked 3rd, 4th) are introduced. Ryuu is also introduced (son of sports car, Ranked 7th) taking care of an animal. When Hikari decides to play with the animal, she is nearly assaulted as Ryuu warns of its vicious behavior postmortem. Megumi and Jun decides to play the violin to get Ryuu’s attention, showing the hatred they have of the animal. As they are about to play, Ryuu stops them in time. Hikari clearly does not know their style of “music”. A ragged Tadashi (son of the principal, ranked 5th) appears too.
Akira brought tea and sandwiches, but she is clearly disgusted by Tadashi’s smell. Tadashi then asked Akira for seconds, only for Akira to smash him with a container. Kei also arrives, and Hikari challenges him again in gym class. He agrees, before making sure that he calls her “Number 2″ (Hikari) condescendingly. The others console Hikari who is insulted once again. Tadashi says that her battle feels futile sometimes. In gym class, Kei and Hikari compete in horse vault. Kei eventually won easily after jumping over a monstrous height with extreme grace. Kei reminds Hikari again that she will be “number 2″. Hikari then challenge him on their exam results.
After everyone left, Akira and Hikari discusses about the next challenge. Akira asks Hikari to rest a bit but Hikari says she is about to finish. November 22nd also seems to hold a meaning for Hikari. The next day, Megumi and Jun is having a recital. Hikari clearly like festivals, but it seems that some students are against the activity of Special Class. Hikari is about to argue, but Kei suddenly appears and disses the student. Kei adds that if they are displeased over the Special A class, they can try to get in. Kei also mentions their name, stating that he can remember anything with just one look. That scares the three students away.
Kei receives a letter, and finds Hikari sleeping on her book. He smiles gently. In the garden, Akira brings premium food once again and hits Tadashi when he says something dumb once again. At night, Hikari wakes up to see Kei beside her. She feels disgusted that Kei is watching her all this time, especially after Kei taunts her about sleeping when she says that she will try her best to win him. Kei asks about the letter and she is about to answer when they are interrupted by some rumbling. Hikari, thinking it’s a thief, rushed over. She finds the same three students in the teacher’s office. It is clear that the same three students are trying to find the answers for the final exam.
One of the students tries to tempt Hikari with the answers, as he adds that she finally will be able to win over Kei. However, Kei is insulted by this as she does not believe that cheating is a fair way of competition. Hikari says that she might not win Kei ever, but the future is not predetermined. Kei suddenly appears and says that they have no right to question Hikari. He tells them Hikari works much harder than anyone to beat him and is a wonderful person. The students decide that they have to defeat Hikari and Kei, if not they will be suspended. However, Hikari and Kei dispatches them easily.
We also realize that Kei clearly likes Hikari. The letter is an invitation for a date, a secret “date” with everyone for a Megumi + Jun recital. Hikari has never heard Megumi sing before and is anticipating it. However, the others are preparing and before Kei can stop Megumi, she sings as the school is surrounded with a bright light. The next day, it turns out that Hikari got full marks, but Kei gets 105 points as he pointed out a mistake in the exam question. As such, Kei reminds Hikari that she is still “number 2″.
Audio
Perhaps it is my bias, perhaps it is my anticipation for the series or perhaps it is the fact that I do not like the Mikuru of Suzumiya fame. The voice of Hikari took me a long while before I can accept it. Maybe it is the lack of spunk that I associate with Hikari in the manga, but Yuko’s sweet voice (that is transformed into something more spunky) does not seem to be the perfect fit for the character. Akira-sama’s voice seems a bit too youthful for my liking, where I am expecting a tsundere feel voice. Nonetheless, by mid-way of the show, I forgot all about it and was busy fanboying.
One more thing, the OP and ED is atrocious, and what’s with all the insert songs that feel like a total promotion of Yuko Goto. I still love the insert songs for the fun of it.
Animation
Hinano didn’t like the long legs too much, while Garten is not too crazy over the character design too. However, I am fine with it and feels that it brings a bit of the shoujo flair that I enjoy so much. It might be strange but I always like such a character design with long legs and slim bodies. It’s not done too excessively, so I am generally fine with it. The animations i generally crisp for a shoujo-orientated series, and the characters are well transformed from the manga to the anime.
Vibes
Everything that I like about Special A is gladly into exhibition. Firstly, Hikari’s energetic outlook over life is fully exhibited, with her strong challenges with Kei a classic joke in itself. I like the “number 2″ response, because it is a joke that will be constantly used throughout the series (for the first few episodes at least). I also like the character dynamics betwen Akira and Tadashi. Akira is my favorite character due to her tsundere behavior toward Tadashi in particular. The two of them are just so cute together, much more than Kei and Hikari.
I honestly have not remembered a season why I deliberately wake up early to catch a show. This is perhaps a great time where both Vampire Knight and Special A comes out about the same day. If you are wondering, that will be my next entry too. Other than that, I also like how the jokes are scattered around. Some are rather weak, but it’s like typical Ouran/School Rumble style of humor. I am fine with that. I also like how they change it slightly to show clearly that Kei really likes Hikari. It is not that obvious in the manga, and the effect is hilarious.
Final thoughts
If you are a fan of Ouran, or school-style comedy, this is for you. If you are a Code Grease fanatic that wants action, this is not for you (I cannot resist making a dig at Code Gease). So, watch it now, and hopefully for Akira-sama.
P/s: Any fellow Akira fans? Let’s worship her together!
33 Comments
Those that insult Gotouza-sama will have a plague upon their house! And of course all of the insert songs and OP/ED are going to be done by her as she is the main heroine and the rest of the cast is mostly unknowns…
Tadashi fangirl. ^^
YAY! Akira fangirl!
Haven’t watch this yet but I think I like the curly-haired girl… Hikari is fine too
I think I’ll give this another try in its anime form. As someone who loves school-based romance comedy (particularly of the shoujo variety) I gotta say, I really hate the manga. I felt the premise was really flimsy and the characterization for everybody was really weak. No one actually felt like a person to me (whinge whinge whinge, etc.) I’ll watch a couple of episodes at any rate, but I don’t think comparsions to Ouran are very favorable for special A! For me – and, I think, perhaps for many others, the best way to enjoy it would be to try not to compare it to Ouran, which is tons better.
@Calawain: Hehee, I got a feeling I will attract a lot of Gotouza-sama fans in the wrong way then. Hopefully they will not leech me but I still feel that someone else could have done a better job. It’s competent but it can be better.
@Robo.chan & Kitsune: Cool! I always like the character dynamics of Tadashi and Akira because the two of them are so cute. One is willing to hit the living lights out of another, and the other is willing to be hit. That sounds so wrong by the way.
@Leviathan: Curly = Megumi? She will be rather interesting but I don’t think she has a huge pie in character development, if any at all.
@D4 (your name is too hard desu~): I think you are right to say so. I am simply pointing out the premise of humor is in the same vein of Ouran. However, comparing these two manga/anime is perhaps a bit unfair. Thank you for writing this comment. I actually feel that shows with such elite-style portrayals tend to feel like a human anyway, but I think that the characters are decently likable.
However, do not get me started with Hikari’s thick skulled behavior. I might kill a pig from the sheer meaness.
Sorry about my name! Just cut and paste it, I guess. Yeah, Hikari’s pretty dumb. Future career in pro-wrestling is secured though. I really do intend to watch it and I’ll try to reserve judgement till I’ve seen 3 or 4 eps.
Haha, sorry about my name. Just cut and paste it, I guess. Yeah, Hikari’s pretty dumb. Future wrestling career is secured, though. I really do intend to watch this, and I’ll reserve judgement till I’ve seen 3 or 4 eps. Could end up being good!
Cool – alternate realty double posts!
Sorry about that.
Wow I did not know that you guys check other people’s blogs as well cos when I saw a mention of Garten I instantly remember memento.
I want to watch wahhhhhh *goes hunting the episode down on the internet*
@D4: Hahahaha, I do wonder if it will be up to your taste. The best thing is not to have too much of an expectation of this series,and it should be fine. x_x The problem is that there are already strong series in this specific genre. It’s human nature to compare.
@Cherubium: I read a lot of anime blogs. ^^ I just do not link them unless it’s something I feel against. ^^ In fact, I think i follow a lot of blogs, just that I am a bad lurker. For readers though, please do not lurk. Comment desu~. Yes, Garten is a blogger I really admire a lot ^^.
Another Akira fangirl here! I love S.A, since it throws the cliche-ness of Shoujo Manga out the window. It’s the first series I’ve come across as having a female lead who is too thick to realize the guy has the hots for her. Usually, it’s the other way round. *Cough*Shana*Cough* ^^
YAH I must go watch this as soon as the english subs are up ^0^
Thanks for the screen caps and the summary of the episode.
Kinda upset that the whole anime episode only covered the first chapter of the manga T_T But oh well
Can’t wait to see the number 2 reactions animated XD
I always wince a little when someone says Ouran and S.A. are clones of each other. (Not saying that you said that, but it’s something I’ve heard a lot lately.) Ouran and S.A. mangas are two very different creatures with vastly different goals, storylines, and characters. However, after seeing the first episode of S.A., I will concur that the anime adaptation style was inspired by the Ouran anime. The visual gimmicks I saw in Ouran, I see in S.A. Kind of a shame really because S.A. doesn’t need to ride Ouran’s coattails. It can stand on its own merits.
I didn’t mind Hikari’s voice at all. But then I didn’t see Haruhi, so I don’t automatically think of her as Mikuru like you did. What I worried about before the series began was that Hikari’s voice would be very high pitched. To me, that would be wrong because I can’t imagine Hikari with a high pitched voice. Fortunately it wasn’t.
My favorite parts were whenever Kei’s mask of indifference dropped and we got to see how much he’s attracted to Hikari. Even to the point of producing shoujo love bubbles when looking at her!
So then we get Ouran from S.A, and Ouran from V.K., but from the diggs, S.A and V.K. feel quite different. I did see more of the relation between Ouran and V.K. than this one though. whad, no transitive?
I’ll agree that Akira raging on Tadashi in the background is super. ^^ fun
Starts fangirling. Special A and Vampire Knight are finally here SQUEE!
@Dav: oh ya, that is true. I never thought about it in this way. Nonetheless, when it gets too much (her thick headed behavior), I feel like killing her and wondering if she is actually smart. I am very annoyed but let’s keep it that way for now. I don’t want to give manga spoilers.
@Bamboowitch: hhahaha, the animation for it is good. Well, it’s better that they slow down the pace to give a better introduction for everyone. It’s worth it imho.
@LKK: Arr, you didn’t watch Haruhi Suzumiya. Perhaps that is why. Yuko Goto is very famous but she is perhaps elevated to goddess status for her role in that show. I must say that she did a very competent job, but well I am just very demanding as usual. Plus i am biased.
That said, it is always problematic because Ouran is a trendsetting anime that has cemented its place as the first GREAT shoujo series based on a bunch of elites. So, despite the many differences, SA will suffer from it because people will associate it. But yes, they are very difference in their approach eventually, even though the style is somewhat similar.
@Ryan A: Of course, Akira’s rage on Tadashi is always fun. They can do that for 22 minutes and I will not be sick of it. Though, I can watch the nyanroll for 30 minutes. Yes, i am queer.
@D.J: \o/
Hikari’s voice = failzzz.
It takes way long to get used to, I’m amused.
I love Akira, but I’m more excited for Yahiro and Aoi.
Hopefully they appear though D:
@Summermusings: Hehehe, same here. It’s a chief complain for me. Arr, let’s stop at that for the manga spoilers
AKIRA-SAMA FOR THE WIN, YAY!
yup, another Akira fangirl here! Akira’s just adorable. ^^
Hm, I think I’ll have a little trouble with their voices because they sound nothing like I imagined. Specially Kei! His voice is too “Tamaki” for my liking.
But I’ll watch it the same because the manga is so enjoyable!
Thank you for blogging the series =D
I agree Akira is the best. I don’t mind the voice really then again I am tone deaf.
Mmmm I found this midly interesting, enough to probably watch it a bit more. I thought the voice casting was just fine. The animation quality was atrocious though. I understand shoujo series don’t get much of a budget but ouch…
I really didn’t like this pre-subs. But, now that I’ve seen it with subs, I unwillingly have to say that I like it. I wanted to hate a show that everyone loves this season but I guess my taste in anime is just far too broad. Maybe RD or something will get popular and I can hate that.
For the record: Ouran > S-A (my belief, prediction, and probably the truth)
@tohri: wow, i thought that there are very few Akira fangirls and fanboys. Now, I feel so happy that I have a collective group of people that will worship the goddess with me. Hail, Akira-sama!
Well, the thing about Tamaki is actually a discussion between me and my gf when we re-watch special A on subs (cos she doesn’t understand raws). nonetheless, it’s more like the look but the feel is completely different. ^^
No problem. I will go on and blog it \o/
@Crusader: hail, akira-sama. She compels you to worship her.
@calawain: you hater of shoujo X_X
@Rieu: that will be hard. Lol, the two series are very much different.
Yes I am a hater, but that has nothing to do with the fact they spent 5 dollars animating this episode. Otherwise I generally found it entertaining.
I will check this one out… especially becuase I think the character designs are ok (at least in the pics).
The interesting thing is I liked Ouran and also Code Geass… totally opposites but I enjoyed both… so I might watch this one as well…lol
As for the voice actors and being a fan-girl, I will wait until I watch it.
@ LKK: The animation style does seem Ouran-ish… but if it is too much similar it will just look like a copy. If it is funny then I will watch. Its hard to say without actually watching the epi though.
Well, that’s obvious. Akira would be the second most kick-ass girl, if Hikari hadn’t existed. And she’s absolutely funny – and hopelessly in… Okay, fine, no manga spoilers >D I hope more characters will be integrated in though.
Which I really can’t wait for D:
I just started watching this, I like it a lot and the voices too. At first I was a little “iffed” with their long legs but watching through all the episode, I got used to it and I think the character design is really lovely and enjoyable. ^__^ as for the plot, it seems interesting, I’m a huge shoujo fan afterall and I like anything that has to do with high-school romance. I haven’t read the manga so I’m looking forward to what lies ahead in the anime. <3
O.o But i like Special A and Code Geass!
Anyways, like you said, i look for shojo in shojo and shonen in shonen. This is an ok job for shojo, in my opinion. There’s really nothing wrong with this anime but its also lacking that “OMGEEE!!111!!!!1 I luv thissssss1!!!!!” factor.
hi kei! can u b my friend? cge nuh!!!!!!!!!!1111
i love this anime….
hello kei!!
i hope you will love hikari forever..
i love your loveteam!!
..
kawii ..
One Trackback
[...] is exactly how I imagine Yuuki will sound like, unlike the cognitive dissonance I felt listening to Yuko Goto’s rendition of Hikari. That said, I always hold Yui Horie in very high regard, just like Kurogane. In addition, most of [...]