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Round 1 Group A is now closed.

With a mere 15 votes in (yeesh!), the results:

A-5: FLCL destroys Detroit Metal City, 14-1.
A-6: Time of Eve obliterates Serial Experiments Lain, 13-2.
A-7: Code Geass thumps GTO, 11-4.
A-8: Ruroni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal holds off Welcome to the NHK, 10-5.

NHK did make a surprisingly robust late run, but there simply weren't enough votes in play for it to have much of a chance. The other contests were all consistent blow-outs, which should make for a strong second round.

Next Group will be up soon.

Last edited by Key on Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:07 pm; edited 1 time in total

Round 1 Group B (Part 1) is now closed.

Results can be found here.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Considering I've seen the majority of the titles on this group and just sampled Hayate the Combat Butler, I'll get this taken care of now:

Group B-1: Bunny Drop
Both have solid opening episodes for differing reasons with Level E having its fun chemistry between Baka and Tsutsui with the two seeming to run into some serious trouble; and Bunny Drop's introductions to Daikichi and Rin's characters with the former going against his family's plans for Rin's well-being. However, I have to go with Bunny Drop here as the episode is quite effective at allowing one to emotionally connect with Rin's tragic situation and Daikichi coming to the decision to adopt her with the former behaving quite believably for her age to her complicated family situation.

Group B-2: Paranoia Agent
Hellsing is good at setting up a gritty and gory vampire action title through Alucard's ridiculous abilities and confidence to maul down the vampires present in the episode and introduce Seras' character, but it has more style than substance going for it here. Paranoia Agent, on the other hand, immediately draws you into its mystery in its opening episode which makes use of Satoshi Kon's realistic animation style and focused on introducing Shounen Bat and Tsukiko's characters, as well as having some strange characters seemingly dabbling into nonsense to leave one wondering what is going on in the series.

Group B-3: Fullmetal Alchemist
Damn, Hayate's first episode had a good number of laughs thanks to the lengths Hayate went through with work, his nutty parents and evading mobsters. A shame I never seen it before Bandai ditched distribution of their anime titles meaning it would be quite a pain to get all the DVDs legally. Still though, I'm gonna have to side with FMA in this match. The opening episode mixes up comedy and drama as the Elrics try to confront Cornello over the Philosopher's Stone and we get signs of the title's moral and dramatic elements seen through the episode's opening and closing scenes, as well as Ed coming at odds with Rose later in the episode over believing in religion.

Group B-4: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Gankutsuou makes a solid impression with its unique visual style sticking out and things immediately being clear this will be a futuristic take on the old Dumas novel. However Haruhi Suzumiya's unique twisting of the chronological order of its episodes lead the viewer to be flung right into the middle of its plot in this opening episode, a feat that I don't recall any anime up to that point being bold enough to pull off. Because of this style, Kyon's narrations acknowledge that the SOS Brigade members are not quite so normal as he mocks the poor production quality of the school film, which effectively makes this a big spoiler over aspects of the SOS Brigade. The sloppy production of the movie, Kyon's snarky narration of it and the surprising finale to the whole episode create enough comedy to enhance the fun of this opening episode to Haruhi Suzumiya.

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E

Viewing history: Saw Usagi Drop via ANN (much appreciated) and now have the Siren Visual DVD; first exposure to Level E.

Is the first episode good enough to entice me to watch the rest of the series? Usagi Drop yes; Level E no.

It’s odd but the baseball character from Level E – Yukitaka - reminded my strongly of Youta from Video Girl Ai, both in appearance and speech patterns, which only reinforced for me that sometimes deserving shows miss out on nomination and mediocre stuff gets through. The first episode of Level E has some surprises but there’s nothing exceptional about it. It can’t come close to matching Usagi Drop.

Voting for: Bunny Drop

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)

Viewing history: Paranoia Agent was my first ever torrent download – I liked it sufficiently that I bought the DVD set; first exposure to the TV version of Hellsing, although I have seen all the available episodes of Hellsing Ultimate.

Is the first episode good enough to entice me to watch the rest of the series? Yes for Paranoia Agent; probably not for Hellsing. If my local video library can locate the second volume I may well get around to watching it.

The whole Hellsing franchise is pretty dumb. It relies on in-your-face posturing and over-indulgence in excess to cover its shortcomings in plot, character and meaning. While Paranoia Agent is my least favourite Satoshi Kon work as director it has more substance in its OP than does the entire first episode of Hellsing.

Voting for: Paranoia Agent

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler

Viewing history: I’ve seen FMA right through once and got about 15 episodes into a re-watch before giving up; first exposure to Hayate the Combat Butler

Is the first episode good enough to entice me to watch the rest of the series? FMA not originally; Hayate yes if it were a 13 episode series.

Until now I had only seen FMA with the English dub. I hated the first two episodes and only continued because I had read that it improves substantially thereafter. I found this to be true and used to think that the series would have been better had it started at episode 3. My problems were the shonen characterisations, especially Cordello, and the shonen tropes and humour. Watching it with the Japanese dub, Cordello doesn’t seem so ridiculous, and perhaps I’ve become desensitised to the style. I still think it is a weak way to start what becomes quite an impressive series.

Hayate’s first episode is thoroughly entertaining, even if it is mostly fluff. It lacks the ambitions of FMA but also avoids its pretensions. It also this unforgettable exchange -

Hayate: Mr Santa Claus, why do you never bring me presents?
Santa Claus: That’s because your family is poor.

Voting for: I think that neither contender is all that strong but Hayate the Combat Butler gets my vote because it succeeds at what it sets out to do while the first episode of FMA is mostly annoying.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Viewing history: I have both series on DVD and admire both enormously.

Is the first episode good enough to entice me to watch the rest of the series? Obviously they were.

While both first episodes take artistic risks (one with its visual style and the other in its playing with the viewers’ expectations) neither give much of an indication how good each series turns out to be. If there’s one thing that tips me over the line it’s this:

Peppo (left) is quite a surprising character.

Voting for: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

If I could choose any four to proceed they would be Gankutsuou, Haruhi, Paranoia Agent and Usagi Drop.

Minigame results (I promise I'll have the spreadsheet format ready starting next week).

Results:

Name	This Round	Total Score	Current Rank
Ggultra2764	8	16	1
WhiteHairGirls	6	14	2
GDFan	8	14	2
nightjuan	8	14	2
The Naked Beast	8	14	2
Tris8	8	14	2
saffire	4	12	7
A Mystery	6	12	7
Gewurtztraminer	6	12	7
Aylinn	4	10	10
Key	4	10	10
Olliff	6	10	10
farichada	8	10	10
mow123	8	10	10
Mylene	2	8	15
dirkusbirkus	6	8	15
marie-antoinette	2	6	17
Past	4	6	17

Woot, bottom of the pack!

I'm actually going to vote early here since, while there are a few I haven't seen, I don't think it's going to change my opinion. Also, I'm already over my bandwidth allocation and so not going to have the chance to watch anything other than Paranoia Agent, which was already on my to-watch list.

Group B-1
Voting for: Bunny Drop

Reasons: I've seen both episodes and of the two series, Bunny Drop is the only one I continued watching because I loved it from the first moment Rin came on the screen and into my life.

Group B-2
Voting for: Paranoia Agent

Reasons: Hellsing is just a pretty underwhelming show to me. The only thing I really remember from the first episode is thinking Integra was awesome and being unsure about whether she was male or female. Not exactly a lasting legacy and what I've heard about Paranoia Agent suggests that it has the superior first episode.

Group B-3
Voting for: Fullmetal Alchemist

Reasons: I've seen this first episode a few times through and I think it's pretty great in how it has a standalone story but also manages to tell us a great deal about the characters and the world they live in. Not the greatest first episode in the world (or in this tournament) but definitely solid.

Group B-4
Voting for: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Reasons: Because the first episode of Haruhi is dumb. I lasted all of ten minutes before turning it off when I tried to watch it and upon hearing more about it, I have never had the desire to try it again. If anything, I would actually skip to the second episode, were I so inclined (but I am not).

Also Gankutsuou is awesome and deserves to move on based on its own merits as well. But mostly, Haruhi's first episode just annoys me and so it will join FLCL on the list of things I will never vote for (god help me should they ever come up against each other ... but I'm pretty sure they won't).

I have actually seen all of these already so I'll vote early this time:

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E

I wasn't as blown away by the first episode of Bunny Drop as some were (mostly because I don't like the art style), but it still made much more of an impression than its competition did. Level E was just weird, whereas BD was a fairly strong episode which gave the feeling that it could be the start of a really good story.

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)

Both of these episodes make a strong impression, although in entirely different ways. PA does it through setting up an interesting premise with distinct psychological undertones, while Hellsing does it through style. In this case the style trumps the substance, though, because Hellsing's approach is beautifully-handled and exciting; in fact, I daresay that its first episode is one of the best examples in anime of selling a series on style, and it's supported by some wonderfully snappy dialogue.

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler

Not much of a debate here for me. HCB is fun and funny, no doubt about it, but Fullmetal Alchemist's episode is an impact episode. It does a superb job of establishing the premise of the series and drawing viewers in to this fresh twist on shonen action series. I can remember walking by a video room at a 'con when this was first screening and being stopped in my tracks by the episode's final few minutes. HCB did not leave quite so strong an impression.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
"The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina" is a fun, offbeat way to introduce viewers to one of the most distinctive anime franchises of the 2000s, but Gankutsuou's first episode is a jaw-dropper. It gives us the first tastes of possibly the most fantastic imagining of setting design ever put into an anime title and gives us a strong and compelling story to boot. While I don't consider it a top contender, it's going to be hard to beat on this side of its Group.

A lot easier this week, I own 5, and 2 of the others are on Crunchyroll.
Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E

Viewing history: First time on both. Caught them both on Crunchyroll.

Not totally blown away by either series. Did not like the art on Bunny Drop, but something about the shiny slickness of Level E put me off as well.
Liked the opener and closer on Level E.
Storywise, Bunny Drop has a clear edge, conveying lots of info and thoughts by images and actions on screen, instead of constant inner monologues or narrations. You get the feeling that you are watching something that could turn into something really special.
Level E had several moments that made me laugh out loud, which is rare. But it also had several alarmingly serious moments, as well as hefty doses of weird. I have no idea where the story is going.
I am certainly going to keep watching both.

Voting for: Bunny Drop for what I perceive as a better story so far.

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)

Viewing history: Caught Paranoia Agent on adult swim in 2005/2006, and am the proud owner of the 1st and 2nd episodes on a UMD.
PSP time!
First time on Hellsing TV's first episode, I had seen a few random episodes on Encore while visiting people in the past.

Both are good competitors for different reasons.
One aspect of watching Paranoia Agent on the PSP was good, the other a detraction. The good part was listening via headphones, the audio has all kinds of nice small touches I had never heard before, that added to the overall sense of dread and helplessness. The downside was that to get translations of the opener and text, you had to turn on the subtitles for everything. One of the most unforgettable opening sequences quickly leads you into a series that sets the stage for the story.

I liked Hellsing TV way more than I thought I would. As Key mentioned, this series has style oozing from every frame.... that Alucard is in. The pistol is especially nice and detailed. The sequence with the police chiefs was obviously saving the budget for other portions of the episode. The episode is kind of predictable, but watching the execution is quite fun.

I am probably going to flip my vote with each update I make.
For now voting for Hellsing TV.
A lot of what makes the first episode of Paranoia Agent good/great is not apparent until later episodes or upon a rewatch.

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler

Viewing history: Own and seen both previously. 1st run on Adult Swim back in the day, and as the Bandai discs came out.

Not much to hold against either of these, both are excellent 1st episodes. Upon revisting both not much changes. As a personal preference, I tend to hold not starting at the start of a story as a slight negative in Fullmetal Alchemist's case, but I can see why it was done that way.
In HCB case, a ton of jokes are 4th wall breaking, anime homages/in jokes, and various means of skirting broadcast restrictions while telling you what they are doing. I laughed a lot, even if parts of the comedy were quite dark.

In a personal preference, I will take the comedy of Hayate the Combat Butler.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Viewing history: Own and seen both previously.

I am a big fan of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and consider the series very highly, the core 6 episodes of the first season as well as well as the two festival episodes (of which this one is a part) would be in my top ten. That said, I do not think episode 00 is a great place to start, especially against serious competition like the Count of Monte Cristo.
Give me the solid setup and very unique visuals of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E
Level E gets my vote here. I quite liked Bunny Drop's first episode, but it was promising a great story to come (which it delivered on) instead of actually giving us one in the first episode. It's close, but Level E's faster pace wins against Bunny Drop's more sophisticated setup (which I feel can't be completely appreciated until you watch the rest).

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)
I found Hellsing quite slow. Alucard was cool in this first ep, but I didn't find him awesome until later in the series. Paranoia Agent has that signature Satoshi Kon draw to it and wastes no time diving into the mystery.

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler
Fullmetal Alchemist gets the easy win for its masterful mix of comedy, intrigue, and tragedy. And I don't think there was a better way that they could have introduced us into the world of alchemy.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya[/quote]
Two of the most unique first episodes in the tournament pitted against each other. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya gets my vote because I don't watch series for the art. My number one is interesting story (taking the entire series into account Gankutsuou would win) and Haruhi's first episode teases you with a hilarious parody with little explanation. I was dying to find out the story behind this episode, and I loved Kyon's narration.

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E
Voting for: Bunny Drop
Viewing history: Seen both episodes before. Continued with Bunny Drop, dropped Level E after episode four.
Bunny Drop: You can already tell Daikichi and Rin have great chemistry. As the write-up says, it's very rare to have an anime series with a male adult and a little girl who isn't sexualized. Other than its premise (grandfather's daughter taken in by 30-years old bachelor) it's a quite realistic slice of life. The art and music is quite good and the ending theme makes me leap with joy every time.
Level E: The opener is aweome and Yukitaka and the Prince play off well to each other, they're funny. But... I am less enthusiastic about the ufo/spooky/sci-fi elements of the show.

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)
Voting for: Hellsing
Viewing history: New to both series.
Paranoia Agent: The episode starts off strong with random comments from people complaining and brushing off responsibilities. The story seems interesting - someone attacked our cute designer, but who and why? There are some interesting scenes like an old man writing some kind of sum on the street, the stuffed animal talking back and all. Now for the bad parts: the characters are still bland, except for one: the tabloid reporter. Of course, he was intentionally unappealling, but mannn that was disgusting! I don't want any more of this! Also: even though this is a mystery/criminal case, I didn't find the first episode very exciting.
Hellsing: Well that was awesome. Alucard sure is charismatic and stylish! The episode did a good job on setting his character up. The police girl seems like a strong likable character. The music stood out positively to me as well. Nice atmosphere and action. I don't know where the story might be going and if the story has any depth (if its action and suspense isn't enough) ... but I'm tempted to try another serving of Hellsing.

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler
Voting for: Fullmetal Alchemist
Viewing history: Seen Fullmetal Alchemist.
Fullmetal Alchemist: I admit to still having goosebumps when I see this episode. The opening scene where something goes really wrong is quite disturbing. The rest of the episode adds some more drama, action, humor, briefly shows us some villains, raises some questions - why is All represented by some weird armor? Did Ed's leg mysteriously heal? Life and death are discussed. The scene where Rose discovers All is an empty armor is still powerful. Okay, time to quit rambling, I think I expressed my thoughts about this ep quite clearly Very Happy

.
Hayate the Combat Butler: Sorry, Hayate. I thought the episode was quite funny and the tsundere character wasn't even bad either. The art is awful though. That's not really the most important thing to me when I judge a series... It just doesn't have the impact that Fullmetal Alchemist does have.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Voting for: The Count of Monte Cristo
Viewing history: Seen both episodes before.
Gankutsuou: Haunting opening, beautiful episode (I did read once that some people couldn't handle the animation and felt a bit dizzy after it?). I don't really like how foolish Albert is - be careful dude! Think about the situation for a second, why are you voluntarily watching an execution for example? The Count seems like a tough villain and the 'woman (IIRC)' at the end makes for a nice cliffhanger.
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: There's some credit to be given to the creators to air this episode as the first one: it's a bold choice and eh... very unique. Positive: there's almost no Haruhi to be seen. Negative: she directed this episode. The first time I saw this episode I was so confused! I didn't know what was going on and wanted to know where the real story was. The bad singing and intentionally amateuristic filming were funny, but Mikuru being her I-have-no-balls-nor-pride personality in that bunny outfit and Kyon giving good comments but not doing anything about the situation - no, it doesn't help. The only reasons why I watched other episode was because of the hype and because I wanted to know if there was a story after these unique 23 (?) minutes.

I have seen all of these, but it's been quite a while for a couple of them so I meant to rewatch and remind myself on a couple of these, but I won't be able to make the time and doubt another look will change my votes, so...

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E
Voting for: Bunny Drop
IIRC I annoyed some people with my criticisms of the first episode of Level E in the talkback thread here. It's daring, it's a strong episode but it really gets in your face and by the end I was a bit annoyed with it. In Short, it tries too hard. Bunny Drop has none of those problems, assured story-telling, unobnoxious yet in its way, it's daring too, stepping around taboo and pandering landmines to tell a more adult story that still appeals to a wide audience.

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)
Voting for: Paranoia Agent
I nominated Paranoia Agent, reasons why are on the link. Hellsing I meant to revisit but what I recall doesn't seem to give me much reason to change my mind. The number one thing I remember are the main girl's oddly spherical boobs, like cantaloupes in a grocery bags. I remember some vampires and monster action but nothing that impressed me much. I guess what I should remember is Alucards...but I just don't... that can't be good, can it?

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler
Voting for: Hayate the Combat Butler

I did rewatch the first FMA ep during the nominations period, I was about to vote for it and wondered if I was just romanticizing it too much. When I watched it I decided I was a bit. What I really love about the first part of FMA is the origin story, I had forgotten how little was actually told in the first episode. It's good to get to the introductions of Ed and Al but the Cornello just feels so rushed and a bit paint by numbers. There's really nothing wrong with it, a very good standard opening that gets you ready for more and doesn't turn you away at all, but I don't think it's something to remember on its own. Hayate on the other hand, as I say in my nomination is a master of clearness and economy of story-telling. A lot happens, things do go fast but it doesn't feel like it. It tells you everything you need to know and introduces you to its brand of rapid comedy, Gag/parody/slapstick/break 4th wall, and still you're already starting to feel something for this goodhearted, ward-working oaf.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Voting for: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
It's a tricky and ballsy episode and I love how it takes such a different approach to a series introduction. The entire thing is an episdoe long reaction to Haruhi... without actually showing her, what a way to present the power of your character. It's obvious not a single one of the people involved in the film actually want to do it, but they are? Why? Kyon's exasperation says so much- they can't help it, this titular hero is pulling off the strings and what we see is the pure personalities of every supporting characters in D-movie form and the only one that thinks its good is the offscreen character. It makes me really want to find out what she's all about.
If there's a problem with Gankutsuou its that I appreciate and respect it much more than I actually enjoy. It's the one I wanted to rewatch most of this batch though- because I can't exactly remember what it was I didn't enjoy. But in the end I think my enjoyment of "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00" is strong enough to make me think it would still prevail for me

Group B-1
Bunny Drop
vs.
Level E

Vote for: Level E

I ended up loving Bunny Drop overall, but the first episode doesn't really go very far. There is the sense that the show will be special, but I don't feel that it's special in itself. Level E, on the other hand, quickly goes for character development and humorous dialogue and overall has more to chew on.

Group B-2
Paranoia Agent
vs.
Hellsing (TV)

Vote for: Hellsing

Paranoia Agent is another show that does what it needs to, but on its own is simply a prelude to bigger things. Hellsing brings out the big guns (literally) with great style and direction. The story isn't exactly special, but it's wonderful to watch anyways.

Group B-3
Fullmetal Alchemist
vs.
Hayate the Combat Butler

Vote for: Full Metal Alchemist

I had Hayate pegged as a top 16 candidate...if it wasn't matched against this. Hayate has great fun factor and dialogue, but FMA has that combined with great storytelling and immediately memorable characters. There's a gravity to it that's very unusual in first episodes, especially without drowning you in it. FMA strikes a great balance here.

Group B-4
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
vs.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya[/quote]

Vote for: Gankutsuou

I covered my distaste for Haruhi's first ep already, but I was really caught off-guard by what Gankutsuou had to offer as well. Wonderful artistry and strong dramatic writing combine to create a highly memorable first episode.

I've just finished watching the 8 episodes for matchings B5-B8. With the bottom half it's as if I've just wandered through a human abattoir. Confused

Thank goodness for Aria and Hanasaku Iroha.

errinundra wrote:

abattoir.

OT but what a wonderful word that is. I had to go look it up immediately (though in context I had an idea of what it meant).

That said, I can't quite agree with the assessment of the bottom half, with the exception of Haruhi of course.

Group B-1
Voting for: Bunny Drop

Reasons: seen both and Bunny Drop without a doubt in my heart. Quickly shows a promise for something great and it's also always refreshing to see when anime deviates from its typical offerings. The first episode also does a great job of introducing its main characters and establishing the setting, mood and style with also adhering to the degree of realism that's required. Like Time of Eve there's that welcoming quality here even the situations are more strained than in that show.

Group B-2
Voting for: Paranoia Agent

Reasons: Hell sing is an underwhelming first show and all, and Paranoia Agent promise exactly what you would expect from its title lots of paranoia, mystery, detectives, strange art work and some extra like talking plushies and crazy boy on skates with a bat on a rampage. It's zany enough to outdo Hellsing which only has oodles of pretentious vacuous style.

Group B-3
Voting for: Fullmetal Alchemist

Reasons: The first episode of FMA manages to do something not commonly achieved in anime tell a well written complete standalone story that slowly introduces it to the characters, setting, and other themes that make this series work. There's hints of characterization, great writing, charm, style and most importantly distinctiveness. I was also hooked after the first episode and FMA wins the prize of first show where I watches over 20 episodes in one day.

All Hayate has going for it is asshole Santa and some standard fare zaniness. No thanks.

Group B-4
Voting for: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Reasons: Echoing the opinion of others episode 00 of Haruhi is just plain ol' weak about making a solid first impression and is sometimes a turnoff to what otherwise is an outstanding show. It's greatness is really only unlocked after you have seen later episodes in the show; it's a rather poor standalone unless you really have seen a truckload of anime and are a hardcore otaku. Some say that's a plus, but this is one of few shows where I have had multiple friends drop the show after the first episode because it was just too non linear and didn't meet the great expectations that it promises to deliver. All it really has is Kyon's snarky commentary going for it with far too little coherency or structure in it to please more traditional or casual anime fans.

If this was the second episode, I would probably be voting differently, but this is also going up against
Gankutsuou, which is awesome and deserves to move on based on its own merits as well. That first episode is spookingly enchanting and charming much like the larger than life persona that the titular character has. We are also introduced to a world of consequence, sacrifice while tempted by mystery and intrigue while we tried to uncover the dark secrets that the likable count seems to almost be certainly withholding from us. Also the animation and art choices certainly are unique and make this series memorable even from the first episode alone.

Also while Kyon and the Count are both certainly strong characters, the first episode paints the Count as a much more interesting, richer ( in more ways than one) and captivating one with much unspoken depth than just a pithy joker like Kyon.

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