Sunday, January 4, 2009

Kurokami Episode 1

kurokamiKurokami (Black God) is a Japanese Manga written by a Korean team who can’t read, write or speak a word of Japanese. So, for a foreign work to survive against the competition of the insanely over-populated Japanese manga market, and also to have an anime adaptation, I guess it must be doing something right. Hence, though I did not read the manga, I decide to give this anime a try.In the 1st episode, we are introduced to protagonist Keita, whose mother passed away a few years ago. After his mother's death, his good friend also passed away. He thinks that he is a jinx and so, he starts to stay away from other people. In school, he appears cheerful but whenever his friends ask him out, he will always find excuses not to go. After school, he prefers to wander around alone.One evening, at a Ramen stall, he met Kuro, who is craving for Ramen but has no money. Sympathizing with her, he decides to give her a treat. However, a strange guy suddenly appears and attacks Kuro. To Keita's surprise, she is strong enough to fight him off.Kurokami revolves around the theme 'One in Three' - 3 persons in the world look exactly the same but share different destines. Only 1 is the Origin. The other 2 will eventually die and the Origin will absorb their fates.Keita's mommy dies after seeing someone who looks exactly like herself. In this episode, the exact same thing happens to Lisa, Keita's classmate and Mayu-chan, Keita's young neighbour.AfterthoughtsThe first half is pretty slow. All I see is Keita wandering around, looking depressed. The second half is slightly more interesting but it somewhat reminds me of 'Shakugan no Shana'. Kuro, though not as cute, looks a little like Shana - shining red hair + a battle girl.From the preview of the next episode, it seems like Kuro is going to stay with Keita, which again reminds me of 'Shakugan no Shana' and many other anime series. This is an old plot so I do hope they have something new and interesting to make Kurokami worth to watch.The only thing I find interesting in this episode is the theme 'One in Three'. I hope they will expand on it. (^_^)/~~Episode 1 Keita - the main protagonist.Kuro - the Shana lookalike!He appears right at the end of the episode. His name is not revealed yet but he seems to be the main antagonist.These people are the so-called 'Origin'. The little gal in yellow is Mayu-chan and the gal in school uniform is Lisa. The Lisa and Mayu-chan whom Keita know are already dead. These people are under the control of the guy in the previous picture.Bookmark and Share