First Impressions: Hidan no Aria (Anime Adaptation)

Hidan no Aria is one of the more promising anime this season, and one that I was personally looking forward to. So far it's living up to my expectations except for a couple of flaws. Of course, when I say that it meets the expectations, more often than not it follows the light novel relatively well without messing stuff up or skipping a lot of the good stuff in between. So without further ado, let's get into the nitty-gritty.

With the technical stuff first - the graphics are very good - nothing really fantastically detailed/artistic or anything, of course, but very cleanly drawn, all the people look nice, and the different moods (e.g. Yandere stormcloud) has enough graphic appeal. And the girls look good. Enough said.

RUN. Before it's too late.

Here's the OP; I don't care much for the ED since it mainly relies on fanservice shots of tired looking loli girls.

I personally like the OP's main phrase (0:13~0:21) and I think the OP overall is pretty creative, if a bit extreme on having pretty much just raw voice + synthesized beats. Not the best in the world, but still good.

As for plot, I really like the light novel but I'm not so sure I can say the same for the anime. Due to the nature of light novels, Hidan no Aria requires definitely requires at least a few arcs to pass by before it completely matures. However, as things seem right now with the anime industry, Hidan no Aria will most likely barely pass through the first arc and then do a half-hearted conclusion. The chance for a season 2 is up for grabs, but if Shakugan no Shana can do it, so can Hidan no Aria, I guess.

Actually, I take that back. From the pace of the series so far, I don't think it'll even manage to do the first arc right, unless the studio goes for a full 25 or so episodes.

As for characters, I think they're doing well with it, although how they'll handle the personality developments is another matter. The voices are very suited for each character personality (especially Riko), but for some reason, Shirayuki's voice still gets on my nerves. I like how they dialed back on the tsun part for Aria. I wouldn't be able to stand it if Hidan no Aria turned into 14 episodes worth of tsundere bitching. The Kinji-Aria relationship is much more refreshing because of the above, more realistic, interaction. Of course, Shirayuki and Riko act silly, but that's for comedy/fanservice, not for development.

Yeah....just like this.

So far I like it. I'm not particularly enamored with the anime by itself, although I am looking forward to some of the developments that will come out soon. However, it is an anime that is worth watching this season, so get to it if you have the time.

DENIED.