So here we are with the summer anime season underway. I've checked out three of the new shows this weekend. I plan to do a first impression post for all of them, but since I liked this one the most, I'm going to post about it first.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is a series about a young Japanese girl who ends up living in Paris, France during the latter half of the nineteenth century. I enjoyed watching this first episode. The show illustrates the dramatic/hilarious life of a girl in a different country and the people she lives with .
Are you incredibly adorable and cute?
So everyone meet Yune. She starts the show swishing around in her gorgeous japanese kimono, amazed and wide-eyed (haha, like she isn't already) at her new surroundings in the streets of Paris. I have to say, I have never seen a more adorable character design for an anime girl in my life. Plus, whoever her seiyuu just adds to the cuteness. I'm pretty sure if I was mean enough, I could pic spam you guys with about forty or fifty screenshots of Yune.
"What in the world have I done? I've let loose a monster!"
Yune is followed by an old man with flowing white hair with matching Santa Claus beard. After some more shots of Yune in awe and smiling (Kawaii blast!), we go into the OP. The OP isn't anything incredibly epic. I believe the OP is called Sekai wa Odoru yo, Kimi to by Youmou to Ohana, but don't quote me on that. While it wasn't uber attention grabbing, it was nicely done that it managed to keep your attention with its laid back music and simple images of Yune, the old man, and a young blond man traveling around Paris.
Those eyes strike fear into the hearts of all the Frenchmen
So we come to a little shop called Enseignes du Roy which I believe is French is for "King's Signs" but I'm not positive on that. The shop is settled in the Galerie, a shopping district. We meet Claude, the young man who works as a metalworker, making signs. Turns out, old Santa Claus is Claude's grandfather, Oscar, who had recently made a trip to Japan. Claude notices the Japonaise, and his grandfather explains that the girl will be the new live-in maid, who was also very efficient at attracting customers in his old country. Claude is against this idea, but his grandfather says that Yune will be a great help. Oscar then instructs Yune to greet Claude since he is the owner of the store.
"I am your slave"
What are you thinking you pervert?
Really Claude? You were the only one thinking stuff
Claude has a major freakout at this supposedly slave-like gesture. His grandfather explains that this is a normal gesture in Japan. As they converse, we find out that Yune, supposedly, can't understand them since she doesn't know French, and they're speaking French (they had me fooled). Oscar then takes Yune up to her room.
Let me repeat. KA-WA-II
Nice Ascot there, Claude
Yune starts her work cleaning the shop as Claude works on sign that involves a beautiful crystal butterful. Claude finishes his sign and we start to learn a bit of history of the shop and the Galerie. His father, deceased, and his grandfather built the sign for the Galerie and were great metalworkers. He is determined to continue his shop even though the shopping district is having financial troubles because his family's fifty-year legacy was in this store. Apparently, the sign he had been working on was one of his father's old ones. Oscar comes in to praise Yune's cleaning work. Yune sees a boy in the window, who runs away when she spots him. She tries to chase after him, but her kimono snags the sign. It shatters in a strangely beautiful fashion.
Destruction is an art
Yune apologizes deeply (getting on her knees again), and Claude in his frustration spouts that though he doesn't know anything about her and where she came from, she doesn't know anything about where she was now either. She should just go back (BOO YOU, Claude! We loves Yune!) Eventually, Claude does manage to repair the butterfly, and he goes to check up on Yune.
"Please be gentle, Master"
Yune greets him with an apology, but Claude says that apologies don't fix everything. He does say that the sign is fixed and that it will be all right. Yune is, however, dissatisfied with this outcome. So she follows Claude and hands him an expensive-looking kimono. He says that it looks expensive and that she didn't need to give him over, but she insists. Claude repairs the sign, and even gives the kimono to the customer who seemed interested in it. Claude comes back and gifts Yune with a children's book so she can learn French.
That looks way to big for that little girl
Oscar has a major freak-out when he sees Yune's kimono has been sold. He tells Claude that it was a memento of Yune's mom. Claude rushes up and gets angry at Yune, telling her that he will get the kimono back. Yune yells at him not to do that (turns out she knew French the whole time, or maybe it was 'cause you guys were speaking freaking Japanese!) since the shop and their signs will lose credence. She apologizes, but Claude says he was the one who needed to apologize. He promises to get the kimono back for her one day, if she promises never to give away her precious things again, to which she blushingly agrees.
Who will win this kneeling match?!
Do you trust me?
MEGA KAWAII BLAST!
I skipped the ED since I've never really found an ED I like except for the AnoHana Secret Base. Of course, you guys can check out the ED yourself if you watch. At the end, we get a little bonus of Yune reading her children's book. Claude says she doesn't need it since she knows French, but she asserts that she promised never to let go of precious things again.
The big question on everyone's mind: How old is she?!
Opinion: So this show was pretty much great in my opinion. I think it's gonna be some drama with her being a foreigner with mostly slice of life stuff. I enjoy slice of life anime. I really like the main characters here. Yune is just a big major blast of Kawaii. Claude I like, he's aloof, but not exactly acting like a jerk. He has his reasons. The grandfather, Oscar, holds a bit of mystery to him. I wanna know more. It seems like it's gonna be real interesting. This is a definite will watch the rest of the season. I recommend this to you everyone.
Preview:
Next episode is titled Cheese. Seems like a day out shopping in Paris. Watch it! She said please, come on!
Oracion is the big man in charge. He's a romance fanatic with a slight focus on harem. His avatar's Plue, because Plue always made him laugh on rave.
