Fall 2009 Anime - Kampher, Initial Review

I managed to watch the first episode of Kampher last night and I will admit that I was pleasently surprised. The initial information that I saw as far as the Fall 2009 lineup did not quite tell me much.

The themes for this anime: gender switch, harem, ecchi

Plot Summary From ANN:

Senou Natsuru is your normal, everyday high school student. However he´s been chosen to be a Kampfer, who´s objective consists on fighting other Kampfer with either guns, swords or magic, however, there´s catch; first you can´t chose if you´re a Kampfer or not, and second, you must have the body of a girl to use your powers.

The series opens up with 2 girls, one chasing the other. The second is shooting at the first for some unknown reason. The chase ends with the first girl falling off of a building... At this point I was not sure what to think. The action was not super exciting, like how many other anime have started like this. I decided to keep watching, despite the fact it was 2am.


As the episode progressed we find that the first girl (Senou Natsuru) is actually a boy who had been transformed. Throughout the show we get bits and peices of why this is the case. I think if I were in that situation I may be a little freaked.


It isn't only the boys that transform but the girls too. We come to find that the girl (Mishima Akane) shooting after Natsuru is another student at his school, who when not transformed is a VERY shy and reserved librarian aide. When transformed, Akane becomes the firey redhead with red-eyes whos personality is complete opposite.


Akane tells Natsuru of the battle in progress and how they are on the same team. Shortly afterward, a third person (yet unseen) starts attacking the pair. Akane transforms quickly as does Natsuru, a skill which he is still mastering. The episode closes with the library essentially being destroyed by some unknown assailant.



I plan to watch this series further as it looks like it may have some promise. There is a little ecchi and I can see where the harem is starting to form. I've already picked at least one favorite character, Akane, because of her sudden personality changes.


Looking forward to the next episode.... Better watch it or Akane may hunt you down!

Kimi ni Todoke - From Me to You - Anime

A number of new Anime series coming out this Fall have caught my attention. One of these anime is an adaptation from Manga called Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You).

While looking for a trailer I could share, I came across this well done fan created video based on the Manga.



I was not able to locate a sub'd version of the trailer, yet. When I do, I'll update this post. Until then... here's the trailer, in Japanese.


From ANN:

Kimi ni Todoke is about a girl named Kuronuma Sawako. She is nicknamed Sadako (from the ring) because many people see her as strange and often mistake her for a ghost. A boy called Kazehaya kun becomes her friend and, to her, is "100% refreshness."
Kuronuma Sawako’s one wish in life is to make friends. That’s a difficult proposition when everyone who meets her cowers in terror. She admires her classmate, Kazehaya-kun, a popular, easygoing and 100% refreshing guy who is nice with everyone, even with her.

More of what is coming out this fall can be found on zotaku.com. The fine bunch of bloggers there went out of their way to put together a pretty good list. Now if I could only get caught up with my viewing list...