WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Today I am starting a review series for the anime of Sora no Otoshimono. Today, Episode 1. For a first episode, I absolutely loved it. It had so much good content in. There was an incredible mixture of humor, sadness, intrigue, suspense, compassion, and emotion all jam-packed into one episode. We also got a nice introduction to the characters and plot.
The emotions of the show were incredibly well done, especially the humor and the sadness. The humor clearly relied on perverted humor for much of it. This is shaping up to be a very perverted show. Clearly perverted humor is not for everyone. For those who like perverted humor though, the first episode nailed it very nicely. The whole bit with Tomoki running wild with abandon was very humorous, and also quite extreme in its raunchiness. Clearly, Tomoki having godlike powers+him being a pervert+him being horny=big time trouble. In addition to the raunchy humor, the rest of the humor was also very nicely done, as we got lots of great humor thanks largely to the great and hilarious personalities of the various characters.
Another controversial aspect is that fact that Ikaros voluntarily enslaved herself to Tomoki without even asking if he wanted it. Obviously, slavery is the tense topic that stirs lots of emotions. The fact that the show appears, at least so far, to be embracing consensual slavery as a major element sticks out as something that could rub many the wrong way and also infuriate many people.
To be honest, I am actually impressed with how strongly the show is embracing these controversial elements. Some other shows try to downplay such controversial aspects, but this show is embracing them openly and not shying away from them, which helps make them work. I have to give credit to those who made the series for not downplaying these aspects but embracing them strongly.
Looking at the more serious emotions, much of the episode was sad. These sad parts were very well done. I found it surprising how quickly the show switched from happy and humorous to sad and compassionate. We really got the see Tomoki’s emotions on full display toward the end of the episode. The whole scene with the world dead was very emotional for the viewer, especially when Ikaros nearly died too. Much of the reason the emotions work so well is because we can understand the characters and what they are going through. This is especially true with Tomoki and Ikaros.
Another well-done part of this show is the music and imagery. The musical tunes were very well done and really go along nicely with and help to set the mood of different parts of the show. The imagery in the show is also beautiful. We got to see great details of the characters and scenery, as these are incredibly vivid and well animated. I also love that dreaming is playing a major role in the show. I personally love dreams and they are adding so much intrigue and emotional strength to this storyline. This is shaping up to be a very beautiful show and I am loving the development of background to the main story.
Looking at the characters, we have a nice mixture of many different personalities going on. To add to this, these characters are clearly not boring. Instead, these personalities seem very unique and non generic. This is good we don’t get boring personalities or personalities that are generic, as this makes the show more unique and not seem like a rip off of other shows.
Looking at the characters more closely, Tomoki is clearly a pervert. It is also interesting how when he gets god-like powers he uses them for his ridiculous perverted dreams instead of using them for power, fame, and prestige like others would. He also seems like a bit of a pushover given how easily Sohara can control him. Still, he does not seem evil. Tomoki clearly was hurt by his mistake when the world got killed. He seems quite caring and especially cares about Ikaros, as shown by the fact that he put his life in peril to save her.
Tomoki is also clearly a funny character, and seems like he will make the show very hilarious. So far, he seems to be developing into a flawed protagonist. This is a good thing, as the fact he has flaws will give him room to grow and develop as well as make trials more difficult for him.
As for Ikaros, I am absolutely loving her character. She seems so passive, emotionless, but fun and humorous at the same time. It is weird how she seems emotionless but still makes things hilarious, but somehow she does. It is also interesting that she is so subservient and submissive to Tomoki and how she cares about Tomoki so much. She seems like she will be very fun going forward.
Though she seems fun, she also seems sad in many ways. It seems sad how Ikaros is so obsessed with serving Tomoki that she literally tried to kill herself because she mistakenly thought Tomoki wanted her dead. I honestly feel sorry for her character. She seems so lost in a way. The scene with Tomoki and Ikaros out by the cherry tree also seemed interesting, as Ikaros seemed to wander around for no apparent reason, like she didn’t know what else to do. Ikaros showed a lot of curiosity and naivety, and that makes the viewer feel more compassion for her.
Ikaros is also very intriguing as a character. It seems bizarre how she just fell out of the sky and starting calling Tomoki master. I wonder, is she the ‘Heaven’s Lost Property’ the show is named after? Her bizarre appearance and strange personality raise many questions that I suspect may not be answered for some time. It will be interesting what long-term implications her arrival will have on the show’s plot.
As for Sohara, she seems rather violent as an individual. She clearly cares about Tomoki and goes out of her way to help him, but her quickness to turn to violence is bizarre. She also seems very forceful and demanding, like a no-nonsense kind of character.
Sugata seems very suspicious as a character. He is clearly smart, and also seems crazy and brave to the point of being reckless. He seems like he is hiding something, like he will turn out to be a villain later.
Mikako seems very sadistic and cutthroat as an individual. She seems very unethical. Still, she was humorous in the show even though we did not get to see much of her.
The blue-haired angel seems very intriguing and mysterious. It is unclear who she is and how she knows about Ikaros. I am wondering how we will see her later.
Going forward, it is obvious that much of this show’s plot is very unclear. We got some hints that left lots of questions and few if any answers, which raises lots of intrigue. There are so many bizarre things going on with this show it is hard to predict how it will play out. Overall, I am liking how the show is creating so much intrigue, as this helps make the show more interesting and makes the reader wonder about how the plot will develop, what is the true storyline, and how these events and characters will play out. I am looking forward to reviewing the rest of the series.
Sora no Otoshimono. Funimation, 2009. Web.