Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells From the Sky First Impression
Posted on: July 20, 2010
Image from Media Factory.
When I started watching Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells From the Sky early this week, I tried to go in without any prior expectations. The problem was that my sheer hatred for ToLoveRu (Trouble) tainted the “Cute alien descends to earth, hijinks ensue” formula for me. So imagine my surprise when it turned out that not only was the first episode of Asobi ni Ikuyo watchable, but I actually enjoyed it enough to fly right to the second episode.
More thoughts – and a recipe for creating your very own Urusei Yatsura clone – after the jump.
Datcha!
The recipe Asobi ni Ikuyo is as basic as you can get for a sci-fi romantic comedy:
Ingredients:
1 nondescript boy
1 childhood friend (neighbor) (cute)
1 teacher (hot)
1 mysterious transfer student (cute)
1 alien (hot)
Wacky friends and rivals to taste
Directions:
– Bake nondescript boy and childhood friend for 14-17 years.
– Remove from heat. Top with hot teacher and mysterious transfer student.
– Add cute alien, stir until boy is confused and girls are sexy.
– Garnish with wacky friends until comedy cools.
– Serve and enjoy!
Note: Results may not look like picture. They may look like UFO Princess Valkyrie or Tenchi Muyo! instead. Or Onegai Teacher, or DearS, or… the list goes on and on.
Where Asobi ni Ikuyo succeeds so far is in taking the basic formula and adding enough spice to make it taste new and interesting. It doesn’t feel like the same alien romance they’ve been feeding us since 1978. The childhood friend? She’s an intern for the CIA and has ties to the nearby Kadena Air Base. The hot teacher? She’s part of a secret society of UFO and conspiracy freaks who think that the catgirl Ellis is totally inappropriate for their idealized vision of first contact. The mysterious transfer student is an elite agent in a power suit.
It’s pretty silly and strains your suspension of disbelief when you see it all for the first time. Events conspire to make sure all of these people happen to be in the same place at the same time, plus they are all in love with Kio Kakazu, a perfectly ordinary high school boy. And yet it all comes together to more amusing than it has any right to be, thanks to a lead character who doesn’t seem like he’s over his head.
In the second episode, everything comes down on Kio, as several governments and terrorist organizations descend on his catgirl guest and fling him around like a rag doll in the process. Somehow, he manages to extract some sense out the confusing web of relationships and secrets in order to get things done by the end of the episode – he rescues the girl with some help from his badass friends, he gets them all to work together, and he’s all in one piece at the end, which is a pretty impressive feat. When it’s all over, you’re left with the crazy idea that this gun-slinging, panty-shotting, rom-comming mess just might turn into a watchable show.
I reserve the right to change my mind if this story turns into mush like Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou did toward the end, but right now? I’m waiting for ep 3 with interest. I totally did not expect that.
July 21, 2010 at 10:26 am
Same Dom, I was totally expecting random panty flashes and nyan’ing for 20 minutes a-la Mayoi Neko, pleasantly surprised so far.