29 October 2008: Kannagi is this season's pleasant surprise
Jin's artist's eye differs somewhat from Hagu's.
As Toradora! fades, Kannagi continues to impress. This is a pretty big accomplishment for a harem comedy even I had written off during the season previews. Kannagi is surprisingly funny, charming, and even finds time to be interesting.
Jin and Nagi at a familiar-looking locale.
It is a harem comedy in the sense that Fate/Stay Night is a harem catastrophe. That is, there is one male protagonist and increasingly more potential love interests that continue to surround him. Thankfully only one girl seems to have any romantic interest in Male Protagonist.
Tsugumi is appalled by Jin and Nagi's Misato-esque diet.
Better still, Jin is not a worthless ass clown. He's not as standup as Kazuya from Hand Maid May, but he's a far cry from the Shuffle! and Da Capo douche bags.
Nagi invites Jin's attention.
Nagi is high-test genki, although still an order of magnitude below that of Toradora!'s Minori. Nagi also tones it down quite a bit with each succeeding episode, at least through the first four.
Nagi invites everybody's attention.
Underscoring the legacy and influence of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, the Kannagi all-singing, all-dancing OP is even more idolriffic than the Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu ED. It is a good OP, to be sure—possibly the best one of this season. Really, it's a good enough reason to give Kannagi a chance, even if you're not yet persuaded by accounts of a simple show playing way over its head (truly).
