Last updated February 24, 2006.
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April 28, 2003:

A new season of anime is underway. Thus far, I am focusing my attention on four shows in particular:

...

The second most promising show appears to be Narue no Sekai, which is a fairly amusing story about the love lives and day-to-day schenanigans of a bunch of 14-year-old eighth grade students. Oh yeah, the titular Narue happens to be a space alien.

Narue buying a radish
Narue buying a radish.

Something like half-a-dozen fansubbing groups jumped all over the first episode. Of the three or four I checked, only Xenon-Fansubs appeared to have translated the above scene correctly (the next shot shows Narue with half a radish in her bag). I would recommend X-F over the other groups for this particular coup, but that could diminish the likelihood that they'll get around to finishing Puchi Puri Yuushi. C'mon, now, the final ten episodes are already in the can. Don't leave me hanging.

...

And there you have it. With these four shows and my late start on Vandread, there's nearly two hours of anime to watch per week, which curiously also just about equals the amount of regular television that I watch. I'm probably going to stop watching a couple of these shows, though, if they don't ramp it up a bit.

June 17, 2003:

A bit of an update after ten episodes:  Narue no Sekai has turned out to be a delightful show. Can I say delightful? Whatever. Narue no Sekai rocks. Yeah.

As expected, they have focused primarily on the "young love" angle rather than on the "alien from outer space angle." It's a good thing, too, since (somewhat ironically) the "young love" angle feels a bit more original.

It also works well because the characters are endearing. Kazuto is a likable putz. Narue is a bit eccentric but is an otherwise sweet kid. Yagi has gotten much nicer. The biggest surprise is that what one would expect to be the token kid-sister character isn't bratty at all anymore and has moments of precocious maturity.

Then you have moments like this caused by the kids' innocent naivete:

Narue almost makes Kazuto's head explode.
Narue almost makes Kazuto's head explode.

Episode 10 in particular is a real blast since it features Narue cosplaying as a character from Kazuto's favorite anime.

Narue almost makes Kazuto's head explode again.
Narue almost makes Kazuto's head explode again.

It's best to forget that her costume smells like fish. Yeah, don't ask. It's a long story.

Narue in her homemade cosplay outfit.
Narue in her homemade cosplay outfit.

Well, not really, but it is kinda funny.

It will strike you right in the heart!
"It will strike you right in the heart!"

I also find that the end credit sequence is one of the best in recent memory.

January 17, 2006: Narue no Sekai.

So I went ahead and ordered the full Narue no Sekai (The World of Narue) DVD collection from DeepDiscountDVD.com because, for crying out loud, it's only $21.58 for the entire season—with free shipping and no tax. Hell, that's worth it just for the "Ice Cream" end credits and the Mamiko Noto happy tea kettle noise alone.

However, I think I do have to grudingly add Narue to my ever-growing list of likable characters who really needed to be on better shows. Needs more Narue no Sekai: The Second Season.

January 21, 2006: Narue no Sekai.

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned the cosplay episode along with the "Ice Cream" end credits and the Mamiko Noto happy tea kettle noise. My bad.

February 11, 2006: Narue no Sekai.

Anyone who purports to be a Mamiko fan had better own the box set of The World of Narue, seeing as how it's only about twenty bucks now, and the Mamiko Noto commentary track is totally awesome. This coming from someone who's only a casual Mamiko fan at best—I'm more of an Ayako Kawasumi (I did coin and, for over a year, attempt to popularize "Ayako Doctrine") and Yui Horie and Yukino Satsuki fan, if anything.

Narue
Narue can be quite chipper in the morning.

Anyway, like I was saying, the Mamiko commentary track is totally awesome, and I fully support more of this sort of thing.

Incidentally, Mamiko Noto apparently makes Narue's tea kettle noise when she gets excited in real life, too.

 

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