The N series: Part Three
Nourin...I shall begin.
How did I know about it: I was scrolling innocently through my Facebook news feeds and suddenly an image pops up from one of the anime groups I subscribe to...the description shouted...'This is NOT hentai'...followed by an extremely questionable picture. So what did I do, being the curious neko that I am...I searched it up on Google...and started watching it, after all it's NOT hentai remember~
Progress Status: Watched the anime...
Summary: Nourin is about a famous idol, Kusakabe Yuka who suddenly decided to retire, leaving her 'number one' fan in the country side, Hata Kosaku totally depressed. Until he finds out that the one and only Kusakabe Yuka, comes and enrols in his agricultural school under the name Kinoshita Ringo. After that, all sorts of weird things happen, as Kosaku tries to get to know the girl of his dreams better.
From the summary, I was quite positive going into this anime. It sounded interesting, like why would an idol at the height of her fame quit suddenly? And why of all schools transfer to Kosaku's school? In addition, the whole agricultural setting was kinda new, as not many anime have a main focus on natural produce.
Did I find that questionable picture in the anime? Yes, it was in the first episode. After that scene, it was like the flood gates of ecchi had burst forth and subsequently drowned the first half of the anime well and good. Nourin not only has the typical characters of an ecchi romantic comedy (we'll get to that later), they managed to make totally decent food produce into 'something else'. You'll never look at, eggs, mushrooms and yoghurt the same way again. Which yes, lends to the comedy I guess, though I wish it didn't always have to be sexual.
You said ecchi drowned the first half, what about the second? Well, the script writer decided to get serious about the romance part (a love triangle) and turned the ecchi comedy down, but that only resulted in whatever ecchi humour left to be awkwardly placed. Though I guess, if you could get through all that you might learn something about agriculture through the show, or at least the names of the produce in Japanese.
About the characters, Nourin, really just places all the possible types of cliché anime characters they could get their hands on and dumped it in this anime. You have the fan boy, Kosaku, the mysterious girl, Ringo, the childhood friend, Minori, that weird guy who talks as if he know's everything, and the dysfunctional teacher, oh and let's not forget the fujoshi as well. Really, I wish I could say something more about the characters but they all pretty much stay the same throughout with only Ringo getting some sort of character development.
As for art, it was decent, the colours were bright and eye catching. The way they drew vegetables made you want to eat them. I liked the way they drew Ringo's deadpan eyes.
The sound track for this anime was good. Really, the opening of the first episode was a live concert with the cutest song ever. I approve! Yuka was totally and utterly adorable in the song. The ending song was also along the kawaii vibe, with chibi Ringo and Minori to keep you company.
Watch the opening here:
Casting for this show was decent, nothing to complain about, with Tamura Yukari voicing Ringo, similar to the other roles of soft spoken girls she has taken on like Mai from Kanon. Once again, Hanazawa Kana, taking on the role of Minori here.
All in all, I think this anime was trying for a 'Baka & Test' kind of vibe, since they are from the same studio so I'm assuming that's where they are coming from, but unfortunately it fell flat for me despite the interesting setting.
TL;DR:
Nourin is an anime that is either a hit or a miss. There is good art and a good soundtrack, if you appreciate the comedy and don't mind the imbalance of the romance you just might enjoy this anime.
That's it for this three part series~^^
Written by Neko
How did I know about it: I was scrolling innocently through my Facebook news feeds and suddenly an image pops up from one of the anime groups I subscribe to...the description shouted...'This is NOT hentai'...followed by an extremely questionable picture. So what did I do, being the curious neko that I am...I searched it up on Google...and started watching it, after all it's NOT hentai remember~
Progress Status: Watched the anime...
Summary: Nourin is about a famous idol, Kusakabe Yuka who suddenly decided to retire, leaving her 'number one' fan in the country side, Hata Kosaku totally depressed. Until he finds out that the one and only Kusakabe Yuka, comes and enrols in his agricultural school under the name Kinoshita Ringo. After that, all sorts of weird things happen, as Kosaku tries to get to know the girl of his dreams better.
From the summary, I was quite positive going into this anime. It sounded interesting, like why would an idol at the height of her fame quit suddenly? And why of all schools transfer to Kosaku's school? In addition, the whole agricultural setting was kinda new, as not many anime have a main focus on natural produce.
Did I find that questionable picture in the anime? Yes, it was in the first episode. After that scene, it was like the flood gates of ecchi had burst forth and subsequently drowned the first half of the anime well and good. Nourin not only has the typical characters of an ecchi romantic comedy (we'll get to that later), they managed to make totally decent food produce into 'something else'. You'll never look at, eggs, mushrooms and yoghurt the same way again. Which yes, lends to the comedy I guess, though I wish it didn't always have to be sexual.
You said ecchi drowned the first half, what about the second? Well, the script writer decided to get serious about the romance part (a love triangle) and turned the ecchi comedy down, but that only resulted in whatever ecchi humour left to be awkwardly placed. Though I guess, if you could get through all that you might learn something about agriculture through the show, or at least the names of the produce in Japanese.
 |
| Educational moment! |
 |
| Kosaku and Ringo, but more importantly, look at those tomatoes! |
 |
| Look at those eyes~ |
Watch the opening here:
Casting for this show was decent, nothing to complain about, with Tamura Yukari voicing Ringo, similar to the other roles of soft spoken girls she has taken on like Mai from Kanon. Once again, Hanazawa Kana, taking on the role of Minori here.
All in all, I think this anime was trying for a 'Baka & Test' kind of vibe, since they are from the same studio so I'm assuming that's where they are coming from, but unfortunately it fell flat for me despite the interesting setting.
TL;DR:
Nourin is an anime that is either a hit or a miss. There is good art and a good soundtrack, if you appreciate the comedy and don't mind the imbalance of the romance you just might enjoy this anime.
That's it for this three part series~^^
Written by Neko
No Comment to " The N series: Part Three "