Cinderella Nine isn’t exactly the most exciting anime of the year, but Matt ‘s being a real trooper and sticking it out with me. I appreciate that. I’ve also randomly decided to be bold this week. So what did episode 3 bring us?
It’s Easter right now. And I don’t know if it’s the holiday spirit getting to me but I spent the entire episode making childish double entendre jokes to myself… UH huh, I bet you really need balls… You’re not the only one!
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing suggestive in the show itself. It’s just so saccharine and “innocent” that I can’t help myself. I do like it though, even though I sort of forget about it each week. How about you Matt? That’s a very apt way of putting it, I enjoy it while I’m watching it and then almost instantly forget about it.
This week was more recruitment for the girls. We got our two goofball characters in the form of military cheerleader senpai and shady gambling senpai. Both are clearly comedic relief, not that the show needed it. I have a soft spot for goofball characters mind you and I really think that this is where Cinderella Nine can be at its best. A slightly absurdist offbeat comedy. If everyone’s on the main cast is certain variant on cute girl trope (which they mostly are) its good to have big and silly side characters to broaden the comedic appeal. I like them both!
We also got a return on the theme of girls in baseball. Nothing new was really mentioned other than the fact that up until recently girls could only play on club teams (co-ed). Moreover, we got our first inkling that the novelty of a girls only baseball team in a mixed school could be leveraged into popularity. It’s a good idea. More girls in sports! In real life and in anime, I’ve been campaigning for this since I watched (and reviewed) ‘Scorching Ping Pong Girls’!
I like how they are easing us into this theme instead of beating us over the head with it. True, it could get a bit overbearing if they’d devoted more time to it than they needed to.
I got to admit, I’m already losing track of who’s who. That girl at the end with the long hair – not the president? Yes the president? I don’t know!!! That’s my problem with most shows with more than 5 girls in the cast! But then again I have that problem in real life too…
Hey Matt, did you know this was based on a mobile app game? I wonder how you play… Are cute girls sports shows all app commercials now? That’s sad… Not all! ‘Hanebado’, ‘Scorching Ping Pong Girls’ and ‘Harukana Receive’ were all mangas first—to name but a few! I was exaggerating to prove a point.
OK so this is a short review but what can I say. Cinderella Nine is pretty steady. It’s a light distraction, nothing special but not bad either. I hope they get their team. I have a feeling they will. What can I say, I’m psychic! As much as I’m enjoying watching girls being cute and doing things, I’m actually looking forward to them playing a “real” game! Let’s play ball!
The visuals seem to be evening out somewhat. Let me show you:
Well, I actually liked the first episode, but it doesn’t have that much staying power with me. It’s not that I think it’s bad; a perfectly fine way to spend ~20 minutes, but I’m liking it less than I thought it would. And the introduction of the past “tragedy”, and how things are “just a game”, doesn’t immediately interest me. My favourite moment is easily the sudden appearance of the ideosyncratic lone cheerleader. This has to be one of the best sudden entrances this season so far. (At the downside, all the girls had pretty much the same reaction to her appearance. Such group scenes are always a good test of how individuated the girls are in a CGDCT show, but here they all seem to come from the same template.)
Finally, I have to comment that there is a turtle in the opening, and it hasn’t yet shown up. Echoes of Kamekicchi?
It has zero staying power with me as I litterally forget it exists until a new one shows up in my cue.
Baseball turtle seems promising