Anime/Manga - [Simulcast] Maria Holic Alive! Episode #01 Review

Review by Chris Beveridge

Mania Grade: B

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In Summary:
When I saw the first season of Maria Holic all in one sitting, I found myself really liking it for certain reasons and having difficulties with it because of others. Kanako's personality, the setting and the great animation really sold me on it easily. I'm a mixed fan when it comes to SHAFT properties as some of their works really hit me right while others feel too forced. They actually do tone down some of their oddities with this series but there's still a lot of what makes their works what they are, and sometimes it can feel like a bit too much. The opening episode here does a decent job of re-introducing the world, but largely it focuses on Kanako and a few friends as they go through the Dorm 1 trials, which has minimal impact overall, but is a nice mood setter. The gags are fun, the characters are exactly who we saw before and it all comes together much as it did. I'm actually hopeful that I'll get into it more on a weekly basis than marathoning it all, especially once the usually awkward season opener episode is done and over with.