In this episode, Saya goes to school, fawns over her father, and kills a flying statue in the middle of a puddle.

Everything about this show screams Clamp. Yukiko runs a cafe next door, Doumeki, Maru and Moro are in Saya’s class, everyone has skinny wobbly legs, and the main character is a goody-two-shoes with a daddy complex. I kind of wish  Clamp would try something new, especially in regards to the characters.

I haven’t watched anything else from the Blood franchise, so that may be part of the reason, but I had no idea why Saya was fighting that crustacean statue. I’m sure we’ll find out eventually. Still, this battle scene was the best part of the episode. The animation was excellent, and the statue thing actually used its claws in interesting ways. It felt like a battle against a lobster instead of a battle against a human in a lobster suit. The battle might not have made the most sense: Saya’s head definitely should have come off, and at first her sword just bounced off the statue’s shell, but later it cut right through it. But all in all an entertaining fight.

My biggest problem with this show (aside from my aversion to Clamp) is Saya. She helps old ladies, picks up trash in the street, is clumsy, and in love with her dad (and probably with Doumeki too). The most popular guy in the school is hitting on her. She’s just… boring. Ok, she goes and kills monsters with a katana in the middle of the night, but her day life is going to need some more spice if it’s going to keep my interest.

Now for some blog news: I’m going to be out of the country for the next week and a half. Unfortunately, this coincides with the start of the new season, and I won’t have a good enough internet connection (or the time) to download and watch any new shows. So there won’t be any of these first impressions posts while I’m gone. I’m planning to do an aggregate first impressions post of everything when I get back. I’ve also queued up a few reviews and other posts to publish while I’m away, so the site won’t be completely empty during this time.