Children of the Whales

I initially got interested in the series because of the story description and artwork, but then I watched the trailer:
So much teenage angst in it. Way too much to my liking.
 
Episode 1

This wasn't half bad, feeling Shinsekai Yori vibes. I am fan of these mysterious worlds, where their rules are known by some people but are not shared because of serious circumstances /ends. So far it is a little more lighthearted and the atmosphere is not so dense, but that might change quickly. I am intrigued by the tempera painting style on the backgrounds, unusually fresh. Crossing fingers for a decent drama.
 
Episode 1
Sailing on a sea of sand, aboard a giant island is pretty amazing. The skiffs requiring Thyma (Magic?) was pretty cool to. A lot of angst and teenage drama, but maybe that could be a good thing for this show. I'm awed by the animation and the design of the settings. Something to keep an eye on.
 
Episode 1
Seems interesting enough, although it looks like it will end up being either great or terrible - let's hope it's the former.

The world itself is very intriguing for me.
I quite like the idea of there being a price of being able to use magic, although tbh with the boredom of being in such a small island all your life, I'd much rather live a short life anyway.
 
Episode 1:

I thought this was the best first episode of the season so far.

I was instantly sucked in by the world. The setting is so well fleshed out with little details. I always like to see how societies would change after a catastrophic event. Big changes require changes in culture. It's not just seen in the big and obvious stuff, but even small familiar gestures take on a slightly different meaning or emphasis. This episode did a great job with those bits of world building.

I even liked the narration because it's like we're reading his journal entries. There's an intimate feeling to them as we're learning about this world from his perspective.

The plot seems interesting, but most things are only hinted at so far. The marked ones are clearly being manipulated and used by the long lived leaders of the society. I'm intrigued to lean more about what's being hidden and how much they really know about this world. I'm also wondering if there's more to the emotional control thing than just controlling the psychic powers. The ruling class seems like they might be using it to control the people of the Mud Whale and make them easier to lead.

It's a classic setup with them finding an outsider which causes chaos in their formerly orderly lives, but it's well executed. I'm keen to see more of the moles, since they seem like they can smell the bullshit that's holding this society together and leaving the unmarked ones totally in charge.

The art is gorgeous, the character designs are great and the world is full of intrigue. I am totally on board for this.
 
Episode 1

I really really liked the first episode. Everything felt just right: we got a good idea about the life on the Mud Whale, about different types of people on it and their hierarchy and abilities but it never felt rushed or too heavy on exposition.

And the ending teased that something is really fishy about their whole situation, enough tip-off to keep you watching. I am not quite expecting the fuckery level of Shinsekai Yori (which is awesome) but I am intrigued.

Besides it is so pretty to look at. I hope it keeps up being this good.
 
Early, first impression: holy shit, this probably the best thing, J.C. Staff has done in years. I'm genuinely shocked and surprised. I'm honestly, having a really difficult time, picking what my favorite first episode is, as there's just been so many strong starts.
 
Episode 1

Not a big fan of the backgrounds (the art style used clashed with the characters a bit making it look weird, imo) but I absolutely loved everything else. There's good potential for some excellent world building here.
 
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The setting is very intriguing, so far, and looks really pretty as well. But I think is just the appeal of mystery, it might not be worth the build up. and from the looks of it we aren't gonna be getting a complete story, the manga is still ongoing, and since it's JC staff, we probably won't see a sequel, we rarely ever see any..

Anyways the characters look pretty bland, and they don't seem to fit into the backgrounds, it feels off, but otherwise the animation is superb, the backgrounds are candy for the eye. On the other hand, there is too much lazy exposition.

As for the story it doesn't seem to be my kind of thing, seems to be too much teen angst and melodrama. And elders manipulating kids doesn't really sound like a fun topic to me :/

I don't really expect much, it doesn't seem like the type that'll be above average, but i'll still follow it, since the setting (and animation) are eye catching, and it seems to be the kind that'll need to eventually get some world building done.

It appear that Magus bride and Girl's last tour are still the tops when it come to first impressions for me this season.
 
I was interested in this, but I guess I'll give it a couple more episodes to see if it's worth actually checking out.
 
The animation design is what got me into this show, especially the marking designs on the children is what I found most beautiful. The ending credits was nice too, I'm kind of looking forward to this.
 
Episode 1

The first half of the episode didn't really grab me, but the second half really pulled me in.
A lot of intrigue so far, as well as a really interesting seeming world that is beautifully drawn, and some great design work and gorgeous animation. The style really reminds me of something else that I can't quite place right now. I'm sure it'll come to me eventually.

I do wonder if it's played its hand too soon in some respect, for instance, if we compare it to Shin Sekai Yori (an unfair comparison for any show to live up to), it took some time for us to see exactly what the adults knew about the world, but already here we can see that they know way more about the world outside the mud whale than the main characters. Of course it might not be the main mystery of the story at all and only be the lead in to something entirely different, and I'm looking forward to seeing what that could be.
Good first episode for sure.
 
Episode 1 is definitely interesting, although not mindblowing. There's lots of small things that make it pretty nice though (the fact that it's a fantasy that doesn't rely on RPG tropes, for example, or the nice visuals and music)

The fact that the manga is ongoing at like 10 volumes is kinda worrisome though :/
 
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