I have to admit, Akechi comes up with the weirdest adventure stories ever.
In the first half, Himeno, Nozomi, Kyouko and Quetzalcoatl is on an adventure to get out of a labyrinth. I have to admit that this segment is silly. Not only the girls are wearing bikinis as armor, each girl have a different class. Himeno is an archer, Nozomi as a knight, Kyouko as a magician and Quetzalcoatl as a priest. I honestly thought that Quetzalcoatl is a dancer given that she gives strange dances to try to defeat a monster. Apparently, she is not from the way she defeats a ghost spirit.]
Of course, since Akechi wrote this story, there is a lot of fanservice. This includes the slime capturing all the girls except Kyouko and having their armor destroyed. The end boss is Tama. She is in dominatrix attire. The funny thing is that Kyouko easily defeats her by revealing her secret. Either way, the story seems weird, given that bikinis don’t quite make good armor, although it makes them look attractive.
In the second half, the girls have an arm wrestling tournament. It’s surprising that Tama beats Omaki. I thought Omaki would be stronger since she is more athletic. Then again, since Tama carries her siblings frequently, she gained a lot of strength. Also, Nozomi had a good run, until Tama defeats her. I guess her dojo training is no match against the student council president.
As for Himeno, it’s obvious that the tournament is rigged in her favor. Still, I find it funny how she deliberately throws the first match and nobody buys it. It’s obvious that she can’t fake her way out of the tournament given that everyone knows her strength. In the end though, she defeats Tama in the final round. It’s expected since centaurs are strong. Either way, it’s nice that they end the series off with a light-hearted episode.
Final Impressions
I have to admit that Centaur no Nayami is an interesting series. While it has some weak moments, it’s interesting how they incorporate subtle political themes into the show. It’s not surprising since society consists of different species. With that in mind, the story will have serious world-building and light-hearted episodes mixed in. Even so, I still think the show is very enjoyable mostly because of the characters and world building. ¶
In the end viewers have to understand what the show is doing AND be okay with it. If the viewer gets what it’s doing but is not okay with it then it cannot be truly enjoyed. I have run into enough people online to understand that fact. At least we got several likable and cure characters to follow around.
As far what I said on my own blog about the yuri, about my greatly respecting how they approached same-sex relationships and homosexuals, that remains true.
I do agree that some people will have mixed feelings about the shows, especially the subtle political themes. I do agree that the characters are likable.