Hiiro no Kakera - 04

Is it sad that the best thing I like about this anime is the opening song?

It's not that I don't like this anime, but compared to the rest of the shows this season, it's a little bit underwhelming.  I do enjoy Tamaki's sparring with her five protectors, as well as her innate kindness that demands she gets to know them as people, not just tools. 

But now that we've established the protectors and the villains, we've moved onto the main part of the plot line.  The girl who seems to be the leader of the antagonists is only there for one thing: to reclaim the bracelet, one of the artifacts that is part of the sealing.  According to Suguru, the bracelet along with four other artifacts (a necklace, bells, mirror, and ring) that actually belonged to the first Tamayori princess.  However, the blond girl - who says she's the incarnation of Monado Cephelot - claims that the bracelet belonged to her.  And before I forget, isn't it painfully obvious that the blond teacher at their school is also Vier?  Despite the fight, I'm still not entirely convinced that the group is the main villain though, especially since we got a glimpse of a mysterious man at the end.

The plot is a little bit thin for my liking, and the characterizations seem forced.  Also, the animation has taken a sharp drop, especially the faces.  The structure of the whole thing hasn't even been explained fully yet.  Besides Tamaki as the princess and the five protectors, who else knows about the seal?  All of the protectors come from the same house, so I would imagine they were related in some way.  It seems like even though they grew up with each other, they aren't particularly close.  And what's with the size of Suguru's house?  Where do the other protectors live?  I'm also curious as to who the "they" are when Mahiro mentioned in his statement that in return for staying in the town, "they" promised him a bike.  We're in the fourth episode, and I expect details like this should have been explained already, yet I feel like I'm in the dark still.  I hope it picks up a little bit soon since I'm getting bored, and that's never a good sign with me and anime.  Not to mention, the preview at the end of every episode with the protectors talking to the audience is a bit uncomfortable for me.  It's really not necessary and it just makes me feel like a cheap shot to get more viewers.