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Ok, after a short downtime, we’re back up and running on a new server. Much more bandwidth allowance on the new one.

In the meantime, another new show came to my attention. It’s called EVE no Jikan, or “The Time of EVE”. It revolves around androids in the future, which most people treat as tools, but some others are attracted to them. At first I thought this is just blatantly ripping off Chobits, and didn’t expect much at all. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The show itself is an ONA released in 6 15-minute segments - so about the same length as most OVAs. Production is by Studio Rikka, probably best known for Pale Cocoon, which is quite similar in more than a few ways.

What strikes me about EVE no Jikan though isn’t the plot, which - for what it’s worth - is not anything like Chobits, despite the apparent similarities. When you watch the first episode, you just get an impression that this is not like anything else you’ve ever watched. The animation, the directing, the music, the voice acting and the character design - all of them put together make one of the best presented shows I have ever watched. The one complaint I’ve heard is that the scenes are often shown from a character’s point of view, and so the shots shake around a lot. I can see how this would irritate some people, but I still believe the pros outweigh the cons. The animation itself is just beautiful. Rikka have used a glow effect of sorts on everything, which can look excessive at times, but gives EVE a unique look.

The voice acting lineup is fairly serious for such a small show too. The lead character (Rikuo) is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, best known as Lelouch from Code Geass. And the irony comes in the form of his android (Sammy), who is voiced by Rie Tanaka - who also performed the voice of none other than Chii from Chobits. The rest of the voice acting cast is also surprisingly strong for such a low-key ONA - Miyuki Sawashiro makes an appearance as a character which is funnily enough named Chie, and Rina Satou voices the attendant of the cafe which features in the series.

I think what it reminds me of most is Voices of a Distant Star from a few years ago - it doesn’t have the massive production values of popular shows like Soul Eater or Code Geass, but Studio Rikka have managed to create something very special here. Well worth watching.