Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate First Impressions

Being a fan of visual novel adaptations, as well as romance-themed shows, I could not wait to watch the first episode of Koichoco. What does AIC have to offer besides their usual Amagami SS fare?




The show is based around male protagonist Oojima Yuuki, attending Private Takafuji Academy. Along with seven others, he is a member of the food research club, which faces disbandment due to the upcoming student council elections. Shinonome Satsuki, a student council president hopeful, plans to do exactly that. We're presented a true plot, not unlike any other visual novel adaptation we've seen, which definitely sets the foundation of the story quite firmly from the get go. A general direction is established, and it's what the direction of the show will gravitate towards, more or less.



With that being said, the actual introduction of this first episode was rather confusing, but gripping to say the least. I certainly did not expect to see such a ruthless display of drama and subtle violence so early in the show, if there's even supposed to be any of that involved in such a show. A strange precursor introduction with no link (yet?) to the actual episode is slightly puzzling to me. But nonetheless, there didn't seem to be any beating around the bushes, and it gives us viewers something to look forward to, in terms of development of the story.




Besides the intro, we were more or less introduced to all the characters. The main male protagonist doesn't seem to be too by-the-book, and though I'm getting a very Seitokai no Ichizon vibe from this whole food research club, none of the characters seem too stereotypical for the time being, though all can indeed be classified into their respective categories. For example, Sumiyoshi Chisato, voiced by Nakamura Eriko who also happens to voice Nakatsugawa Ui from Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi (see the resemblance?), currently my favourite female protagonist, is the childhood friend of the show, which is strange because given her flawless character design, it almost seems as if she deserves to be the star of the show. But then again, I'm in love with all of the character designs and the art in general, so my judgement will end up being somewhat biased.




It's obvious when watching this episode, that this is a show that's modeled after a visual novel. The whole structural combination of school-life slice-of-life harem with a serious underlaying scheme allows an actual plot to be formed. Personally, I don't see this as a pro or a con, but it definitely feels like I'm playing through a visual novel. Knowing the premise of how a visual novel works, I am fully expecting a change of tone to a much darker one maybe halfway through the show, bringing out that original introduction.





This is a show that has potential. Whether or not it'll be able to live up to that is another story. From the looks of things, I predict this will be a difficult show to cover episodically simply due to the fact that the show will revolve around a slice-of-life foundation, with bits of drama and plot development here and there, which isn't a bad thing at all since it means it's staying true to the original source material, which, in this case happens to be the Koichoco visual novel.




I love the OP and ED sequences, soundtrack included, I love the art and AIC's fantastic character design, I love the vibrant character personalities, and the whole integration of several different themes into one single thread. This show is definitely not one to miss this season.




The question now is, which girl will he end up choosing? Trololol.



Good day.