Blue Drop is in my eyes the wildcard of the season. After all you don’t get many sci-fi, yuri shows (ok there was Simoun) but in a season crammed with Harem and Gundam it’s nice to have a change. What’s distinctly different about Blue Drop from the outset is the subtlety of animation, there appears to be no use of the usual garish colours here, everything is very serene and subdued. Even the music and episode titles aptly named after flowers (there often seems to be a flower connection within yuri shows).
The series begins and there is a shot of two people speaking on what I initially thought was a plane, but of course with this being a sci-fi show as the camera pans out we see the earth below them and it is in fact a spaceship. Then we cut into what I am guessing is present day and it’s raining as the camera zooms in on a girl seated in a car, there is a flashback to the same girl who we learn is named Mari speaking to her grandmother, She’s being informed that she must now attend a boarding school ‘Kaihou Academy’ as her grandmother can no longer care for her. The scene moves back to the vehicle and we see Mari gazing out of the window watching the world go by, obviously very unhappy with the current situation. As the car drives on we catch a glimpse of a girl standing on a rock amongst a flock of seagulls, we later learn this is Hagino and there is also a reason behind the seagulls which is revealed in episode 2. There is a spectacular shot of the birds flocking around her which I am positive would have looked amazing in HD, already this series is looking amazing, the subtlety and beauty of the animation is a welcome change.
Mari arrives at the school, during her meeting with the principle and teachers we learn more of the girls character, she seems very headstrong, set in her ways and stubborn elements I’m guessing will become more apparent within the story later on. There is a nice shot of the camera travelling through the corridor as we are introduced to her teacher. She seems the exact opposite of all the other teachers present in the room, very young and due to her lateness I would be guessing a lot more easy going, the question is why was she so late. We then meet a blushing Michiko who had been called up from the garden earlier to show Mari around the school. Mari is already on the offensive and appears to be extremely angry she’s being made to attend this school, you have to feel sorry for Michiko as she was only trying to help. Mari runs off through the school and there is a cut back to the teachers discussing Mari’s ’situation’ we are then informed that due to the incident that occurred 5 years ago, her grandmother is now struggling to take care of her as it appears some facts are being kept from Mari about her past. Mari has no memories prior to 5 years ago due to the disaster, she doesn’t remember her parents or her life prior to being at her grandmothers. Mari seems to be very lost and alone and despite her tough exterior she is really struggling with being away from her grandmother and everything she has known.
Mari is taken to the dormitory, here she meets Hagino the girl she had previously seen standing on a rock. Mari initially seems delighted to actually meet this strange girl but the situation takes a turn for the worse as soon as Hagino touches Mari’s hand there is a flashback of a spaceship and a girl who bears a resemblance to Mari crying with a backdrop of a huge catastrophe. Hagino starts acting strange her eyes widen and her hands wander down Mari’s face and to her neck, suddenly Hagino’s eyes develop an unearthly blue glow and she attempts to strangle Mari. Within a split second Hagino stops and is looking at her hands in disbelief, Mari in a state of shock throws the vase of hydrangea’s at Hagino, They are interrupted by the Michiko and the head of the dormitory Funatsumaru (who is huge compared to the other girls) Mari then storms out leaving Hagino still staring at her hands, when questioned as to what happened Hagino claims “nothing”. Michiko finds a very angry, upset and confused Mari sitting beside the lake, after conversing for a while it appears obvious that the pair of them will become firm friends, we also learn that the mysterious Hagino excels at her studies and sports and is basically little miss perfect. It seems Mari is going to have a very hard time at this school is she dislikes Hagino which is more apparent when they return for dinner when Hagino attempts to introduce herself again. Mari slaps her hand away and promptly chucks water all over her, Enter the rabid fan girls out for blood now I know I’m watching a ‘yuri‘. It’s quite a comical scene to see Mari punching and biting the fan girls as Hagino stands to the side dabbing her dripping wet hair with a towel. For fighting the girls are all sent to bed without dinner, Mari unable to sleep due to hunger hears a noise and realises it’s Hagino and follows her, the final scene is that of Hagino standing eyes glowing and a giant space ship looming above her. We then cut to what I then found out by watching the second episode is the opener to the song “BLUE” by Suara. The opener is extremely pretty in an eerie way and it is obvious why it is shown at the end of the episode. With the cuts to 3D space ships, flash backs to the catastrophe and shots of Hagino and Mari together. The opener definitely hints at a deepening in their current non-existent friendship.
Episode 2 begins with Mari submerged in water, She looks like she is about to drown when above her the silhouette of a figure appears, it’s Hagino and just when you think she’s about to save her, Hagino sprouts what appears to be tentacles and tried to strangle Mari again. Mari then wakes up on her floor after having fallen off her bed, so was everything the previous night with the space ship a dream. Mari seems even more confused that she was in the previous episode. We rejoin the girls at breakfast, Mari running late after her strange ‘dream’ just about manages to get to breakfast in time thanks to Michiko. We have a shot of the joyous fan girls who just glare at Mari, apparently they still haven’t forgiven her for insulting their precious Hagino. Mari scans the room obviously looking for Hagino to then be informed by that Hagino has already eaten and gone, she isn’t lazy like some people. Mari has a flashback to the previous night.
Hagino is actually in the forest communicating with her ship about not wishing to resume activity at this current moment via you guessed it a seagull. In class Mari isn’t very talkative and has little interest in introducing herself, so her teacher decides to introduce her instead. Mari seems preoccupied, then to her horror she’s assigned a seat next to Hagino. During what appears to be a very dull class Mari is off in a daze when she is asked to read, Hagino attempts to help her by telling her which line to start from. Even after Hagino succeeds in getting a group of girls to stop asking Mari about her past, Mari is still very cool towards her. In a stark contrast to how she is acting with Hagino, Mari has now started calling Michiko, Micchi she also asks her to call her by her given name as it is the only name she ever remembers being called by.
Mari finally seems to be opening up and we are informed of the incident from her perspective as she tells Micchi that she was the only survivor when her island home was wiped out but she doesn’t possess any memories prior to the last 5 years. Mari also admits she doesn’t dislike school as much as it would appear due to people like Michiko.
Upon returning to the dorms Mari learns to her day has gone from bad to worse as she has a new room mate, Hagino. Once Hagino unpacks her belongings Mari questions her as to whether or not she’s going to kill her. Hagino looks upset by this remark and tries to explain to Mari she doesn’t want to kill anyone anymore. Later that evening Hagino is busy doing her homework while Mari is lying on her bed, suddenly Tsubael teleports to speak to Hagino about another battleship called Novaal which is on the move. To everyone’s shock Mari can see Tsubel, she quickly vanishes. Mari is in a state of panic she doesn’t know what Hagino is and in an attempt to comfort Mari, Hagino places her hands on Mari’s shoulders. Mari begins to glow and Hagino jumps back in extreme pain curling up into the foetal position on the floor screaming and writhing on the floor. At the same time unbeknownst to the girls their teacher is giving a presentation on the what happened at the Kamiokijima islands 5 years previous which claimed over 800 lives. Her only conclusion is that it was murder.
After these first two episodes I can say that the series is picking up, there definitely seems to be a connection between Mari and Hagino. Especially with the opening and ending sequences it seems almost obvious something will happen between them, there is far too much blushing for something to not happen. This is a series that is really growing on me and after a shaky slow start it‘s nice to have a show with some depth this season. Of course only time will tell with the next instalment.
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