Brave 10 First Impressions--Ninja Bishonen

This is the only new show this season so far that has exceeded my expectations.

  
This anime has it all; well-choreographed fights, interesting character design, great backdrops, a plot that apparently involves both political intrigue and supernatural powers and a cast of bishounen with a bishoujo to boot. It would've been pretty easy for this show to take the generic-ridden path, but instead this first episode stays aware enough of its tropes to not make you feel like you've seen all of this before... although most of us probably have. For myself, I'm more than willing to overlook the problems because I was completely enthralled by what I listed above, plus the fact that I immediately liked Isanami, our damsel in distress for the season. I mainly liked the way that she was presented; she's not acting clingy because she's the braindead stereotype, but because when she sees a means to her end, she goes for it. Also, the shipping goggles were on even before that scene at the end of the episode, so I'm getting that layer of enjoyment out of it as well. While I'm not sure about what the plot is going to turn into going forward (the cast is about to explode in number, and we've only got twelve episodes) it's definitely worth a look if you're still on the fence about it.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.