ANN has kindly informed us that the spring 2008 anime Nabari no Ou now has a promo online. Simply put, now I wish they hadn’t reported it.

Nabari no Ou, which is based on a manga by the same name, has now lost a lot of my vague optimism and interest because the promo’s lame. The first half of the promo is all text and music, and the second half is text screens mixed with occasional bits of animation. And what few plot bits we can infer from the promo look pretty weak and cliched. It makes me wonder if whoever’s responsible for the promo knew what they were doing; if they didn’t, that’s not a good indicator of the rest of J.C. Staff is capable of.

Of course, maybe I’m just being cynical ’cause it’s blizzarding outside and I’m cranky. So I’m still giving Nabari no Ou a two-episode chance to impress me because the animation and overall art style look quite spiffy. Plus ANN’s article informed me of the following bit of plot info:

Two ninjas — who happen to be his English teacher and a classmate — and a female samurai protect Miharu and his power from a rival clan.

Soooooo one of the willowy pretty guys is the main guy’s English teacher? Hello, yaoi crack pairings involving older men! This reminds me of a certain episode of Bones! It’ll be interesting to see what the fangirls manage to do with this one. ^_^;;;

I still maintain my cynical viewpoint… but anyone care to tell me if NnO’s manga is any good? :)

~CJ