I agree there is similar plots out there, I still highly recommend this anime to
anyone who likes a happy ending.
Ai Yori Aoshi tv Review
The anime adaptation of Fumizuki Kou's manga features Kaoru Hanabishi, a normal every day college student. For years, he lived independently and alone. One day, his entire life gets turned upside down. He meets a young woman about his age one day at the train station. She appears lost and is searching for someone. In kindness, Kaoru lends a hand, without knowing that he was who she was searching for.
Aoi Sakuraba is the only daughter of a wealthy family. As such, her hand is well sought after. Unfortunately for her family, she already has her heart set on Kaoru, her betrothed. As a gesture of good faith, her parents allow them to live on the same property, with her acting as the landlady and her caretaker as the owner. Poor Kaoru has been reduced to playing the part of a tenant.
Of course, they don't know about all the other women who will be moving in with them...
How will Aoi and Kaoru explore their love with so many distractions? Will Aoi be able to cope with the number of love rivals?
Story & Characters
Young Kaoru is a lonely young man living out a solitary existence in a small apartment and going to college by himself.
He hardly seems to notice his own lonliness, until one day the lovely Aoi, a girl from his distant childhood, appears in
his life professing her love to him. Caught off guard but appreciative of his new relationship, he accepts her
affections. But the couple soon realizes that a perfect life together is not easily obtained, as numerous elements from
the outside complicate the situation over and over again....
Ai Yori Aoshi is certainly not an anime that I would recommend to anyone that is looking
for a story with complications of even originality: it just plain doesn't have either of these things. In fact,
it's almost a carbon copy clone of Love Hina, and it has the same layout as the Tenchi Muyo storyline
(unextraordinary guy gets all the lovely ladies for whatever reason, though you know who he's going to eventually
end up with). Due to this lack of freshness that permeates throughout, for those looking for something new, I say
don't waste your time on this one.
However, if you are like me, and you enjoy a story that's deep and characters that really do pique your collective
interest, than I strongly suggest you give this one a try. The romance between the two main players is well told without
becoming too sappy, and the supporting cast is full of energy and life.
Rating:
Art
One word could describe the art that is on display: gorgeous. The colors are vibrant and energetic, constantly flowing
with the seamless animation. And the characters themselves, though lacking somewhat in terms of originality when it
comes down to their mannerisms, totally make up for such faults by looking damn good! Kaoru, the main guy in the middle
of all of this, is probably a little bland, and Aoi, though lovely, is very Rei Ayanami-like (never a bad thing in my
opinon) and the manager lady has the same look as Miyabi...these are the most apparent cons. But the rest of it just
stuns with its beauty. An absolute eye-candy treat!
Rating:
Sound
Every single episode that I watched was in Japanese, so unfortunately I am unable to give any real comment on how well the English dubbing holds up (if there even is an English version available that is). However, I ammore than happy with what I got in terms of the original voice cast. Some standout voices are that of Miyabi who is able to switch back and forth from precious little girl to seedy little biotch seamlessly, and Tae-chan, whose very slight "Ive-just-begun-puberty" whine after each sentence simply drove me wild in all the right ways. And Aoi, though a little too tame for my tastes, still had a voice that could easily lull me into the most serene of slumbers if I needed some release from whatever stressed me. The music is nothing to write home about, however....
Rating:
Presentation
Overall, Ai Yori Aoshi is an entertaining, well done little romantic comedy that suffers in terms of originality. Yet I
found it to be far more pleasant to sit and watch than its obvious role model Love Hina, and after watching the first
couple of episodes, I was hooked until the very end. Yes, you will be able to predict where it is going from a mile
away. Yes, it does have the occasional filler episode that does absolutely nothing to further the story. Yes, it even
has a cute mascot animal thrown into the mix. You know what? I still didn't care! The characters themselves and how
they react to each other was enough to keep me intrigued throughout. The one really good thing about these
"one-guy-gets-multitde-of-grils" is that if one of the ladies doesn't exactly drive you wild (like Aoi in
my case), there's bound to be one of them who does catch your eye (Tina, Miyami, and Tae-chan for me), making it
eaier to enjoy the whole experience. And if you happen to be one who is into guys, they always make the one guy so
absolutely perfect and dreamy you couldn't care less that there is only one to choose from. So if you find yourself
with time to kill on a lazy weekend afternoon, I suggest you give Ai Yori Aoshi a try. You have got nothing to lose, and
you may even find yourself going along for the whole ride with a pleased little smile the entire time you watch...I know
I did!
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.0000 (above average)
Reviewed by Murrman84, Oct 21, 2005
Comments
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Watashiwabaka Oct 27, 2005
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greatdragon Oct 27, 2005
i recommend this anime, is very nice
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Nucleous Oct 28, 2005
This was one of my faviourite anime's to date and there may be similar plots out there I enjoyed this one alot more that say the likes of Love Hina who was just annoying after 15episodes but Ai Yori Aoshi is watch for all who like romance and some comedy slapped together! Great Review by the way! Nice read all out!
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kingmakoto718 Dec 01, 2005
i liked this one, cuz of the sitiated problems they had because they had to keep their love a secret.
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g-money Dec 16, 2005
I totally agree with you because on my anime watchlist, I gave it a 7 as well, having watched the entire series. In fact, watching the anime is far faster than reading the manga, and they stopped scanlating the manga a while ago and it's still not done publishing by Tokyopop. Good review, I agree with you 100%.
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shoimi Jan 12, 2006
this is a very good amine i have read the books and started whatching the dvds but it is have to find them now i have only read the first 11 books because of the fact that the rest hasn't been translated yet so i am really bummed out about that.
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