Ai Yori Aoshi

Ai Yori Aoshi is a very straight forward one dimensional anime. There isn't anything else i could say to describe this anime other that. It's a typical lovey dovey through and through, but nothing else. It's story is incredibly simple. It's a typical harem anime in the sense that the main male character is surrounded by five or six females who all have feelings for him. However it is very evident in the beginning who he will end up with. The story it's self does not know what it wants to be. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a romance anime that specifically focuseson the two main characters or a harem anime. Sadly because of this the series takes the horribly awkward approach and tries to do both things, but fails miserably at it. It's harem elements are never flushed out enough to ever bring anything to the table, other than two or three episodes, most of which are filled with echhiness rather than the actual problem at hand. The feelings just linger throughout the series with nothing to make note of. The two main characters are forced to hide their relationship, and thus have to "sneak" around in order to get any alone time. But this is incredibly misleading, because the backyard is like a different dimension of which no other character is ever allowed to step foot in. Even though the scene's done with the two main characters are done correctly and are very nice to watch, there are very few of them and very spread out through the series. It's characters however are the weakest part of the show. Most of the characters in this series are plot devices use to simply keep the harem plot moving. They never try to confront their own feelings, they are barelly even aware of it throughout the series. The main characters are just flat, nothing more. They aren't deep. Aoi is a character with very little emotion at all, expect that of the love she feels for our main protagonist Kaoru. Kaoru is a character i had hope for. He is the only character that even has a chance of development with the fact they actually take the time to explore his past. But instead of having him confront his past, the allow him to run away from it the entire series, and use the same three clips to show his "awful" child hood. He remains flat, undeveloped and almost unlikeable. The art is nothing spectacular. It uses many still frames, and focuses on the characters faces a lot. Not to much attention to detail, at least nothing popped out to me. The characters have a very moe feeling, which is fine since they are really well done, with a lot of detail in their facial features. It's not bad but not great either. The sound track of this anime is different. It's music when it's upbeat is pleasant and easy to listen to. However when every there is anything remotely bad happening it uses the most dramatic and mysterious music ever. I found myself thinking i was watching a murder mystery at many parts rather than a romantic comedy. It's original Sub is fine, but avoid the dub at all cost. Despite some decent English VA's it is awfully done, one of the worst dubs i have personally come across. Overall if you are in the mood to see a lovely dovey anime with echhi scenes in it than you should give it a try. However if you are looking for an anime with any sort of substance than steer clear of this.

Why do I rate this anime so highly? Why do I give a 10 in nearly every category? Well, it's simple. It's an awesome show! In my own personal taste, in what I liked to see in an anime, this was what hit the spot. I'll review this as I have a few others, by category then by my overall take on it. **Story** First of all, the story. In my opinion, one of the 2 most important aspects of any anime. You can have crazy action, you can have ecchi-ness and nudity, whatever, but without an actual story thatmakes sense and that is fun to follow, there's nothing to be had from watching it. When I first heard of this anime, I thought it sounded silly - a man who's had some girl devote herself to him since she was little who plans on marrying him and giving herself completely to him. Who does that? But as I watched more and more into the show, I began to realize that it was exactly that point that made this story so unique and fresh. Karou already has Aoi-chan. She's his, will be his wife one day. But then you've got a twist that they have to hide it. Suddenly Karou is surrounded by other girls, and you've got yourself what appears to be a typical harem anime. However (I won't spoil) there's so much more that happens here and much later into the anime that just makes you root for everyone; Karou and Aoi and all the other characters. **Art** What can I say? This one is beautiful. Attention to detail everywhere, from the outfits to the floorboards and walls. It would see that every scene is fully animated and given great care. There are several of those "awww" moments with the gorgeous backgrounds, the shading and texturing on the faces, all that jazz. I really can't say more here, as you just have to see it. **Sound** The only category I did not give a 10. It takes a lot for me to give an anime a 10 in sound. In this category I include the music as well as every little sound effect and noise and speech and everything else. The music was alright, nothing too special, nothing that blew me away. The sound quality, likewise. But it was the character's emotions in the voices that made me rate this as high as I did. You can feel true emotion pouring out. So well voice acted that at times, you want to cry right along with a character. **Character** The other most important aspect to an anime. Without a good set of characters and the way they interact, what's left? A narrative about the beautiful landscape? No, especially in this show, the characters are a major driving factor. I would even go so far as to say that characters are what determine, develop and drive a story. That being said, Ai yori Aoshi brings us some of the most interesting and lovable characters I've seen in an anime. You've got crazies, you've got adorable cuties, you've got sensitives, hard-asses, uptights, lowlives, and nearly every imaginable kind of character, all represented amazingly well. The only other thing I can say about this category is that when you have such high quality characters interacting with each other, you're bound to have an emotional response, be it laughter, crying, anger, frustration or something else. I experienced all these while watching. **Enjoyment** Well, as you can tell thus far, I enjoyed this anime. Like I mentioned before, I've watched it three times. There's just something about Aoi-chan that keeps bringing me back to watch this. Karou, likewise. He's a great guy. He genuinely cares for those around him, and especially Aoi-chan. The same parts that made me cry and laugh and get frustrated the first time had a similar effect the second and third time. I wouldn't doubt it if I watched it again, I had the same responses. Not much else to say, other than mentioning that the dialogue and story are what make this so enjoyable to me. **Overall** How do I feel about this anime overall? Well, obviously I loved it. One of my favorites. I rated it a 10 overall. Why? As I stated above, all these categories shine out. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this anime. I love watching the ending as it feels so resolved (even though they made a sequel, which is also good). I get such a good feeling after finishing this anime. If you at all enjoy romance and slice-of-life genres, then you must give this anime a try.

An uncommon plot: boy and girl fall in love, and boy and girl are loyal to each other throughout the whole series. It doesn't deserve to be called a harem for that in my opinion. Yes, there are several other female characters, all of whom seem to have feelings for the male lead, but he (as I said) is pretty kind about things. The female lead is positively beyond human--patient, kind, and generally perfect to a point that is impossible for a real person. It's a happy, uplifting show. Absolutely wonderful.

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