Ai Yori Aoshi Review

Ai Yori Aoshi (Bluer Than Indigo)

Watched 2009 roughly.

Type: TV

Completed Episodes: 24/24

Aired: Apr, 2002 to Sep, 2002

Producers: J.C.Staff, FUNimation Entertainment, Movic, Fuji TV, Pioneer LDC, Cosmic Ray

Ai Yori Aoshi is a manga adaptation originally written by Kou Fumizuki

This anime is not one I remember much to at all, which makes my rating low anyway. I remembered it was about a normal guy who suddenly gets a traditional Japanese wife/fiancée. I didn’t remember they were childhood friends. I also remembered this anime gave me a similar feeling to Chobits/dearS but pretty much nothing else. Oh! Also that he is estranged from his family and thinks this is a set up.

Don’t get me wrong, I properly should re-watch this before reviewing but considering how much I remember of other series I watched at the same time, it doesn’t really give me a good enough incentive to try again. It suggests to me that I didn’t really enjoy this anime, or well, I enjoyed it enough to complete it but not enough to retain much about the story. Give its age and its genre types, its not really the sort of program I would watch now. Maybe in summer I will give it another change but not for the moment.

Sorry any fans of this anime, and I do encourage people to watch it themselves due to my lack of memory but bronze.

Tokyo Mew Mew Review

Tokyo Mew Mew

Watched 2009 roughly

Type: TV

Completed Episodes: 52/52

Aired: Apr, 2002 to Mar, 2003

Producers: Studio Pierrot, Kodansha,4Kids Entertainment

Tokyo Mew Mew is a manga adaptation written by Reiko Yoshida and drawn by Mia Ikumi.

 

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this yet, but I am from the United Kingdom. Why this is relevant now is for the simple fact of this anime was one of the few which made it to British TV. And I missed it. Along with Cardcaptor Sakura. I need see One piece though. So unlike a lot of British anime fans, I did not watch this until my teens. So my feelings for this anime is a little biased to that face.

Tokyo Mew Mew was you standard Magical Girl Shoujo anime. Nothing more, nothing less. When I looked up how many episodes it had been, I was surprised that is was only 52 episodes. To me I remember it being longer. But that might be due to having an opening scene which became incredibly popular to use in amvs.

So plot. Our main heroine is Ichigo or Zoey in the English dub. Let me please state, I hate the English dub. Changing her name takes away so many of the gags its unreal! While at zoo on her first date with the most popular guy at school, Ichigo gets zapped by a mysterious ray that mixes her DNA with that of a wildcat. Which allows her and several others to transform into magical girl heroes and fight the forces of darkness. In this case, aliens known as ‘Deep Blue’.

There is nothing particular special about the shows characters. Ichigo is the normal led. Clumsy, stubborn etc. You have your rich standoffish girl,  Mint, your nerdy girl, Lettuce,  your ridiculously energetic and young girl , Purin and your lone wolf type, Zakuro. When they are not at school or fighting aliens, they all work at a maid cafe serving desserts. Which brings along its own problems and comedy moments. One point his anime does have in its favour is that the looks of the girls so actually alter slighter when they transform. Something which always amazed me about shows like Sailor Moon was the fact no one recolonized her despite her looking EXACTLY the same. This anime mostly avoided it that. Although more with Ichigo than the other characters.

Her love interest is your standard interest. Popular and clever. Everyone likes him and there is nothing to fault. Though he is of course hiding his own secrets which led to the girls being able to defend deep blue. If you can’t guess, you obvious haven’t watched enough Magical Girl animes.

While I have written this review with a fairly negative light, it was very enjoyable to watch. Mostly. It kept me entertained enough to finish any how. So Silver. Its bright and colourful. The perfect world and one which is typical for one of this genre. The girls are amusing even if there is little character development beyond the most obvious stuff.

Full Moon wo Sageshite Review

Full Moon wo Sageshite (Searching for the Full Moon)

Watched 2009 roughly

Type: TV

Completed Episodes: 52/52

Aired: Apr, 2002 to Mar, 2003

Producers: Studio Deen, Viz Media,NAS

Full Moon wo Sageshite is a manga adaptation originally written by Arina Tanemura.

This anime is another anime which was made and completed before the end of its manga, leaving many differences between the two. Though I have not read the manga and can not comment on the difference other than I am aware they exist. From the perceptive of someone who has only watched the anime, I think they did an excellent job.

Full Moon wo Sageshite is possibly one of the earliest example of a Idol anime. Twelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki wants to be a singer. It has always been her dream. Except, she has been diagnosed with throat cancer and has one year to live. Literally as two death gods have appeared to ensure she dies in one year. Stopping anything prolonging her life, or shortening it. Upset by this Mitsuki sneaks into an audience but is too young to take part. One of the death gods,Takuto, takes pity on her, the deal being if she is not chosen she has to give up. And so he transforms her to her 16 year old self. Not realising Mitsuki can sing.

And the story is born. We watch as Meroko and Takuto defend Mitsuki from treats and keep her fate on track as she becomes a superstar. While hiding her true identity from her strict grandmother who has forbidden her from singing. Mitsuki is determined to fulfil her dream before her year is up and in the process, falls in love with Takuto.

Mitsuki is ditzy, delicate and your typical shoujo girl. Though she can be delicate as she is dying. Her heart is pure and she is what you would expect of a 12 year old facing death. Not about to let it slow her down. Her dream? For her song to be heard by an orphaned friend who was adopted in America before she could reveal her feelings to him. Best way to do this in her mind is to become a famous Idol.

The anime is sad in many ways because of the contrast reminder of Mitsuki time limit. She achieves great things and the anime does a great job of bringing the world to life. Plus the songs used are lovely songs but very 90’s style in my opinion. But that doesn’t change what is going to happen to poor Mitsuki at the end. Or does it?  Without too many spoilers the ending made up for this anime was beautiful and touching.

This anime is adorable in many ways and wonderful in many more. So Silver.

Juuni Kokuki Review

Juuni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms)

Watched 2015

Type: TV

Episodes: 3/45

Aired: Apr, 2002 to Aug, 2003

Producers: Studio Pierrot, Sogo Vision, Media Blasters, TOKYOPOP

Juuni Kokuki is a light novel adaptation written by Fuyumi Ono.

Now. This looked like it had potential. Even looking at screenshots, I am wondering whether to give it another shot. We start of in a city where we met  Youko, who is seemingly a normal Japanese high school student. As a note her school still has segregated classes for boys and girls so I’m guessing it set early 90s. Youko gets attacked at school and saved by a strange man who insists she is someone important. Eventually she gets taken/kidnapped from the school and taken to a new world with her friends Yuka and  Ikuya.

Why didn’t I enjoy this? Its got magic, swords and demons. Youko looks like she is a brave person. Except the first few episode is just her going ‘no I don’t want to kill the monster trying to kill me’. Youko is not very strong and causes herself more problems than not. Maybe she grows into the character but she just irritates me. The first few times I’m like ‘fine your scared’ but you would think she would catch on to the whole ‘you are trying to survive’. She doesn’t fight. She just had to keep her eyes open and the spirit in her will fight for her but she closes her eyes!

So stone. Maybe I will go back to it. But unlikely.