The Essentials
Name: I”s Pure
Genre:: Romance, Drama
Episodes: 6
Released: December 9, 2005 - June 23, 2006
Based On: I”s manga series by Masakazu Katsura
Director: Mamoru Kanbe
Produced By: Pierrot
US Distribution By: N/A
Major Japanese Cast
Ichitaka Seto: Katsuhito Nomura
Iori Yoshizuki: Shizuka Itou
Itsuki Akiba: Asuka Nakase
Yasuo Teratani: Nobuyuki Kobushi
Yuka Morisaki: Yuko Goto
Nami: Naoko Suzuki
Major English Cast
N/A
Scores
Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: N/A
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)
Total: 140/170 (82.4%)
Review
I”s Pure is about a boy named Ichitaka and his pursuit of the quintessential hot and popular school girl Iori and the bumps and detours he takes along the way, with the guidance, or often misguidance, of his friend Teratani. This series is the standard shy, somewhat-incompetent boy tries to get perfect girl anime series, though it does mix drama and comedy, and thus isn’t strictly either a romance-comedy or a romance-drama.
About 2/3 of the series is presented as flashbacks while Ichitaka and Teratani are waiting for Iori and another friend on Christmas eve two years after the story begins, but before Ichitaka has confessed to Iori. Each of the first four episodes are largely based on looking back at major events of Iori’s and Ichitaka’s relationship over the preceding two years. The final two episodes follow Iori and Ichitaka after the Christmas party that finally takes place at the end of the 4th episode.
Considering it’s only 6 episodes long, some might think that it lacks depth, but I think it does pretty good for a 6-episode OVA, with the story holding together pretty well. One can’t expect a lot of character development in such a short series, with the bulk of the character development reserved for Ichitaka, and some for Iori, with everyone else in the cast being actors that are primarily meant to advance the story. Even so, Ichitaka’s character developments are still pretty good.
The animation is pretty crisp, I thought, and while some of the background art might have been better for an OVA, I thought the character designs were excellent. The music is also pretty good, largely based on violin pieces.
This series is definitely heavy on romance, and as I said earlier, it is a mix between a drama and comedy (and mixes it very well), but those wanting just a romance comedy will probably find it a little too heavy. However, those who like a dose of drama with their romance will probably enjoy this show.
First Watched: January - September 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes
