Tag Archives: Ai Yori Aoshi

Manga Review - Ai Yori Aoshi: 86%

Saturday, July 26, 2008 – 10:00 am

The Essentials

Name: Ai Yori Aoshi
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Tankoubon: 17
Serialized In: Young Animal
Released: 1998 - 2005
Story & Art: Kou Fumizuki
Published By (Japan): Hakusensha
Published By (US): TokyoPop

Scores

Story: 9/10 (x 3 = 27 pts)
Art: 9/10 (x 3 = 27 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)

Total: 86/100 (86%)

Review

Ai Yori Aoshi is about Aoi Sakuraba, the daughter of the head of a rich conglomerate, and her secret fiance-to-be Karou Hanabishi. When the two were little, their marriage had been arranged as Karou was himself the heir to another major conglomerate. However, Karou was only adopted, and after witnessing the treatment of his mother, especially after she died, Karou ran away from the Hanabishi clan to live on his own.

As a result, the marriage was canceled. Aoi remained determined to marry Karou despite this and goes to Tokyo to see him. After not realizing who each other were at first, they each realize that they are in fact the couple who were put together when they were young, and Aoi decides to start living with Karou. However, Aoi’s caretaker, Miyabi, shows up to take Aoi back home. Aoi refuses and Miyabi, reluctantly at first, arranges things so that Karou and Aoi can live together at one of the family’s estates.

Soon, Karou runs into his old college friend Tina, who went away for a year or so to travel the world. Soon another girl, Taeko, joins the photography club that Karou is part of, and both Taeko and Tina end up living along with Aoi and Karou due to certain circumstances.

Ai Yori Aoshi is, centrally, about the growing love that Aoi and Karou have for each other, but is also largely a comedy as the other girls who live with or otherwise know Karou often end up getting in his way or even want Karou for himself. There is also some added drama as well as Aoi’s parents are against her staying with Karou while the Hanibishi clan attempts to come up with a way to still have Aoi marry into their family.

At 17 volumes, Ai Yori Aoshi is a pretty long read, but the story still seems to keep itself relatively fresh through, exploring all of the characters feelings and motivations along the way. I should also note that this manga is quite ecchi, and is rated for Older Teens (except the final volume which is rated 17+).

If you’re looking for a good romance/comedy with some dramatic plot arcs thrown in, then you may enjoy this series.

First Read: December 2005 - October 2007
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes

By Josh | Posted in Manga Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #23

Saturday, May 5, 2007 – 3:37 pm

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #23 is now online! In this podcast, I re-review the anime series Ai Yori Aoshi (plus Enishi).

You can now listen to my podcasts directly from this blog via this flash player:

Or you can still download it from here or from iTunes. (15.4 MB)

You can also download or add my podcast-only RSS feed to your favorite reader:
http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/podcast.rss

Enjoy!

By Josh | Posted in Podcasts | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Credits - Ai Yori Aoshi Closing #1

Friday, December 1, 2006 – 10:18 am

By Josh | Posted in Anime Credits | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Review: Ai Yori Aoshi - Score: 82%

Monday, November 27, 2006 – 9:29 am

The Essentials

Ai Yori AoshiName: Ai Yori Aoshi (Season 1), Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ (Season 2)
Genre:: Romance, Comedy, Harem
Episodes: 36 (24 in Season 1, 12 in Season 2)
Released: April 10, 2002 - September, 2002 (Season 1),
October 12, 2003 - December 28, 2003 (Season 2)
Based On: Ai Yori Aoshi manga by Kou Fumizuki
Director: Masami Shimoda
Produced By: J.C. Staff, Rondo Robe
US Distribution By: Pioneer/Geneon

Major Japanese Cast

Kaoru Hanabishi: Souichiro Hoshi
Aoi Sakuraba: Ayako Kawasumi
Miyabi Kagurazaki: Akiko Hiramatsu
Tina Foster: Satsuki Yukino
Taeko Minazuki: Kaori Mizuhashi
Mayu Miyuki: Sayaka Narita
Chika Minazuki: Halko Momoi
Takashi: Kazutoshi Hatano
Satou: Makoto Higo

Major English Cast

Kaoru Hanabishi: Dave Lelyveld
Aoi Sakuraba: Michelle Ruff
Miyabi Kagurazaki: Lia Sargent
Tina Foster: Wendee Lee
Taeko Minazuki: Sue Beth Arden
Mayu Miyuki: Kirsty Pape
Chika Minazuki: Kari Wahlgren
Takashi: Lex Lang
Satou: Ron Allen

Scores

Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 3/10 (x 1 = 3 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 164/200 (82%)

Review

Ai Yori Aoshi is about Aoi Sakuraba, the daughter of the head of a rich conglomerate, and her secret fiance-to-be Karou Hanabishi. When the two were little, their marriage had been arranged given Aoi’s stature and the fact that Karou was himself the heir to another major conglomerate. However, Karou was only adopted, and after witnessing the treatment of his mother, especially after she died, Karou ran away from the Hanabishi clan to live on his own. This, in turn, nullified the arranged marriage, but Aoi was still determined to marry Karou. As a result, Aoi’s caretaker, Miyabi, arranges so that they can live together - sort of - but mandating that their relationship be kept secret.

Now, how the story sounds up until now, it sounds like it’s going to be a pretty serious and romance-heavy story. However, the story takes a turn when Karou runs into an old friend from America, Tina, at college and she starts staying at Aoi’s place due to having no other place to stay. Another friend, Taeko, soon joins them for much the same reason, and Ai Yori Aoshi starts moving into the harem genre. This series does have an air of romance and seriousness that hangs over the series, with several episodes dedicated to the serious romance aspects of the story more than the harem parts - something which have been largely absent from most other series classified as harem - but it is still mostly a comedy.

Of course, the set-up leads into quite a bit of the comedy, with other female characters frequently hitting on or otherwise trying to lure Karou into their clutches with Karou unable to tell them that he is simply unavailable. Of course, each of the characters having their own quirks that add to the craziness helps as always.

Other than having the more serious romance aspects maintained throughout the series, this series is better than most harem series in another way: while there is fan service, I’d consider it to be more tastefully done. Also, despite being a harem series, it is hardly mindless. The relationship of all the characters evolve over time, with each of the characters learning from all the other characters on how to make themselves better, at least in their eyes due to each of the characters primary strength, whether that’s honesty, being headstrong, determination, or skill and knowledge.

Such a series could easily fall into a mess of goop, but Ai Yori Aoshi is able to keep itself going strong despite being a rather complex story. Add good animation and pretty good music to the mix and you have a pretty good series. The only technical part of the series that I’d have to say I was greatly disappointed with were the English dubs. I’m pretty tolerant of English dubs and probably 85 to 90% of most shows I hear dubs I find the dubs to be pretty much acceptable. Ai Yori Aoshi, however, falls into the other 10 or 15%. Despite having experienced voice actors in virtually all the major rolls, nearly every single one of them flops. Perhaps its not surprising that the ADR Director for this series only has one other ADR Directing credit.

Overall, I think this is a series that most people will like. If you like harem, this still holds to that genre without going overboard, but there is material in this series to help feed those who like more romantic comedies as well.

First Watched: October - December 2005
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

One Year

Sunday, August 6, 2006 – 6:30 pm

On August 6, 2005, I popped Volume 1 of DNA2 into my DVD player. That disk was the first one I watched after starting renting from Blockbuster online, and is the first time that I voluntarily chose to watch an anime series while realizing that it was an anime series. It was, by most accounts, the start of my anime viewing.

So, how far have I gotten in 1 year? I’ve rated 17 anime series or movies (of course, this site has only been up for the last 6 of those 12 months). I’ve completed 14 others, and I’m currently watching 9 more.

If my counting is correct, in the past year I have watched 503 anime episodes or movies for a total of something around 200 to 215 hours of shows (or between 8 and 9 days).

I own 9 anime series and part of another as well as 2 movies:

- Ah! My Goddess: The Movie
- Ai Yori Aoshi / Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi
- Angelic Layer
- Cardcaptor Sakura - Clow Book (Season 1)
- Chobits
- DNA2
- Fruits Basket
- Koi Kaze
- The Place Promised in our Early Days
- Please! Twins
- Last Exile
- The World of Narue

There are also several shows on my to-get list:

Not finished, but I know I’ll buy it
Cardcaptor Sakura - Sakura Book
I”s Pure

It’s either still too expensive or I just haven’t gotten around to buying it
Howl’s Moving Castle
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away

Licenced but not released
Rumbling Hearts (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien)

Not licenced yet
I”s Pure
Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

By Josh | Posted in General Blather, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Anime Left to Review - Part II

Friday, July 28, 2006 – 1:56 pm

Back on March 19th, I made a list of anime I had left to review. Lets look at that list:

  • Ai Yori Aoshi
  • Castle in the Sky
  • Chobits
  • DearS
  • Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures
  • Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien
  • Koi Kaze
  • Love Hina
  • Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind
  • Onegai Twins
  • Princess Mononoke
  • Video Girl Ai
  • World of Narue, The

Well…i’ve done well. I’ve reviewed…well…Chobits and Dual! it looks like (though I have reviewed some others that I have watched since then). Here is my now updated list:

  • Ai Yori Aoshi
  • Akane Maniax
  • Castle in the Sky
  • DearS
  • Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien
  • Koi Kaze
  • Love Hina
  • Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion
  • Onegai Twins
  • Porco Rosso
  • Princess Mononoke
  • Spirited Away
  • Video Girl Ai
  • World of Narue, The

Soo…take off the two I did, and add two new anime (Porco Rosso and Evangelion) and two I had forgotten about before (Spirited Away, Akane Maniax) with I”s Pure and the rest of Cardcaptor Sakura coming around the corner (assuming I’m not forgetting anything). And, as I said in a previous post, I own four of these series. Not much of an excuse there to not review them lol.

UPDATE: I decided to add a page listing Anime and Manga to be rated.

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

I”s Pure and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Friday, May 12, 2006 – 6:46 pm

There are now two being-released-in-Japan-right-now series that I am currently following (at least the best I can with my internet connection): I”s Pure, which I’ve been watching since it first came out in December; and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I’ve just finished downloading the six episodes that are out on torrent so far (7 have aired so far).

I”s Pure should be done in June (at least it’s Japan released…as far as being fansubbed…we’ll see about that) and TMoHS, if wikipedia is correct about it being a 14 episode series, should be done in late June as well. I hope to write reviews of both when they finish.

I’m also one DVD away from finishing His and Her Circumstances, so I should be able to post a review of it in not too long. Also, I almost posted a review of Please Twins! earlier, but I wanted to re-write it a little before I posted it.

I’m currently working on my first long series through blockbuster in Cardcaptor Sakura, which is something like 18 volumes long (it has 70 episodes) and blockbuster put volume 5 in the mail just a couple days ago.

I still have quite a few other series I wish to review as well. I’m renting DearS through blockbuster so I can listen to the English dub before I review it (I saw a subtitled fan sub of it before), ditto with Girls Bravo. I’m in the process of buying Koi Kaze, and the same watching it dubbed thing applies.

Ai Yori Aoshi and Love Hina are ones I’m finished with but haven’t gotten into a mode to write a review of. I want to see Neon Genesis Evangelion again first, and, if I don’t run out of anime to review before then, I want to wait until KimiNozo finishes it’s release in December before I review it.

Well, thats all for now.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

My tastes in anime: 2003 and 2004 US releases

Thursday, March 16, 2006 – 1:39 pm

I went back and looked at when the anime that I have purchased, or in the process of buying, were first released in the US to see if they were relatively spread out or bunched together.

Well, it appears they are bunched together. The anime I purchased, at least in their original releases, totaled 45 DVDs, here is the list:

Ai Yori Aoshi (8)
Angelic Layer (7) [I bought the 5-disc re-release]
Chobits (6) [I bought the 8-disc thinpack release]
DNA2 (5)
Fruits Basket (4)
Koi Kaze (3)
Last Exile (7)
Please Twins (4)
World of Narue (1 - they dont sell the 4 DVDs individually)

= 45 discs

So, how many of those were released, by year?

2002 - 1
2003 - 21
2004 - 17
2005 - 6

Also, as many as 4 series were being released at the same time, with Fruits Basket, DNA2, Ai Yori Aoshi, and Chobits all being released at the same time between March 2003 and May 2003; as well as on October 14, 2003, when 2 series ended and one series began, thus having DNA2, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits, and Angelic Layer briefly being released at the same time.

The biggest individual day? October 14, 2003, which saw the release of DNA2 #5 (and the box set), Ai Yori Aoshi #5 (also ending the release of the first season), and Angelic Layer #1.

The only other month which saw 3 releases was November 2003, with Chobits #5 (11th), Last Exile #1 (18th), and Angelic Layer #2 (25th).

I suppose the most “modern” anime I’ve been watching are Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, which is scheduled to begin it’s US release in October 2006, and I”s Pure, which isn’t even licensed yet.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Finally got package 1 of 3 from ebay

Saturday, March 11, 2006 – 1:35 pm

Since I really don’t have very much to talk about dealing with anime today, I’d just like to say that, after my initial experience buying anime from ebay, which was excellent, recently it seems to have gotten worse. I don’t know if the mail is slow or what, but I’ve purchased 3 anime things off of ebay, all shipping either Monday or Tuesday. I (finally) got the first one today (via media mail, which I guess the other ones may be being sent too).

This one is the Fruits Basket set, being the 5th complete anime series I have in hand (DNA2, Chobits, Angelic Layer, Onegai Twins - in that order). The next shipment includes the Murata boxset of Last Exile, which are in thinpack packages, and the World of Narue collection. The final shipment has volumes 2 and 3 of Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi.

I blew my chance to buy the Ai Yori Aoshi first season set. There were two items on ebay, one with a starting bid of $15 and one with a starting bid of $30. The two other times I’ve seen them on ebay, they went for something like $70, so I put an opening bid on the $15 one for $50 thinking “no way either will go for less than that.”

Well, at first I thought I was going to get a break. Going into the last day, the one I was bidding on was at $26 and the $30 had one bid. The $30 (which ended first) ended up going for that, so I was like “yeah!” Nope. Bidding on mine started going up dramatically. I was sitting there like “why didn’t you bid on the other one like that?”

Mine ended up going for like, $64, which was a little more than I was in the mood to pay, considering the same thing sold for less than half that just a couple hours earlier. So i learned my lesson: even if I think something will go for a lot, unless its the only thing there, don’t bid a lot on the first bid (and even if it is alone, there is a chance a new one may pop up). Unfortunately I haven’t seen the set (other thank cheap HK knockoffs) on there since.

One item I just bought yesterday was Koi Kaze volume 1. Again, it is rare to see the whole set on there, but one will occasionally see someone selling a particular volume for cheap, and I got this one for $7.99 including shipping, which, considering my thought was about $10 to $12 per DVD in that set, isn’t a bad deal.

By Josh | Posted in General Blather, Various | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)