Forum - View topicAi Yori Aoshi. A good romance?
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hentai4me
 Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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I just finished watching GunGrave which was good and am now looking for a good romantic anime instead of an action based one.
People have suggested SaiKano and I am looking inot that as well, but I want some more suggestions also is Ai Yori Aoshi a well done romantic series? the story seems interesting enough, dealing with a pre-arranged marriage which I have never seen anything about so it appeals in that it has something new to me. but is the story well put together and executed, are there glaring plot holes or the like? can you suggest any decent Romanric anime other than these two? they can be romantic comedies or whatever as long as theres some sort of romance involved. thanks! (I'm a big softie at heart) |
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Craeyst Raygal
 Posts: 1383 Location: In the garage, beneath a 1970 MGB GT. |
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Well, Ai Yori Aoshi is honestly a very good romance and it's a fun series besides. It wanders a little bit too far into harem cliche territory with a few of its characters, but it's fun, sweet, and enjoyable.
As far as other series, you must look into Oh! My Goddess. The OAV or the TV series are phenomeonal to watch, and the series is considered by many to be one of the gold standards of anime romance. Other excellent titles are Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, Video Girl AI, and the Tenchi Muyo OAV's. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7992 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I found Ai Yori Aoshi to be quite excellent in the romance department with a great setup and good characters. Whenever the two main characters can get some alone time that is. Also it has a sequel series as well, although I have yet to have seen that.
I'd also recomend Shuffle for an instesting romance anime. The characters are interesting and the story well done so far. It hasn't been concluded yet though. Last edited by Kruszer on Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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hentai4me
Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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I'm not really worried about it being cliche.
this owuld be the very first anime I have seen in which romance was the main device so it cant be a cliche if its all new now can it? good to hear its not too bad, and if its gets slightly harem then it must have some attractive characters for that to work... |
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Kruszer
Posts: 7992 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Ai Yori Aoshi is hailed as one of the better examples of the herem anime sub-genre. I'd also add if you're going for Saikano be prepared for some serious depression to come your way.
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6897 Location: Kazune City |
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Ai Yori Aoshi is a pretty good romance story, although the middle of the show goes into harem/comedy territory. The beginning and end are top-notch, referring to the 1st 24-episode series.
Another romance show that also throws some depression your way is Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ("The Eternity you Wish For"). It may be melodramatic at times, but it's a great portrayal of post-high-school life, love, sex, friendship, tragedy, etc. You'll have to find KgNE on "back channels" as it's not licensed and probably won't ever be. Another recent classic of the genre is His & Her Circumstances, which combines experimental art/animation with high school romance. It's from Gainax, the studio behind Evangelion, so expect some wackiness. Just pretend that it ends at about episode 20 or so, you'll be doing yourself a favor. Love Hina is often mentioned in the same context as Ai Yori Aoshi--LH has a lot more harem comedy than AYA, but there's a fair amount of romance/cuteness throughout. You'll have to read the manga for a better ending, though. Koi Kaze is well-reviewed on this site, so you can check those out--however, its subject matter spoiler[sibling incest] may be disconcerting to some. (Okay, that really wasn't much of a spoiler at all  )
And even Elfen Lied, famous for its wanton blood and carnage, has a fair amount of romance-esque elements. I usually don't go for violent gorefest shows, which I believed EL to be, but it had enough romance to make it one of my top 25 or so series. (And, as has been established in other posts, the Kohta-Yuuka "kising cousins" bit in Elfen Lied is not considered immoral/taboo within its original culture.) |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18404 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Ai Yori Aoshi is one of the most endearing of all harem romantic comedy series because the central couple is just so perfect together; nearly every scene where it's just the two of them sparkles. And unlike most harem series, it's absolutely clear from the early stages where the guy's true feelings lie. Yeah, it does get bogged down a bit in the middle by its side characters and filler stories, but there's a good reason why it was a surprise hit on both sides of the Pacific. The second season is, unfortunately, about 80% filler, even though it has even better artistic merits.
Saikano is a great tragic love story and one of the best-written (and most painfully frank) anime series of any kind. It is harsh, depressing, and sometimes very emotional, but you won't regret seeing it. Koi Kaze is not only this year's best romantic series, but one of the best romantic anime series ever - and it's about incest. Don't let that turn you off from seeing it, though, because its unparalleled writing tells a delicate, exquisitely-paced, sometimes very emotional, and always wholly believable story about an adult brother and teenage sister who are reunited after years of separation and find themselves falling for each other despite their best efforts to resist it. |
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hakootoko
Posts: 74 |
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Ai yori Aoshi was good for 3 1/2 episodes, then turned into a harem show. After a few more episodes, I wasn't willing to watch the stupidity anymore and hope it got good again.
But the first 3 1/2 episodes were so good I bought the first dvd (and no more). hakootoko |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18404 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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The best part of Ai Yori Aoshi is its first four episodes, I agree. Unfortunately the worst part of the series is the next 5-6 episodes after that. It gets better in the middle, though, and is back to its starting form for the last 3-4 episodes.
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Glory Questor
 Posts: 456 |
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Actually, in my humble opinion, I really liked the 13 Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ episodes better than the original series.
The differences between the two shows in theme are actually plain to see when you realize that the original show's intention was to focus on the romance between the two main characters, Aoi and Karou (and the tensions on and consequences of that romance). ~Enishi~, on the other hand, brings another theme to the foreground of the series -- that it's no longer just the relationship of Aoi and Karou that everything revolves around, but of all of the cast of characters being together, forming a bond of family and fellowship. I agree with many others here, that Ai Yori Aoshi is a good romantic title. However, I feel that ~Enishi~ is a better starting point, as it has a nice flow from beginning to end, you get easily assimilated into all the antics, and there is more than enough in 13 episodes to empathize with the many characters (almost as if they were writing this sequel series for people who haven't seen Ai Yori Aoshi). By starting with ~Enishi~, then going back to the beginning, I felt I had a much better appreciation out of the series as a whole, and you might also. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18404 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I suspect that you're probably going to find yourself in the minority opinion on Enishi, Glory Questor. Most people I've heard talk about the series (myself included) found it 13 episodes of filler - sometimes very good filler, mind you, but filler nonetheless. My impression has always been that it was made more to capitalize on the success of the original series than because of any deeper motivation.
Still, you raise some interesting points. The episode do cover many chapters in the later volumes of the manga, although it's worth noting that the manga always stays centered on Kaoru and Aoi. Damn pretty-looking series, too. It was one of the better artistic efforts of last year. |
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hentai4me
Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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koi kaze sounds interesting too.
but does it have any incestuous sexual scenes? I may like hentai but I dont enjoy the (adult)spoiler[rape, paedeophilia, bondage] and the like that populates the genre. |
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Kruszer
Posts: 7992 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I agree it does sound morbidly interesting, but with the premise it seems to me it probabally won't end to happily, could be wrong though. I don't really go for the love story tragedy type myself, although I did end up liking the Air Movie.
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Umm. Then I'm in the same minority. I liked ~Enishi~ for the same reasons cited by Glory Questor. I suppose it's a question of whether one views the AYA story as solely the story of Aoi and Kaoru, or whether (as in another romance, Mahoraba) the focus is a broader view of their extended family and its experiences. Come to think of it... a lot of anime romances do this. Perhaps the tendency in Japanese storytelling to extend a romance beyond its immediate two central characters, into the broader field of family and friends that surrounds them, is an aspect of the Japanese focus on communal behaviour?
Well, I won't dispute that - I'm sure you're probably right. But even if the motivation was money, the end result was positive - so where's the problem? There have been a lot of romantic anime made, over the years. Some of them are standard fare, but brilliantly made. Some of them bring original ideas to the story. Take an anime like I, My, Me, Strawberry Eggs, for instance. It's not exactly the best animation I've ever seen (putting it mildly), but the story itself is told with charm and good pacing, and it manages to be a good romance despite the poor animation. BTW, this is one of the few anime I've seen in U.S. dub in recent years, and it stands out as probably the worst dub I've ever encountered. Just FYI. Then there's something like Koi Kaze, which is a downright brilliant romance anime about a very sensitive subject - incestuous love. No spoilers here - just watch it. You won't regret it. - abunai Aoi is too cute for words. |
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PantsGoblin
 SubscriberEncyclopedia Editor  Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Damn, hearing so many good things about Koi Kaze, now I pretty much have to watch it. I really like Romance/Drama anime with Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien and Da Capo probably being my favorites. Is Koi Kaze really that good?
Ai Yori Aoishi, it was good, but there were better in my opinion. |
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