Customer Reviews

Ai Yori Aoshi + Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi - Complete Set

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ai Yori Aoshi has to be one of the best anime series i have ever seen in my lifetime. It's a wonderful shojo type anime with lots of romance and comedy. If you love series such as Love Hina, Mahoromatic, Rumbling Hearts, Peach Girl or just basically any anime with romance and comedy mixed together you'll definitely would love this series. Its just a beautiful series with wonderful animation and music. Plus, with this set you get all 8 volumes of the series which includes both seasons, the only problem about it is that it doesnt come in a nice box to hold all 8 dvds. But other than that you should definitely check out this series.

Ai Yori Aoshi and Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi are some of the better offerings from Pioneer/Geneon and is worth picking up if you happen to find it available. The series closely follows the manga by Kou Fumizuki, though the story and art are slightly simplified for the video. The manga and anime have been mistaken as shojo (manga or anime for girls) but the original story was published in Young Animal, a Japanese magazine for teenage boys. It would be more accurate to bill this series as a realistic harem series as opposed to the fantastical harem stories like Tenchi Muyo or Love Hina. The story centers around Kaoru Hanabishi, a college student, who is struggling to make ends meet after walking away from his position as heir to the Hanabishi marketing empire. One day he meets a traditional Japanese girl who seems totally out of place and lost in the modern world, and he stops to help her. She turns out to be Aoi Sakabura, a childhood friend, who was betrothed to Kaoru when they were both young children, and Aoi has run away from her sheltered home to find Kaoru. As the series progresses, one girl after another joins Kaoru's circle of friends, each of the girls developing strong feeling for Kaoru and unaware of Kaoru and Aoi's love for each other. There is no magical girls in this series, no giant robots blowing things up, it's all about the relationships of the characters with each other. And because of this realism, the series can be a real heartbreaker because, if you read the manga before watching the anime, you realize that all but one of these girls are going to end up brokenhearted.

This is an excellent series for introducing a girl friend or a wife to anime. Be aware, however, that the series may not appropriate for children. Aoi-chan is nude in the opening sequence, Tina is very fond of grabbing women's breast, Taeko-chan provides an excess of panty shots and the youngest character in the harem seems to garner the most partially nude scenes. There are a couple episodes towards the end where Aoi and Kaoru spend the night together and it is suggested that they finally fulfill their love for each other, though nothing is shown. Your kids will see worse on prime time television. There is nothing outright dirty or pornographic, though you might want to view the series before airing it for your children to be safe.

Some people might find Aoi-chan's supposed submissiveness disturbing, but her behavior should be viewed through the lens of Japanese culture. She was raised in fading traditions of ancient Japan and behaves accordingly, and shows unusual strength, for a traditional Japanese girl, in defying the wishes of her father and family and pursuing Kaoru even after their engagement was broken. She is a complex character, giving and selfless, while at the same time being a bit childish and selfish in her singleminded pursuit of Kaoru.

Other characters flirt on edge of becoming cliche harem characters, the klutzy maid, the boorish foreigner, the snobbish rich girl, the aloof and superior older woman, the overly affectionate and innocent Junior High student. Each of them get at least part of their back-story told in an episode, and manage to avoid being stereotyped in the end. If you don't mind the fan service, and can get past Aoi's housewifeyness, this is a good story that you might enjoy, especially if you are tired of magical girls, pretty boys and giant transforming robots.

Like most of Pioneer/Geneon's offerings the extras are rather slim - a couple bonus episodes, creditless openings and closings, and reversible liners with a trifle more risque picture on one side than another. The anime series left me with one unanswered question - the opening sequence of Enishi shows a young woman holding a blue haired infant girl for a brief instance. This woman and baby don't show up in any of the episodes or in the manga, which makes me wonder what she was doing in the opening of the show. Perhaps Enishi was intended to be a longer series, like the first story arc, but was shortened for various reasons, after the opening sequence was filmed, and the unused characters were not removed.

good anime, the only the i don't like about this set is the fact it doesn't come in a box set. oh and another thing that makes me mad is that i saw this product at FYI for only 26$.

okay for all you romance anime lovers this is really a great series, to get the whole deal its a little spend but totally worth it. It is the ultimate childhood friends story and to me was one of the few anime series in existance that made me get emotional. If you are really interested also read the manga as it goes into greater detail on the storyline. All and all Ai Yori Aoshi is a treasure for any collection. like i said its a bit pricy, but well worth it considering how good the series is.

To Whom it May Concern,

I had been eyeing this collection for quite some time, and I was shocked when the price went up a little. But in the end, I have no regrets. One of the best series, as far as romantic anime is concerned, and the price vs. quality ratio completely justified the purchase. This seller is on a respectable level, and I encourage any who are looking to buy this series to come straight here. Packaging is secure, and the quality of the videos is nothing to cough at.

Great Anime and love story. If its not available in your region then I suggest buying it from here, or get a friend in another state that can get it for you in his best buy at $49.99 and ship it to you. I do suggest to research and compare prices in your region, I couldn't find any here so I bought it online for $99.99.

This anime is bar none the best harem anime of the last decade. I normally don't like the Love Hina type animes, or things like He Is My Master so I was slightly worried when I purchased this one that it would turn out to be similar. However, I also had a lot of hope because Tenchi Muyo is one of my all-time favorites and it is in the harem genre. Perhaps this would be good as well...

But there are no space pirates, universally famous genii, space cops or princesses from distant ruling planets. So did I like Ai Yori Aoshi?

To say the least, I was VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY satisfied beyond expectations.

Before I even watched the anime itself, I noticed the beautiful DVDs in their individual cases. They almost look like some type of colorful blown glass, as each one is decorated with a different type of flower.

But you don't buy an anime to look at the pretty DVDs. So now here's my assessment of the show:

The theme song, sung by Yoko Ishida, is like a warm summer breeze, very soothing. If you like more upbeat J-pop/J-rock music it may not impress you, but it is beautiful and has the perfect 'feel' for this anime. The ending song is very similar, just sung by The Indigo. It is very mellow and pensive.

Next I'll talk about Kaoru Hanabishi, the bond which ties Aoi and the other girls together. He is not lecherous at all, as is common in the harem genre, and is surprisingly complex. There are very few people who will not find the story of Kaoru's life moving even to the point of tears. After escaping a terribly abusive life at the hands of his father's family the Hanabishi clan, he stands on his own two feet all alone in Tokyo, going to college and supporting himself with no one's help. Making it day to day in an apartment working part-time jobs, Kaoru carries on his life...until a blue-haired childhood friend comes along-oh, and by the way, she's his fiance.

"I am not perfect, but hopefully you will accept me..."

With a gentle and yet strong spirit she stands up to her gaurdian Miyabi-san as well as her mother, determined to take her time and heal Kaoru's wounds even at the risk of being cut off from her family.

So will their love be able to blossom even though they only met as children? If so, will her parents allow this to continue? Will Kaoru's future be brighter than his past?

I will not spoil too much of the plot, but I will say that this is an adventure you will not want to miss. There are a lot of interesting people to meet along the way, and much to be learned about the true strength of love.

The animation itself looks very beautiful, elaborate enough to be an Original Video Animation. Ai Yori Aoshi is one of the most lovely animes I have seen in my life, even though I am not a real shonen manga person (this anime was serialized in Young Animal, a magazine for japanese teenage boys). It cost a little more than most anime on this site, but you will NOT REGRET BUYING THIS!! I promise. You would spend about $200 dollars if you were to buy every single DVD from Borders or Barnes and Noble. I know I haven't mentioned the second season Enishi very much...the bottom line is that you HAVE to buy both seasons. The second season of this anime is just as good if not better i its own way. You get to learn a lot more about the characters you thought you knew...don't miss it : )

DISCLAIMER***************

This is a very good anime, however I would suggest only watching it in Japanese. Trust me, you won't regret it.

This is a VERY sweet and affecting series, but at the "end?" of Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi we have essentially the same situation we started with, save that one of the girls discovers/suspects the secret engagement.

Some people prefer an open, even a VERY open ending. The ending here was either a hasty wrap up after the plug was pulled, a purposefully intense tease to make sure we break down the door when part 3 is released, or the creators' admission that they don't have the talent for a follow through.

My whole reason for delving into a 'harem' series was that this seemed like one that wouldn't leave things hanging. It is NOT.

I ordered this about a week ago and have found it to be a very entertaining
series the only drawback was they were each individually cased and the put
in a thin plastic covering I would have rather have had them an a thinpack
or in a single box holder but otherwise still a great anime series





Here's another set I'd like to update. While I have never read the manga the anime itself was very entertaining and heart-warming. The series love interest is Kaoru Hanabishi(A young college student who was to be the heir of a great corporation left his family after tiring of their abusive ways towards him), and Aoi Sakuraba(Daughter of another powerful corporation family who as a child was betrothed to Kaoru when they were children.) Since Kaoru left his family Aoi's family wanted to dissolve their engagement but Aoi refused and followed Karou to the city. Kaoru who after living a few years by himself had forgotten the engagement and is shocked to see Aoi again. Kaoru at first doesn't want to see Aoi and tries to get her to forget the engagement and leave but after a incident lets her stay with him. After Aoi's chaperon arrives she at first refuse Aoi and Karou to stay in the same apartment and after a while has Karou move into the Sakuraba's family mansion in the city along with Aoi to keep an eye on both of them. Of course through the series you'll get more hijinx and romantic situations as five other girls enter the picture and all have some romantic feelings for Karou thus making a little small competition between them and Aoi. I'm sure there are many western women who might find offense of Aoi's seeming
subservient attitude with Karou but there are some differences between western and eastern cultures and manners and some eastern women would just as easily find western women attitudes insulting or offensive. But for all that the series is a nice romantic anime that is worth checking out....

It had romance, comedy, and some situations I myself would not find! But, overall, I liked it alot!!! And I do recomand it to all!!!