Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get the best aspects of the series, and then some..., April 6, 2004
The harem aspect of this series has always been a crutch for the most part because the romance between Aoi and Kaoru could hold the story together on its own. Don't get me wrong, the over the top humor is good. But, as these final episodes show, it's the moments that involve this young couple's time together that make the series shine.It's too hard to give details about this disk without spoiling the story. But be rest assured that many of the themes expressed in the first few episodes in the series are echoed here near the end. But is it the end? Episode 24 winds up including some preperation for a second season. While some conflict is resolved, some things were not allowed to happen. Doubts are left dangling over each character. On a side note, Aoi's father is the most powerfully developed character I've ever seen. In a matter of seconds his character, disposition, and power is unavoidably revealed. This is another moment when the English dub falls short. Compared to the intensity of the Japanese track, the English voice is that of a teddy bear. More could have been done to assert this character as a dignified and unapologetic man of power.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Returning to the family - but which one?, May 25, 2004
In this last DVD of the series, we get the last four episodes. The episodes are as powerful as the first five, serious and touching, with some humor. First Aoi is ill and the household learns just how hard it is to run the manison. Then Aoi and Kaoru get closer as they visit the grave of Kaoru's mother.
The last two episodes deal with Aoi's family trying to pull the two apart. These last two episodes were powerful, where we meet Aoi's father, yet different than what I pictured the ending would be like. Not a bad ending, just different.
There are extras, including a tiny five minute long, all in Japanese, 25th episode. Also, the inside fold-out promises another series to follow. Called Ai Yori Aoshi "Enishi"(Fate) it should be coming to DVD in early 2004.
A great, surprising, ending to a perfect series.
|
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites, May 7, 2005
I am too familiar with and well aware of the areas in which Ai Yori Aoshi may be criticized. And on an intellectual level I would agree. There is absolutely no purpose to Tina's overtly perverse and rude behavior, which was for all intent a grossly distorted crack at American conduct. Taeko may have been more amiable had the character not been a stereotypical clumsy but well-meaning goof of a beauty who is the most endowed among the cast. And Aoi is so subservient, deferring her own wishes, ambitions and aspirations to a weakling that had abandoned her in the first place that it defies reality and suspends disbelief. And its most significant failing may be said to be its dishonesty. To begin with exposition of a profound romantic premise that after four episodes takes not just a detour, but a full 180-degree turn to become something less and driven by slapstick and fanservice is just deceitful and misleading. As a romantic drama, the title is guilty of all its shortcomings.
But what if the original intent had not been to create a romantic drama, but to sell a product that is highly popular among male demographics? And what if success in this business venture was to be found in illustrated literature that falls under a genre in which a harem was not only common, but fundamental? Moreover, what if author and artist Fumizuki Kou was a skilled and gifted writer able to conceive strong situations that test his characters and thus move his readers? And, that despite his need to eat and pay rent or the mortgage, his respect for his own artistry forbids him from producing entirely unsubstantial material, that he devises a plan to bring about warmth, richness, and dimension to the product. And that he does so by setting its foundation on the love of two childhood friends bethrothed to one another but separated by bitter familial politics. But he would decisively and canonically establish an exciting destiny for these two no matter who was thrown in the mix. And to highten and strengthen the dramatic impact, he would develop the two in the most engrossing fashion by sparsely placing throughout the series the tender, touching, inspiring, and captivating moments of intimacy shared between them. And as the two of them engage one another, we are exposed to their thoughts and emotions, raw in the pursuit of the other's well being but founded on a compelling desire to be the source of nourishment to the other. Finally, their interaction would be pure, honest, mutually exclusive, and courageously untainted by any form of wanton and gratuitous sexual provacation (Tina's antics notwithstanding) as is common in today's smut being passed off as romance. What if the powerful romantic elements of Ai Yori Aoshi was merely a component used to enrich the product belonging to a genre from which there certainly was no shortage?
This is how I view Ai Yori Aoshi. It is an enjoyable harem anime based on a fine manga. As a harem anime, it would then be expected for one male to end up in situations where he is living with many women. Yet, the title sets itself apart in execution, as it profoundly explores and develops that romantic component that was sorely neglected in Love Hina and diverted away from in Tenchi. It is also ludicrous to judge the character of Aoi Sakuraba in light of western upbringing and not consider the cultural context from which she was conceived. Whatever it is that one may say about her only demonstrates one's position about the culture, and not fallacies about her conception. The Aoi and Kaoru moments were few indeed, but they were moving and utterly delightful, and their rareness made them all the more special when they did occur. I have nothing but the deepest affection and fondness for Ai Yori Aoshi. I've not seen anything as breadthly emotional in a romance, not the books I've read by jaded authors nor any film or video to which their efforts I ascribe superficial. This title is one that I continue to watch over and over again. If the elitist viewer can get over him or herself, there is much to enjoy in this fine production.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Tony Pope
DVD ~ Tony Pope
DVD ~ Tony Pope
DVD ~ Tony Pope
DVD ~ Artist Not Provided
