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Fan Fact:

Ai Yori Aoshi is based on a manga by Kou Fumizuki, The manga was published in Young Animal from 1998 to 2005.

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Ai Yori Aoshi

Faithfully Yours

Review by: Rhonda Lancaster

24 Episode TV Series

Company: Geneon

Running Time: 120 minutes (5 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: PG-13 (Partial nudity)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Aoi has never loved another man. For 18 years, she has trained to be the perfect wife for Kaoru Hanabishi. When Kaoru leaves the Hanabishi clan, Aoi is told she must forget him because, as heiress to the 200-year-old Sakuraba fortune, she must marry someone of the same stature. Assuming he left his family to avoid marrying her, Aoi sets off in search of her only love.

They meet in a train station as the innocent Aoi, lost and alone, breaks her hanao (sandal strap) and Kaoru stops to fix it. Kaoru, unaware that this is the Aoi of his youth, begins falling in love with this charmingly sweet girl dressed in traditional clothes. Their love is put to the test when, in order to avoid a scandal within the Sakuraba family, they are forced to live as landlord and tenant.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The video is excellent. No defects, artifacts, color bleeds or pixels to destroy the smooth motion and sharp images. The color palette of soft pastels adds to the dreamlike, romantic quality of the show.

AUDIO: Audio tracks include English 2.0 and Japanese 2.0. Both offer quality sound. Other options include English subtitles and a separate option for Screen Text.

EDITS: The only obvious edit is that English credits replaced the Japanese opening and closing credits.

EXTRAS: The Yoko Ishida Music Video, which is for the opening song “Towa no Hana” (Eternal Flower), features the Japanese singer in a windy flat. The Conceptual Art Gallery includes the drawings for Aoi and Kaoru, which confirmed that Aoi does indeed change the obi (sash) on her kimono even if the kimono itself remains the same purple one throughout. Other extras include the U.S. version of the trailer, Pioneer Previews, and DVD credits.

The DVD packaging includes a reversible cover with Aoi fully clothed on the front and scenes featuring more of the cast on the back or Aoi with her kimono slipping off her shoulders as Kaoru blushes in the background on the front and Aoi and Kaoru as children on the back. Also, a postcard of Aoi and an episode guide with an explanation of the honorifics and a foldout of Aoi and Kaoru are included.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: “Ai Yori Aoshi” is a blend of romance, drama, and comedy. The first volume concentrates on the introduction and back-story of Aoi Sakuruba and Kaoru Hanabishi. Almost immediately these modern-day star-crossed lovers capture the viewer’s attention with a sweet, emotional story. This is not an anime, however, that is so saccharine-y sweet that your teeth will rot just from watching. No, it contains enough comedy, generally from the secondary characters, to keep it from stepping over the sweetness line.

ACTING: Both the English and Japanese casts perform admirably, but a story that focuses on the coming of age of such a traditional Japanese girl like Aoi suffers when listened to in English.

Michelle Ruff, as Aoi in the English dub, tries to capture her innocence and self-deprecation but the English language just doesn’t lend itself to the soft sounds necessary for Aoi’s ultra-sweetness. Dave Lelyveld, as Kaoru, is passable except in flashbacks to their youth where he fails to sound convincing.

The secondary cast really begins to breakdown in English: Miyabi, Aoi’s caretaker, is too nasal and Tina, Kaoru’s American friend, is beyond too loud and the Southern accent misses the mark. Also, since English rarely, if ever, uses three consecutive vowel sounds, the English cast seems to struggle in pronouncing Aoi’s name. Miyabi’s voice actress is perhaps the worst, making her name sound more like someone being hurt, “Ou-wee.”

The Japanese voice actors capture the romantic heart of “Ai Yori Aoshi.” Ayako Kawasumi as Aoi is soft-spoken, Soichiro Hoshi as Kaoru is gentle without being nerdy, Akiko Hiramatsu as Miyabi is rough around the edges but still speaks in soft tones, and Satsuki Yukino as Tina is crass without being grating.

FAN SERVICE: While we get to see quite a bit of Aoi in the buff and even Kaoru in the bath, the nudity is kept innocent by Aoi’s mysterious lack of nipples and Kaoru’s clumsiness, which leads to conveniently covered naughty bits. The true fan service comes when Tina Foster is introduced in the last episode on this disc. As an American transplanted to Japan , Tina wears skimpy cutoffs and tight bust revealing tops. Camera angles focus on Tina from above and below to enhance her, um, features and we learn that a common American greeting involves breast squeezing.

FINAL EXAM:

The oh-so-sweet storyline might turn away the testosterone-lover in you, but “Ai Yori Aoshi” truly has cross-gender appeal.

Unlike many men in anime romantic-comedies, Kaoru stands as a strong male figure who always keeps his dignity. Although Aoi often catches him in compromising positions with other women, she doesn’t haul off and send him to the moon. She might begin to tear up but her utter faith in Kaoru means she quickly forgives him and sees the innocence of what has occurred.

Honestly, what guy doesn’t want a girl this devoted to him? Most men desire a woman this beautiful, this devoted, especially one that they didn’t have to do a thing to get.

To Kaoru’s credit, he does not take advantage of his position. He seems deserving of Aoi’s love and devotion. He is honest about his attraction to the other female characters, but his devotion to Aoi keeps him a gentleman.

We can’t help but feel the same pity Aoi does when she hears his story about leaving the Hanabishi. We can’t help but have our heartstrings pulled as Aoi announces she too will renounce her family ties just to stay with him. We can’t help but rejoice when Aoi’s mother pulls strings for the two to be together, if under the guise of landlord and tenant, not lovers.

This first volume sticks closely to the first two volumes of the manga by Kou Fumizuki, which should please fans of the original manga title.

As the first notes of the theme song began, I knew this was “Ai Yori Aoshi” brought to life. The opening and closing themes reflect the traditional spirit of the storyline and are void of even a single word of English.

The artwork stays true to Fumizuki’s character designs. The colors chosen by the anime designers accentuate the romance by staying in a palette that is bright, crisp, and mostly pastel. The camera goes into soft-focus during flashback scenes and when Kaoru views Aoi with the first pangs of love.

The English translation seems to stay true to the Japanese in both the dub and subtitles. The translators tried to maintain the use of honorifics in the English vocal translation, but it doesn’t sound right for people to say “Aoi-chan” and “Kaoru-sama” when surrounded by English. Between Miyabi and the main characters, the honorifics are translated into “Lady Aoi” and “Sir Kaoru”, which make their interactions even more stilted than they should be.

The drama of the love story between Aoi and Kaoru is lightened by the comedy that comes from the characters that surround these two. It is a perfect blend of romance, comedy and drama for those who remember their first love, who are still in love, or those looking for a bit of love.

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