Ai Yori Aoshi

My Dearest

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

The Sakuraba Mansion was meant to be the safe haven for Aoi Sakuraba and Kaoru Hanabishi to begin their innocent, clandestine affair under the watchful eye of Aoi’s caretaker, Miyabi. Before the end of the first volume, an American transplant, Tina, forced her way in as a new tenant. In the first episode on volume two, Taeko Minazuki, another friend from Kaoru’s photography club, becomes the new housekeeper. Soon, these wannabe lovers are the overseers of quite an eccentric family.

As the only male living in this household of impossibly big-breasted women, Kaoru must fight his natural instincts to stay true to Aoi. If only Tae would stop tripping crotch-first onto his face and if only Tina would stop getting him drunk… but, what fun would we have without his troubles?

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: Creditless and Japanese Credit versions of the Opening, Conceptual Art Gallery featuring Tina and Miyabi, an Unofficial Trailer for “Ai Yori Aoshi”, and Pioneer Previews. Other: Reversible cover featuring the female cast clothed or wrapped in towels in the hot springs, a postcard and mini-poster featuring the same image of a smiling, blushing Aoi, the mini-poster contains the DVD menu and a cultural lesson about Western-style mansions.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: The first volume focused solely on introducing Aoi and Kaoru and getting the viewer involved in their love story. This second volume expands to develop the stories of the secondary cast members. In “Family Tradition,” a clumsy Tae becomes the live-in housekeeper after being fired from her previous position. It quickly becomes clear why she was fired, as she is hopelessly a failure at most required tasks, but under the tutelage of the ever-patient Aoi, she passes the tough Miyabi-san’s test and is allowed to stay. In “Spiritual Illusion,” the photography club, which includes the only other male cast members, Sato and Suzuki, travels to a hot springs resort. In “Cherished Treasure,” we see the softer side of Miyabi after Tina brings a ferret into the mansion. “One Night” gives us insight into the relationship between Tina and Kaoru and “Place of Learning” brings Aoi out of the safety of the Sakuraba compound to Kaoru’s university.

ACTING: The English cast seems to be settling into their roles more in this volume and aren’t playing the characters so over the top. However, because “Ai Yori Aoshi” is the story of a traditional Japanese girl, it suffers in translation.

In Japanese, Kaoru, unlike many romantic comedy leads in anime, is dignified and soft-spoken. Dave Lelyveld, the English voice for Kaoru, gives him a high-pitched whine at times that is too reminiscent of the bumbling Keitaro of “Love Hina.” Unlike Keitaro, we know why all these girls love Kaoru and Lelyveld takes some of that understanding away. Without the flashbacks to childhood on this disc though, I can almost handle listening to the English dub. Even Wendee Lee has toned down Tina Foster’s Southern accent to a more convincing twang. The worst remains Lia Sargent as Miyabi. As she tries to capture Miyabi’s detached, ‘I’m always in control’ tone, she comes across as flat and emotionless. Lex Lang’s rendition of Suzuki as a dazed and confused hippie is painful as well.

Stick with the Japanese language track. Ayako Kawasumi as Aoi is depreciatingly sweet and soft-spoken. Soichiro Hoshi gives Kaoru a gentle, yet manly rumble. The secondary characters are distinctive and enjoyable.

FAN SERVICE: Our main characters stay clothed on this volume, but Tae provides plenty of fan service. She has the biggest breasts of any of the women, yet she seems oblivious. In the first episode, she lands panties up three times and Tina can’t stop grabbing those tits. (“Oh, Senpai, don’t massage me there!”) Sato and Suzuki take advantage of Tae by dressing her up for cosplay photo events!

FINAL EXAM:

Romance stories tend to be about keeping the loving couple apart and it’s the pain of this separation that keeps the audience watching. “Ai Yori Aoshi” doesn’t stray far from this pattern. There is never really any doubt that Aoi and Kaoru will end up together. The best part is the main characters themselves suffer little doubt about their love. They suffer most because they can’t express it freely. Aoi’s family still will not accept Kaoru, who left the Hanbishi clan, so they must hide it, even from the other members of their household. This volume doesn’t concentrate on that though. Rather, it concentrates on painting a happy picture of this rather odd family that now surrounds the otherwise orphaned Kaoru. Each of the members are separated from their real families for one reason or another, but have come to bond with this family.

We begin seeing more of Kaoru’s kindness toward everyone around him and we see actual strength behind Aoi’s fragile exterior. We wonder as Tina does in “One Night” about how wonderful Aoi is, “I wonder what kind of lifestyle you need to end up like that?”

This is certainly an anime that appeals more to women, but it offers enough for men too. There’s the fan service of bouncing breasts and striped panties, but also a strong male character who holds his own surrounded by women who love him. A dream situation for most men? And, Aoi is the fantasy girl. She spends the entire last episode worshipping every word that falls from his lips. What more could a guy ask for?

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.

"Ai Yori Aoshi Volume 2: My Dearest" is an ideal date-night anime. So sit down with your loved one (or the one you are hoping to love) and enjoy.

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