Monday, January 22, 2007

Anime Report: Ai Yori Aoshi: My Dearest


Episodes 6-10. There is loads and loads of fan service.

These are the kinds of stories that are common to harem anime -- Taeko is hired to be the housekeeper, but she's a hopeless klutz. Aoi has to save the day.

There's a trip to a hot springs -- but Taeko can't find the inn, and then she has booked for the wrong year. Aoi has to save the day! (I sense a theme)

Tina is a boozing, boob-grabbing lush in this episode -- interesting how she's one of the main "love interests," but also one of the most annoying characters.

Then Tina buys an adorable fuzzy ferret, and it destroys the house. Miyabi has a meltdown. In the end, cuteness saves the day, and Miyabi and the ferret learn to love one another.

When Tina and Kaoru are left alone in the mansion, you start to see the first glimpses of Tina being more than an ugly American stereotype. You learn how and why she and Kaoru met, and how much she admires Aoi and Miyabi.

"The landlord and manager put your heart at ease. They don't look at me funny 'cause I'm American, and when I'm in trouble, they actually worry about me. It's just like a real family. Miss Landlady's really nice and can do any household chore. That's you'd call a traditional Japanese beauty. I wanted to be born Japanese just like Miss Landlady. If I had been..."

In the last episode, Aoi (Lady Owie -- stupid dubbing!) wants to learn more about Kaoru's life at college, so she pays him a surprise visit -- and finds out that in many ways, she doesn't fit in his world.

Sugar sweet, and worth a watch. But I've lost count of the number of people who've ended up sleeping in Kaoru's bed.

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