Anime Report: Ai Yori Aoshi: Hugs and Kisses

Owie! Owie! Owie! This stupid English dub makes my ears bleed!

But other than that ... ;-)

The third disc of Ai Yori Aoshi adds another girl to Kaoru's harem -- spoiled heiress Mayu. But diverting from the manga, the anime goes into much more detail about Mayu's lonely and neglected childhood -- she was given everything she wanted except for her parents' love and attention. This makes her latching on to Kaoru much more plausible -- really, she's just a lonely child looking for someone who cares about her. She might have confused Kaoru's brotherly affections as romantic, but she's not the first or the last person to do something like that.

It also makes Mayu's grabbing onto to Kaoru much more dramatic -- she takes him home to her empty mansion, and insists he spend the night. They play cards and she falls asleep with a teddy bear, but this is a romantic comedy, and when Aoi hears that Kaoru's "spent the night" with another woman, she's understandably upset.

It gets worse when Mayu, after hearing Kaoru praise Aoi's domestic skills, insists on learning from Aoi. She calls Aoi "the caterer" and stomps on her feelings, but because Aoi has an almost superhuman ability to forgive, all is well in the end.

Tina, of course, hates Mayu on sight, and the feeling is mutual -- that means they'll end up best friends. (as readers of the manga, or this blog, already know)

Two more Aoi and Kaoru episodes are more fulfilling -- Aoi's birthday is on the Star Festival, when people make wishes for the coming year. A nice little "Gift of the Magi" tale -- Aoi wants Kaoru's attention, but he's spending all of his time working to raise the money to buy her a birthday gift, so he's never home.

And in "Feelings of the Heart," Aoi wears a brilliant pink kimono instead of her normal indigo on a date with Kaoru. The Kimono was her grandmother's, and "kimonos soak in all the feelings and emotions of their wearer. So to wear a kimono is to wear the feelings that the kimono felt." A sweet interlude away from the harem, Aoi and Kaoru end up in the apartment where the first spent time together, and Kaoru admits his true feelings.

So sweet it'll make your teeth ache, but I can't help liking it.