Aishite Knight

This was one of the first anime I have ever seen. It has introduced me to anime overall and to Okonomiyaki, therefore I feel obligated to stand up for it and promote it a little! Despite all personal involvement, I think it is heavily underrated on this platform. Yes, it is shojo, yes it has some stereotypical storyline, HOWEVER it is very well done and considering when this show aired (1983) it can be seen as some sort of trailblazer/pioneer in its segment.


Story:
The overall plot might not be based on the most creative idea: Yaeko, the girl next door, living alone with her ... dad Shigemaru (Okonomiyaki restaurant owner) and Go, the rock singer starlet (dyed hair = evil) on the rise, meet coincidentally and eventually happen to fall in love with each other. Of course this relationship has to face several obstacles, as they're pretty different and live in completely different environments but luckily the pair is connected additionally through Go's adorable little brother Hashizo and his sidekick, Juliano the cat (who's the secret star of the show).
You'll witness the life, struggles and good times of these main characters, as Go and his band Bee Hive are pursuing their career and try to become famous throughout Japan and later worldwide.

Even though we all have heard of this or similar stories before, each individual episode in this anime is well thought through and entertaining. They're hardly any repetitions and I can't remember any fillers.


Characters:
Typical shojo, we have a heroine and her life and feelings are in focus. Yaeko is a sweet girl, helpful, loving and caring, however she's also opinionated and speaks her mind. In that sense she's not that typical shojo dummy that can't solve a problem by herself or is completely and hopelessly devoted to her man.
The same goes for the rest of the characters. You'll find some stereotypical traits in all of them, however they're all very different inside and out, which keeps it interesting. There's also an antagonist and even some character development as people change their ways throughout the show, according to the experiences they make.


Art:
The art is ok. Nothing too amazing, however it's an old show and keeping that in mind, it's pretty forward and conform with its zeitgeist. Some people can't stand to watch these old shows for various reasons, I however find them endearing.


Music:
The music is the main topic in this anime and it's very well done. Seen as the whole story evolves around musicians, the creators have put a lot of effort into the fictional group Bee Hive and their songs. They're all pretty catchy and were professionally arranged for the first time and are repeatedly played during the show (paving the way for NANA and so on).


Trivia:
The show was incredibly popular in Europe, especially in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Italy hyped it so much that even a live-action soap opera was modeled after its example. The actual Bee Hive group from this show was awarded with gold and platinum discs. The songs were translated in every country's individual language, which might also be a reason for its huge popularity.


Overall I found it very enjoyable and worthwhile. I was lucky to be able to watch it on German TV in the early 90ies, and therefore able to watch it translated into my mother tongue. I can see that it's a downside that it doesn't seem to be fully subtitled in English :/

Most of this series is not subbed in english, at elast not when i read them, but it is relatively easy to follow along without the subtitles. The artwork is not the best but the sounds, and music from Go-chan's band is great. The drama is typical of most Shojo anime, triangle with one girl between two best friends and, often, with more than one woman going after the one the heroine really wants.
This story will make you alugha dn cry in a series of episode and wrench your heart out in the process.

I personally don't mind the old school art but the characters are honestly just annoying af. Everybody is contradicting themselves constantly, nobody is likeable, it's Inuyasha triangle all over again (gender bendered). The character I guess you suppose you should hate it actually the one I like. Maeko stands to her words, is loyal, dedicated and headstrong. She won't back down no matter how many people get in her way and she's the complete opposite of the MC who's weak, caring, motherly, but whimsical and irresponsible for her actions.
The child is cute but overall very spoiled and selfish and just wants to couple up his ... motherly replacement with his brother without thinking about their feelings even once.
The male characters don't really honour the bro-code either, it feels like you're watching a soap version of Yoko Ono and the Beatles, triangle version.