Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi

Oh em gee. I didn't think it was possible! A sequel that is BETTER than the original series! Well I guess there's a first for everything.

Story:
The story picks up 2 years after the ending of Ai Yori Aoshi. Kaoru, Aoi, Tina, Taeko, Miyabi, and Chika still live together and Mayu is still the daily guest. Everybody's a little older but pretty much the same. There really is no time in this sequel for the story to drag as the series itself is so short, so the story moves along at a nice pace. Every character gets a "love-episode" with Kaoru, and each episode was very ... enjoyable to watch.

Art:
Beautiful! Beautiful colors, beautiful animation. Just outstanding. There isn't as much ecchi in this season, but there still is some, but not as over-done and badly portraid as in the original. The eyecatches (the things that split the episode at where the commercial goes) run long though.

Sound:
The opening theme, "Takaramono" is just lovely. If you liked "Towa no Hana" then you will like this. "Towa no Hana" is played once during the course of the series though ;) The ending theme, "I Do!" isn't as enjoyable. The special ending theme, "Presence", is also decent but not my favorite. The original soundtrack is pretty much used with a few new tracks.

Character:
Every character is developed further, particularly the character of Tina Foster. There's really no new characters except for Chika's friends.

Enjoyment:
Completely enjoyed. Enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I enjoyed the first season.

Overall:
If you have seen the first season, then don't hesitate for a moment to watch this. It is better than the original, and the story is moving. Just know that you might wanna buy a tissue box =]]

This is the follow-on series for the 24 episode Ai Yori Aoshi series.

If you enjoyed the first series as I did, you will be richly rewarded with this series. As is often the case with anime, there are many episodes so the plot moves slowly at times. But the character development is very carefully done, and you are soon drawn into the story and nearly forget its make believe. There is much humor and a fair amount of indirect fan service -- but also there is quite a bit of emotional drama towards the end, as some of the characters near the end of ... their college life.

Because this is a 36 episode journey, if you make it to the end, you will love each of the characters and you will shed tears when they eventually must face their reality and the hard choices about their destinies after college is over.

Ever have a romance anime end right when the lovers finally confess their love after a long agonizing courting period? Ever wish to see how the lovers spend time together after their declaration of love? That is the purpose of this uneventful anime, pure slice of life anime. It still manages to make every episode enjoyable...kinda. The ending of the last episode is incredibly open, true to the nature of the series. Truly, this anime is nothing but a slice of life - a view into the everyday lives of the characters, with no unusual problems.

Although this is a sequel, expect the pacing to ... be even slower than the first Ai Yori Aoshi. In fact, even less happens here than the first time, so even though you've seen the first installment of Ai Yori Aoshi I'd say this sequel probably won't add much to it. It's not bad, but definitely not as good as the original series. Not much happens other than the introduction of two new characters not seen in the original. Expect an almost complete lack of plot. This is a mellow series - even mellower than most slice-of-life - so obviously avoid if you're looking for action, intensity, and other stuff you won't find in any slice-of-life anyway.

Characters are as likable as they were the first time around, so you'll like them again this time around the same way.

Major points off however, since there's a lack of resolution at the end, which seemed to be something the series was hinting at the entire time at the very least.