Yume de Aetara

For a short 3 episode OVA, "yume de aetara" is actually a pretty good anime. It manages to nicely establish the premise, introduce the characters, have a classic conflict and then finish off with a satisfying ending. All of that in roughly 90 mins. There is also a TV version of this anime but I would recommend watching the OVAs as they compact the story into longer episodes so it's easier to watch.

The story itself follows the male lead, Fuguno Masuo, as he struggles to find a suitable partner. This is where the two main female characters come in, Shiozaki Nagisa and Hamaoka Miho. ... As with nearly all romance themed series there is going to be a lot of conflict between the male lead, the girls in the cast and predictably, secondary male characters too. I don't want to spoil this series for anyone reading this so I will only say that as far as romance goes, Yume de Aetara did a very good job of conveying the story in such a short time span.

However, what really surprised me in Yume de Aetara is that the characters are very realistic. Believe it or not, the women in this anime actually resemble their real life counterparts. No blue, green [enter the spectral colour name here] haired characters, no exaggerated reactions, no slapstick humor, no superhuman strength, no mallets, no exploding heads... I think you get the idea. This anime is realistic and I can always appreciate a realistic anime.

The major problem here lies with its rather poor animation quality and sub-par sound department but that is to be expected. I had no problem with the style itself though as it is old-school (we're talking 90s anime here) and reminiscent of perhaps titles like Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. Older anime watchers will definitely feel the nostalgia contained within this 3 OVA piece.

As far as enjoyment goes, I must admit that I have been caught off guard. I picked this up on a whim and didn't expect anything great and granted this isn't exactly a masterpiece. The story might seem cliched, the quality isn't that good either BUT it is still a good anime. The characters are staggeringly realistic in comparison with some of the petrifying creatures that one might encounter in modern anime. And as I said before, considering the length of this series the pacing is near damn flawless. As for the content itself, it is a heartwarming tale of two people who fall in love and have to go through trials to prove that love. Definitely an enjoyable experience.

If you want to see a short realistic romance story and are prepared to disregard its quality issues, look no further. This is what you'll want to watch.

7 points overall.

When it comes to doing a review of this show I can't help but make comparisons to the TV version from the OVA version. The OVA version of the show did get released first and it's just unfortunate that our first time we got to enjoy Masuo's hopeless attempt at finding love was from a very lackluster product, but at the least the tv version of the show from my personal interpretations was much more enjoyable.

The overall plot between the OVA version and TV version of If I See You In My Dreams remains the same but at least in the OVA version we ... get to see the absolute beginning of what started Masuo's love life journey to begin with unlike the TV version in which Masuo was already aware of who Nagisa was and started hanging out at her school just to see her. In the OVA, we get to see how Masuo meets Nagisa for the very first time while he was walking down the street during a rainstorm and as another man was crossing the street knocked into him sending him to the ground and he ended up spilling his briefcase with all of his papers getting wet. Nagisa lends a helping hand by helping him retrieve his papers and giving him a handkerchief so he doesn't catch a cold and this act of kindness makes him completely fall in love with her and therefore starts his journey with regards to him trying to win the affection of Nagisa. We also get to see Masuo visit the fortune teller that tells him that he'll never have a girlfriend which absolutely crushes him and it was actually nice to see that playful interaction because it was unfortunately missing the TV version of If I See You In My Dreams.

The funny thing is while the tv version may have 16 episodes with each episode being about 7 minutes long for a total length of 112 minutes it manages to cover a lot more ground and make the series much more enjoyable because the OVA version of the show is 3 episodes with each episode being about 25 minutes for a total length of 75 minutes for the show. The OVA certainly has better animation and a much better musical score full of beautiful keyboard synth tracks and ambient jazzy tunes. The opening song is absolute fire and really a wonderful treat to listen to. The quality of the animation and the music are certainly the best parts of what this anime has to offer.

I think the biggest strike again the series as a whole is that it is nowhere near as funny or enjoyable as the tv series. There is only so much you can do in three episodes and the other girl (Miho) that is interested in Masuo doesn't really take an important part in the story until the 3rd episode of the 3 part OVA. I don't know if it's my personal preference when it came to dating as a whole in my youth but I think I would rather pursue the girl that actually wants to be with me and likes me for me then to pursue a girl that is overly emotional, irrational, and quick to anger. Nagisa really comes across incredibly petty, unlikable, jealous and rude throughout the majority of the anime. We do get to see her sweet side when it comes to her interactions with the kids that she teaches and when Masuo shows her kindness and also tries to win her respect and admiration. She has this disdain towards men in general just because she went to an all girls school throughout all of her life. Masuo uses all of the resources at his disposal in order for him to get close to Nagisa but for every kind act he performs for her, his constant lies end up making her hate him without giving him a proper chance to explain. Throughout the entire anime there are actually two other men that Masuo has to deal with that are trying to win the affections of Nagisa. Masuo does some really crazy things to try to get Nagisa to forgive him such as chasing down a car that Nagisa is in with another male rival that he ends up crashing his bicycle and goes to the hospital because Nagisa refuses to listen to his explanation and she is also incredibly stubborn.

Despite the problematic nature of the story line throughout this 3 episode endeavor, unlike the the tv series this version of the story does have a happy ending where Masuo does end up with one of the ladies that is prevalent throughout the anime's story. I think that is probably the best part of the story with regards to what is presented towards the audience. Surprisingly there is no nudity in this version of the story unlike the TV series where there was quite a bit of nudity.

I think if the OVA spent more time with Miho and showed more of Masuo's interpersonal conflict between what girl is truly right for him I think the story could of been a lot better instead of spending so much time with the men in the series that are also looking to charm Nigisa into their lives. These other male characters are far from being interesting and I don't think they add much to the story.

Overall, the OVA version adds a nice visual and audio quality to this story which makes it look nice but not even a heavy amount of gloss or polish can save the anime from a very unlikable female lead, little to no humor and a shallow cookie cutter story. The TV series is the one worth watching but the OVA is still worth experiencing for a definitive happy ending, great music throughout the series, an upgrade in animation and a really enjoyable opening song.

Picked this up on a whim in a used store with no prior knowledge of what to expect.. in doing some research online before watching it I found several reviews, which all seemed to paint an image of a sub-par, run of the mill, cliché ridden release. I also found that there was a re-release 2-disc set complete with the alternate 16 episode tv-series for the same price I paid for this used single disc OVA only release.

After watching it, I’m going to certainly agree with the reviews I found online.. it honestly seemed as though it may have been written as a student project ... of an exercise in actively using clichés, which were introduced in nothing but the most boring and drab way possible.. sometimes, feeling as though the story itself was trying way too hard to simply pander to the viewer.

I think I found myself barely crack a smile maybe twice.. and while the OVA almost teetered on the verge of mild entertainment, it was otherwise devoid of any moving, memorable or emotionally charged moments.

The characters were transparent, forgettable and without any substance.. almost as though they were built around the scenes in lieu of their own backgrounds. Scenes of situations that sometimes seemed almost too sudden, as if written in the middle of the animating process in order to make sense of a storyline contradiction, that maybe wasn’t caught in proofreading.

The Art was fairly typical although some colors seemed to stand out for me a bit now and then, catching my eye. The sound was really neither here nor there as well; neither opening nor ending themes were anything to write home about.

Overall, I gave it a 4 out of 10.. and will state - if you’re looking for a nice memorable romantic comedy.. Look Elsewhere… but if you, like me are duped into owning it before really knowing of its not-so-greatness, then it will give you something to mildly keep your interest for an hour and a half.. but believe me, I’ll by no means be shelling out any more money for the re-release complete with entire mini-episode tv-series, as it could no way be worth even the measly $11 US ;-)