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Despite all the shit the girls give Sugisaki through the series, he's the only one in the Student Council who actually does the work THEY were supposed to be doing in the first place. And stays late until the evening most days doing so without even a tought of complaining about the situation he finds himself in by the irresponsability of the rest of the Student Council's member.

And obviously, bar one or two occasions, he doesn't see even a glimpse of what could be even considered gratitude for his hard afforts by not even one of the girls he calls his fellow SC members.

I find ... it funny how Sakurano Kurimu, the titular president of the Student Council (altough it's never explained if she got that title legitimaly through school meritocracy or simply she self-apointed as such and everyone kinda went along with it afterwards) loves to complain about how everyone on the council loves to slack-off and do nothing all day when she is arguably one of the highest culprits of the activites (or lack thereof) she describes. And poor Sugisaki, the only one in the room who could be considered "acceptable" according to Sakurano's own standards is consistenly berated by her and her words, beign relegated to nothing more than being a "perv", a "perv" who does nothing but do "perv" things, as she herself describes it. Opinion who sadly, is shared by the majority of the girls in the council and treated as such for even the lightest of infranction he dares to commit.

As you can see, Sugisaki lives kind of a miserable experience, one who no-one who isn't unreasonable about it or a straight-up masochistic would accept to put in: stuck in a council full of irresponsable people who don't work and held no love for you, quite the contrary: held you in high contempt and yet force you to do all the work they weren't able to do without expecting even a "thanks" for your efforts on their part. Sugisaki is stuck on a situation many would only describe as "hell" put through it, as you can see.

And yet, he never does such as even complain about it and put it through it with a smile on his smile from beginning to end. The question arises: why does he does so? Why does does he put through what most people would accurately describe as "hell on Earth" and be seemingly satisfied about it? Well, very simple, and that is an aspect of Sugisaki's personality one must know before knowing how his entire worldview and tought process beforehand: that despite the low opinion the girls hold about him for beign able to contain his manly impulses at certain times and becomming maybe a bit too "honest" and "enthusiastic" about he oughts to obtain from his female companions at times, he genuinly holds deep, pure and honest love for each and every one on them and desires for them nothing but to be happy and to provide for them as much as he can in order to accomplish said goal.

Sugisaki is such an interesting character; a pervert? For sure, he behaves in less than stellar ways around the girls at times, which earns him their disdain, justified, at times. But at the same time he represents a type of men who was hard to find around the time this anime came out and has only grow scarcer since, as well as a type of men who the girls would no doubt have trouble finding in modern Japanese society and Sugisaki might aswell be the only chance they get at someone like him: A man who holds such a pure and passionate love for someone he would be willing to not only put through whatever they desire who pull him through but also someone who would be willing to forgive them for everything provided they have a smile plastered in their face at the end of the day for his efforts.

Sugisaki is not only one of the most interesting anime protagonists I have seen out there (which I admit, my judgament about those might be warped considering the low quantity of IPs of this medium I have consumed), but very well might be one of the most patient there are aswell.

Seitokai no Ichizon is, as I suppose you could entail from everything I wrote above, not my favorite anime series, far from it, in fact. A character I actually simpatized with was presented in front of me on a situation he was clearly in disadvantege of and the show played it off as gags and as an acceptable status-quo who didn't really warrant to do anything about, wich kinda frustrated and made me feel bad for him at times, I'll admit.

So... why exactly did I give it an 8 in the scoreboard and left a "recommended" review for it? You might ask, and you would be completely in your right do so...

Well, very simple, actually. You see, I'm a very particular person with very admitedly very particular tastes, my life experiences and my personal conditions have shaped me in such a way I believe differs from most persons and I cannot really judge a show such as this one negatively based on my own perspectives considering they are in the absolute minority. In other words, few people like but many more like you (someone I assume resembles more what an "average" person looks like for society as in tastes, perspectives, and anything else, really) will stumble upon this show and watch it to begin with so I craft a review specifically tailored for them: who, beign in the absolute majority, could find it usefull and correct.

So... let's go straight to the point: Seitokai no Ichizon is a comedic series that mainly deals with gags regarding meta commentary about anime/otaku culture at the time of its release and 4th-wall breaking dialogues between the characters themselves and the us, the espectators, and that, it does quite well, let me say. Sure it might not be the "best" comedy anime out there not be completely "out the table" on what it has to offer towards its audience, but it has some pretty funny moments most of which are almost always summoned by Sugisaki thirsting on one of the girls of his self-designated "personal harem" and the more-often-than-not violent response the girls (espacially Akaba Chizuru, that chick is brutal on what he does) device in order to put him "back in his place", of which almost always ends on a cartoonishly stupid situation for all sides involved who no doubt will get a laugh or two out of members of the audience who enjoy these type of humour.

There's also the topic of Toudou Elise; a relatively minor chacter who we only get to see on episode 8 but, at least in opinion, results the most memorable of the series with her genuinly unhinged shenanigans and am genuinly sad we got to see so little of her through the series. You see: Elise is the younger sister of Toudou Lilicia, president of the Journalism Club of Hekiyou Academy who is dedicated flesh and soul to get as many dirt as she can on the members of the Student Council, who she sees as her rivals. She (Elise), is still a child, she can't be older than 10 years old and yet, you wouldn't think so hearing her speak of all the messed-up things she comes up with during a casual conversation as if they were the most natural things to speak about during those. None the less, her sister, the aforementioned sensationalistic journalist has teached her about so many questionable and controversial things her "job" deals with her mind has become completely inundated of innapropiate concepts for a child to known which, more often than not, result in some pretty hilarious situations that top anything else the show might try to pull out with the rest of its gags.

I won't go into much detail of what she does, as I'll leave that for yourself to discover should you decide to watch Seitokai no Ichizon in the end, but let me say that a clip on Youtube of Elise doign her shenannigans is what got me into this series to begin with and should there come the day (which I doubt) on which a spin-off series centered completely around Elise be announced I would completely throw my full support behind it as that shit would be absolutely hilarious, let me tell you.

Another minor aspect of this anime I would like to briefly talk about is the relationship behind Minatsu and Mafuyu: the Shiina sisters. I have always had something for sisters, I'll admit, I find the way they are so close to eachother and especially how Minatsu is so protective of her little sister unfathomably CUTE. Mafuyu is a very cute character in general, . I love the way she talks about herself in the third person and everything she does in general (altough she also acts like a bitch towards Sugisaki in some moments, but well, that's what is to be expected about this series in general, isn't it?), no wonder she is one of the more favorited characters of this anime, and for good reason!.

However, talking about the relationship between the Shiina sisters leads me to inevitably speak about another aspect of Seitokai no Ichizon I didn't also fancy that much: the more serious and down to Earth moments regarding Sugisaki's past. You see, this series tries to be serious, it really does, it wants to convey a message about bullying, mental isolation and purpose in life really really hard, but it simply doesn't work. You see, it's perfectly fine for a comedic anime like these to deal with these serious topics at hand, but for it to work and not feel "too rushed to be taken seriously" and/or "too out of place and offputing for a series like this show" the whole anime as an unit has to have a more slow and calm phase in order to feel more down to Earth and realistic and as such, appropiate to include topics of such magnitude, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? is a series that does that perfectly, and if you have seen it you will understand what I am talking about perfectly. Seitokai no Ichizon is too rushed for something like so to happen, sure, it's nice seign scenes about Sugisaki's past and how does that correlate with him having an almost unwavering loyalty to the girls of the Student Council, but it almost felt like I was watching a different anime when watching those. Seitokai no Ichizon didn't manage to integrate its more serious scene with the more comedic nature of the overall show and it not only felt out-putting and out of place, but also like a wasted opportunite the show didn't manage to take advantage of, which is never nice to see.

But overally, despite all the shit I,ve talked about it, Seitokai no Ichizon is generally good series that, if true I myself didn't enjoy that much, features some pretty solid meta commentaries on anime genres and its unnemerable tropes aswell generally funny gag humor moments people of that persuation will no doubt found funny. The animation and character design are both very good and cute (sweet 2000s anime character design, with their big eyes and their crazy hairstyles) and the music is the superb, especially for the outro, who is a very good song.

Plus, the series features a platora of references to other media whose entire list is to extense to here describe, but the Fate Franchise, K-On, Haruhi Suzumiya and Death Note beign the ones that inmediatly come to mind, however. Seriously, who doesn't like references? If for whatever reason I haven't managed to convinced you to see it yet for whatever reason at this point then do it for the references, goddamit!

I did not really knew what to expect when I started watching Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de: I came with almost no expectations when it comes to the contents of this anime.

Sure, I saw it had an overall better score than its twin series; Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, or Majikoi for short (who I am assuming most people became first aware of the existence of Kimi ga Aruji to begin with and came to watch it later, just like it was with my case), paired with the generally favorable reviews who painted this show in a very positive light and ... a mental imagine of what Kimi ga Aruji was going to be began to form in my head: a well-constructed plesant and funny anime who, however, despite of its quality wouldn't prove to be much of a memorable experience worth writing home about.

You see, Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de is the animated adaptation of a visual novel game, and as such, made in great extent, if not primordially to introduce and help promote its base IP into a new audience of potential customers. This, convined with the fact that bar certain exceptions, visual novel adaptations aren't exactly known for its quality and the natural limitations that come with comedic settings such as this one when it comes to their plot and the themes it touches over made me really underapreciate Kimi ga Aruji without even having watched a single episode of it to begin with.

As you can see from what I wrote above, what little I expected from Kimi ga Aruji dictated it to be an okay-ish experience who wouldn't prove to be anything out of this world or too especial on its essence. Maybe a 7 or even a 8 rating board, if it proved to be especially good.

And man, oh man, let me tell you just how wrong I was about Kimi ga Aruji on my first statements. This series seriously impressed me, I will try to never commit the same mistakes I commited here when judging an anime beforehand, let me explain why:

Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de sells itself as a comedy, which it is, don't get me wrong (and let me add to this: its gags and comedic elements it executes perfectly, its a very good comedy at that), but it is more than that, or more accurately: it goes out of its way to be far, far, more than that.

This anime tells us a history about struggle, abuse, trauma and more than anything; of resilience on the face of those adversities described before. Here, we follow the history of Uesugi Ren and his affectionate elder sister Uesugi Mihato (refered to as "Hato-nee" by her little brother prety much through the whole duration of this series), two young runaways who, one night, suddently escaped from home after enduring near-constant domestic abuse from their alcoholic father for years after the death of their mother. After stumbling upon Kuonji Miyu, member of the affamated Kuonji family sisters by mere chance and after helping her get around a heatstroke on a particularly sunny summer day and for their services, get accepted into the Kuonji family state as servants as a way to provide them jobs after their unplaned escapade.

It's quite surprising that a show like this one, who deals with comedy more than anything manages to touch upon serious topics such as parental abuse and loss of family members in such a tastefull and realistic manner as it did.

It left me pretty satisfied on that regard, for that matter.

Through the whole duration of this anime (especially towards the end, when the climax of the whole story occurs), we get to see just how deep the psychological damage inflicted upon the Uesugi siblings (particularly, Ren, who didn't developed the same mental fortitude his sister Mihato did through enduring their countless years of abuse) run and the way they react when faced again with that unpleasant facet of their life. Most people struggle to understand just how trauma-adjacent PTSD works since, you know, its a mental condition and to the vast majority of the population it is quite hard to visualize something that doesn't even have a psysical form to begin with, so its quite nice to see a realistic and non-overtly cartoony portrayal of it on this show. It really goes to show the production team behind it did their homework and speaks nice of them just how carefull and delicate they were handling this serious topic on their part.

Again, one would not expect a show like this one to touch on this so well as it did, but hey that's Kimi ga Aruji for you, just one of the many reasons it is special and suberp to other harem comedy shows, you see.

Other than that, I would say this show exceeded when it came to developing other aspects one could take into consideration when rating anime, there's really not much I can complain about when it comes to that aspect.

The animation is nice and fluid; the animators certainly took their time to make everything as smooth and pretty as possible. The same could be say about backrounds; I problem I personally have with many shows of the 2000s no doubt is how cheap and ugly their backrounds look compared the anything else, and while it is true that Kimi ga Aruji might be guilty of this in some moments the more recurring backrounds are all quite well drawed and nice to look at, which automatically makes it better in that aspects to most shows that come out during that time, sadly.

The music is another strong point of this anime; many classical-inspired soundtracks mixed with electronic sounds that not only proved sweet to my ears but also at some point or another made me think of the many visual novel softwares that come out during that decade (which kinda makes sense, considering this anime is nothing but an adaptation of one of those, lol) and an unexpected crossover with Alexander Borodin's Polotsvian Dances I no doubt enjoyed.

Why can't more anime include classical music on its soundtracks? Take how fire this one was as an example and just put them in, goddamit!

Going back into more "grounded" musical affairs, however, the intro and outro of Kimi ga Aruji were straight up-bangers, also. Never did I skip one of these transitions for just how good the songs were, just so you know.

The characters were aswell very well developed and interesting every and each one of them. There are some recurring jokes with some members of the cast about how "generic" and "lacking in personality" they were to the point they could pass unnoticed without even the most attentive of individuals to become aware of their presence, but I didn't feel that way: even the blandest character of this series feel unique in some way or another and the history really did it well in adding depth to their character in a way they become interesting even if their premise says they aren't, lol. In fact, pretty much all of the characters here present undergo their own arc of self-actualization where they have to battle the inner demons of their past or some other challenge that's standing on their way as a person that's executed almost to perfection.

Natose's arc being my favorite so far none the less for explaining why she acted the way she did on certain part of this series, don't miss it out!

As a closing remark, let me add that this anime also included some pretty funny references to other IPs of the time that were popular around the time this aired; Death Note, Dragon Ball, the Fate Series, and to my surprise, ToHeart, all of them pretty memorable on their own and who definitively add a lot to this series on its status as a parody, who it is also, by the way. Fans of meta humor will enjoy those no doubt for just how random and over the top they can be at times, lol.

Overall, a very good anime to watch that exceeds at what it originally set up to did and all other relevant aspects also. One of the few shows that deserves a round 10 out of there; go give it a watch if I convinced you of its merit because believe me, it's certainly an experience one does not want to miss on.

Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai, more known by its acronim, "Majikoi", is an anime that, very similar to many other series of this media was made to promote a visual novel game going by the same name.

As you might know, visual novel animes don't have exactly the best reputation on this community. Because at the end of the day what are they if not glorified commercials for the product they are trying to advertise? Many viewers would say, and they aren't exactly wrong: many visual novel animes are designed to do else apart from luring easily captivated players into the game thay descend from ... via exposure to the romance candidates of said aforementioned while neglecting the plot, side characters and overall quality of the series in the process. Hence, the bad reputation they have adquired over the years.

Luckily for you, I (and everyone interested in it, for that matter), Majikoi is not that type of anime.

Sure, it might have come originally from a visual novel, and taken some pretty questionable desicions when it come to adapt its source material into the animated format. None the less, for example, taking-up the story from a pretty advanced point in franchise instead of its beginnings, like one would assume they would do, not explaini properly many lore elements through the trama (mainly due to time constraints, I assume) and many other weird choices that no doubt will left many new watchers without any previous knowledge on the VN it came from confused and feeling lost, like they are missing some very importaint (altough non-existent) plot element they skipped somewhere along the way. However, I am convinced Majikoi manages to redeem itself through many the positive characteristics this show has that will left even the most lost new viewer satisfied by its conclusion. Dropping it by this state is, in my opinion, a huge mistake.

Majikoi has us following the adventures (or misadventures, at times) of Yamato Naoe, masterfull tactician of the Kazama Family and his personal harem: a diverse group of girls who have decided to follow him for one reason or another and who secretly share feelings for him all together. Each one of them embodies one of the seven virtues of Bushido, have their own style and weapon of choice when it comes to fighting, and perhabs more importantly for this review, their own personality who more often than not is a completely opposite to that of their similars. This, as one would expect leads to pretty funny and hilarious situations as they crash over Yamato or any other, more mundane thing for that manner, on practically every episode. There's always something going on in Majikoi, be it more "normal" and down-to-earth activities such as making dinner or searching for a lost dog to more strange and esoteric activities such as settling disputes with a rival class in school via a medieval-style battle with a battlefield, commanders, divisions and everything to fighting a territorist organization complicit of smugling porn magazines into the country (yes, this is real, I ain't making anything up).

Speaking of wich, let's talk for a bit about the overall trama and plot of this anime, since it's actually a quite contentious topic inside the community. You see, to say that the history of Majikoi is all over the place would be a bit of an understatement: it tries to blend
the classic aspects of an Slice-of-Life show with an Action Adventure show that also has comedic elements here and there but also gets serious in some moments. As you could rightfully asume, this, convined with the fact that the history doesn't actually start from its true beginnings and that some lore elements aren't explained in any part of the series makes Majikoi quite a dificult show to follow at times. I can personally atest to this since I found myself more than once having to rewind a moment or two throught the episodes to actually fully comprehend what was going on at the moment.

To me, this doesn't represent anything other than some minor inconvenience that can be ignored provided it doesn't happen repeditly too many times, but I know that for some users who don't have as much patience as I do for these kind of things this might represent a problem. So it's worth keeping that in mind when deciding if to actually watch Majikoi or not.

One last positive aspect I would like to point out when talking about Majikoi is the tackling of the issues of politics and the superficiality and nihilism of modern society, in other words: "the perils of modernity", as I like to call them. Many points throught the series, complex aspects such as the exploitative relation going on through Japan and the United States, the way modern societal structures has slowly eroded Japanese societal cohesion in favour in shiny but fast-paced and fundamentally empty post-modern consumerist society, the inherent nihilism and cynicism permeating everybody and everything in our day and age and the systemic corruption going on in the Japanese Government are discussed. Majikoi utilizes these elements to teach us a valuable lesson on patriotism (something that many modern animes lack, regretfully) and on why succumbing to doomerist notions of tough such as the aforementioned cynicism and nihilism are will do nothing to aliviate our pain but sink us further in our own mysery. Very well we could say Majikoi is an anime about why we should actually give a shit, not only for the people inmediatly around us, but our comunities and countries aswell at large.

One wouldn't expect a relatively small anime like this one, made to primordially sell a visual novel to touch on these serious topics that could get them in so much controversy on the strict and rigid Japanese society of today, something which would surely sink this series and the studio who made it should that actually come to happen. So props to them for that.

In conclusion: Majikoi is a pretty decent anime with some pretty hilarous and memorable characters (especially Matsukaze, who never failed to get a chucke or two out of me whenever he appeared on-screen) and a somewhat solid story who can be chaotic at times but is enjoyable not the less with some seriously impresive messaging about modern geopolitics and society one would legitimate never expect from a show such as this one.

Go watch Majikoi, the experience is worth your time, I can assure you that.

Goddamit, I didn't expect this anime to be as good as it ended beign.

Before I started watching To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers, I had many doubts regarding the contents of this series: for once, it presented ourselves with a completely different setting and tonal structure to what we were usually accustomed from a To Heart IP and I was kinda worried on how it would deliver it.

Just so you know: I didn't believe Dungeon Travelers would be an "abyssmaly bad experience with little to no redeeming qualities", but rather as a somewhat mediocre experience who would leave me with a bitter taste on my mouth. ... Something completely unheard of from the To Heart franchise (at least in my experience) and would be kinda sad considering this is possibly the last of the franchise we will ever see, you catch me on that.

Well, let me just say I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Dungeon Travelers not only not proved to be a "rather mediocre experience" nor left me with a "bitter taste on my mouth" as I for so long had tought, but rather, exceded my expectations by a mile and turned out a rather fine experience among To Heart properties than I ended-up enjoying more than most of them in the end.

To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers strikes me as a very fine parody-show of all those Isekai-Fantasy animes that were beign released in the early 2010s, when this series itself came out. It features most (if not all) the characters we so know and love at this point embodying various character archetypes common in these genres and twists them in such a way that not only pocks fun at these aforementioned type of animes, but also results higly enjoyable for the audience in the process. To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers is not your "bland and generic Isekai with no tought or inspiration behind them", but rather, a threat for those who are tired of the repetidness of those shows.

And the fanservice, oh, what can I say about the fanservice? Never have I seen any other To Heart IP that dared to show so much skin, not the beach episode, not the bikini special, no, Dungeon Travelers tops it all. Hell we even have a character whose main gag is that she strips naked whenever she feels stressed (that would be Ilfa, in case you were curious), and even an slime and onsen scene. I know not everybody will aprobe of the inclusion of such heavy fanservice on this piece of media, but for people like me, who enjoy those kind of scenarios, that counts of a point in favor for Dungeon Travelers. So you'll have to bear with me on this one.

Dungeon Travelers is a MUST WATCH for people who fell in love with the characters of base To Heart 2 and wants to see them in more funny, complicated (and potentially, risqué) situations who no doubt will get a laugh out of them or two. It makes for a pretty good watch for anybody who might be having a good day and wants to cheer up with a little, easy to watch and understand anime such as this one.

Go on, give it a watch, it is worth your time :)

And so, with To Heart 2 Adnext we have reached the bare end of the cannonical To Heart franchise, at least those that takes place in the same shared universe, anyways.

What comes after seems to be in another completely separated plane of existence, and I cannot really speak on its cannonicity on the franchise, just so you know.

The most important aspect of To Heart 2 Adnext that sets it appart from the rest of the OVAs of this series no doubt have to an special episode that deals solely (well, sort of) with Kusakabe Yuuki, that mysterious black-haired girl who gets introduced seemingly out of ... nowhere and seems to have an unusually high level of affection for Takaaki who doesn't really make sense considering we know little to next to nothing about her backround to begin with (altough that could also be said for half of the girls on the To Heart franchise also, lol).

Just like HMX-17b "Milfa", or Harumi Kouno, as she is more formally known throught this anime, Yuuki never gets formally introduced the first time she appears in the show and lefts us, the audience, to speculate on whatever her backround lore might be.

As of the time of this review, To Heart has already do this with two characters, should I be mad about this? I mean, possibly yes, it's kind of lazy thing to do to us, the audience, and more inquisitive critics may have jumped on the throat of this show for daring to do it not once, but twice, at the moment. But seriously, you couldn't get me to be mad about it, since you know, the purpose of these OVAs is the advertise a dating sim and nothing else, what else where you especting? Lol.

Anyways, with the introduction of such an episode those wrongs regarding Kusakabe Yuuki are finally set straigh. Should To Heart done something about her earlier to avoid these kind of confusions? Also problably yes, but you know how this series goes, that's just what one get to expect here.

Other than that, we get a pretty solid episode on which Manaka daydreams about beign Takaaki on multiple ocasions and gets on a bunch of pretty funny and hearthwarming situations with him that no doubt doubt Manaka enjoyers (who, based on her numbers of favorites on her character page, aren't few) will enjoy.

And yeah, that's about it, that's about all of what To Heart 2 Adnext has to offer. It's a small but nice experience to consume on some day you are bored and have nothing better to do, or something similar, anything, really.

I assume that if you are here is because you have already watched the rest of the To Heart series, no? C'mon, finish the damn thing the proper way and watch the last OVA of the cannonical universe, it takes just under an hour to do so and it can be pretty entertaining at certain parts. It won't let you down, I guarentee you that. Pretty solid for what it has to offer.

On To Heart 2 AD Plus we are introduced to two brand new robot girls to complement our already extensive set of characters: Shy but somewhat temperamental HMX-17c "Silfa", and HMX-17b "Milfa", or Harumi Kouno, as she is more widely known throught the series.

Speaking about Harumi, she's kind of weird character, she has so much lore behind her and yet it is never properly explained in pretty much any point of the OVA. For starters: yes, she is a robot, this also came as a surprise for me as she is only referred as such just ONCE in the anime and I had to ... actually consult her MAL page to confirm it. This however, makes sense, as her mysterious apparition on the franchise seemingly out of nowhere could very well be explained as one of Sango's excentricities towards Takaaki (because she is the one that builds the robots, you know) altough that is never explained properly also, as you might suppose, and I am only making suppositions on my parts, at this point.

Another thing I also quite don't understand about her is that on her character page she is listed also as "the robot teddy plush toy that Takaaki looked at", that would certainly explain why she is so obssesed with him, but still, that would have to mean Sango at some point transferred the "conscience" of the teddy (or whatever robots have) into a fully-fledged human robot body, but that's also never hinted at any point of the series.

By far, she most mysterious character to have been introduced into the To Heart franchise until this point.

Still, I like the idea of Ilfa, Silfa and Milfa (or Harumi, I don't even know how to call her at this point) beign three little robot sisters, each with their owns gimmick and personalities all competing for the love of Takaaki. So I'll let all of the aforementioned beforehand slide, just this time, and more importantly, because cute robot girls were involved and I also happen to have a sort of strange weakness for those.

Moving into the contents of this OVA in general: I am happy to announce we finally got what previous entries of this franchise had failed to deliver on large cuantities: fanservice. Yep, you heard me right, we finally got fanservice on To Heart! And yeah, yeah, I know what you are gonna say: we already got a few panty and upskirts shots on this IP before, but have we ever gotten an entire episode whose entire plot revolves around the girls beign in bikinis all day? Lol, I think not. Not even the beach special we got a few OVAs past was so daring when it came to show skin to the audience, it's for something that this anime is tagged as "Ecchi" on this website when the rest of properties from this franchise lacked such label.

My only complain is that we didn't got to see Karin in swimwear, tho >:(

Now, on a more serious note, the only thing that sets apart this OVA from the rest of the others is the inclusion of an explicitly "fan-service-y" episode among its catalog. Other than that, we got to see an episode were Silfa tries to get over her crippling shyness while Harumi does everything in her power to stop her to prove herself a potential better "wife" for Takaaki and all other sorts of situations that are very typical for the To Heart franchise, at this point.

Why don't watch it? I mean, it isn't anything special, but if you like To Heart in general you will no doubt like this also since, as I mentioned previously, is quite literally more of the same. This whole franchise of OVAs, ONAs and specials could very well be the same series fragmented between different IPs for how similar they are.

Go give it a chance, it makes for a nice watching.

To Heart 2 AD has just started and Kouno Takaaki has straight-up just lost his memory.

Should we be concerned about this? I mean, losing one's memory seems like a pretty bad thing to happen and it could very well hinder the development of this series going forward.

Well, none of the girls seems to be particularly concerned about it, some even seem to be enjoying this new, memory-less Takaaki more than his previous self, even.

What logic is this? you are asking. Why are none of the girls shedding even a shade of concern over the apperent memory loss of their male best friend? Wouldn't that be ... the logical thing to do?

And well, my friend, if you want a serious answer to that, I'll afraid it'll have to be stop taking things in this anime as seriously as you, relax, lay back, and absorb everything this OVA has in store for you. You would not be able to appreciate it otherwise.

Here, in To Heart 2 AD you will be able to enjoy a whole chapter dedicated to Takaaki's aforementioned loss of memory, the girls continuos efforts to bring it back (well, not really, if we are beign honest), some extra lore regarding Kouno's and Tamaki's childhood spent with one another, as well as a hearthwarming story about Yuma, our favorite tomboy getting drunk on new year's celebration and discovering some hidden sentiments she had for Takaaki that hadn't come up until that moment. I actually enjoyed this IP quite more than its predecessor, hence the somewhat higher score. If I had to recommend one of the secondary To Heart 2's OVAs to someone it would probably be this one, believe it or not.

The only aspect I would highlight as a negative from this anime has to be the duration of its chapters. 30 minutes is far too long for the episodic and comedic nature of To Heart in general, the chapters drag and drag and drag along and by the end of the whole thing you end beign pretty tired, as I was in the end. If they had went for the more traditional approach of 20-something minute episodes this whole OVA would probably have ended-up far more enjoyable than it did and have a better phase in general, or at least that's what I would believe.

Other than that, I would say, go for it, this OVA was pretty good in general and I ended-up liking it pretty much despite its flaws that I described on last parragraph. It's not a bad way to spend time one bored sunday afternoon, go for it, it's not a bad idea.

The main purpose of To Heart 2 OVA is to introduce the characters who, for one reason or another (mainly time constraints I am gonna guess), couldn't be introduced in the main To Heart 2 anime.

Yep, and that's about it, really.

Here, on To Heart 2 OVA you will meet:

Komaki Ikuno: the inquisitive albeit frail little sister of Komaki Manaka (remember her? the "quasi" unofficial librarian of the school's library) and character whose appereance on the series I speculated upon my last To Heart 2 review. Her cronic ilness that lefts her bedridden at her home for most of the time doesn't stops her from deeply ... analyzing the characters and personalities of everyone around her and making assumptions about them. And of course, supporting her elder sister on her crush on Takaaki anytime she is able to.

Kusugawa Sasara: the seemingly imposing and authoritative school student's council president who turns out to be a massive ball of nerves and shyness in her more personal aspects. Oh, and also turns out to have a massive crush on Takaaki also (seriously, Yuuji put it best, Takaaki isn't even trying and yet he is stealing all of the girls, haha).

And of course, how could I forget: Maako Asagiri, known simply as "Maryan" to those close to her. A chaotic "beign" whose only purpose in life seems to be to cause as much mayhem and disorder in all situations as humanly possible.And why is she that way? You may ask, and well, to be completely honest with you, I have as little idea as you have also, lol. However, she is that way and isn't going to change, so you better put up with her, haha.

Now, why I am talking to you about basic information on these girls that you might aswell get by simply looking at their biography on MAL? Well, very simple: the fact that this OVA exist essentially to introduce these characters makes them inseparable from the identity of this IP as a whole. And as such, speaking about them is also a way to almost directly speak about this OVA as a whole.

And seriously, what else would you like me to speak about? On this OVA you will see a pretty typical beach and school festival episode that you sure would enjoy should you be like of these things beforehand (especially the school festival one, wich is perhabs the most chaotic thing I have seen out of the To Heart franchise as a whole) and enjoys a somewhat better quality when it comes to animation quality and has its own unique opening and ending songs and slides. Pretty cool, isn't it?

To Heart 2 OVA isn't bad, really, and I see how you could extract entertainment from a product such as this one. Go ahead, watch it, you probably will enjoy it more than I did, lol.

What a fun little time I had while watching Sugar Sugar Rune.

It was the first Mahou Shoujo anime I had ever seen, and as such, I was worried about two potential issues (more accurately described as concerns, tough) I could have while watching a series so different to what I was accustomed to see.

The first of these issues manifested itself on the form of the incredible amount of episodes this show had compared to shows I was used to watch. At much, I had seen series with 20-something chapters at maximum and the 51 episodes of Sugar Sugar Rune represented a mountain of content for ... me who I wasn't sure I would be able to chew through even if I liked the contents of the series.

Speaking about the contents of this series, the second concern I had consisted of these contents themselves and the themes that would be touched upon throught the duration of this anime. As you might know, the target audience of Sugar Sugar Rune consists mainly of school-aged girls, and me, am an 18-year old boy who has just started university at the time of writing this review. It goes without saying, there exist some pretty deep and fundamental differences between the target audience of this show and myself, so to speak. I feared this anime would end-up beign far too childish for my enjoyment or that it would present some situations that would result too "girly" for me to really relate to them or enjoy them as a whole.

Well, let me say, dear reader or readers, once I started watching Sugar Sugar Rune not only both of these doubts quickly went away, but this series left me surprised for how good its writing was but also for the maturity of the topics it somethimes touched upon. Indeed, Sugar Sugar Rune may be an anime intended for a rather young schoolgirl audience, but I can assure with confidence that it's not a series exclusive for them, as public from all genders, ages, and walks of life might come to enjoy it once starting to watch.

Contrary to proving a difficulty, the titanic amount of episodes blended seemingly well into my daily routines and my days as a whole and even came to become the highlights of some of the more tough of them, which is worth to mention were not few of them. This is no doubt because Sugar Sugar Rune is an extremely light series that is easy to understand and perfect for days when your days just years for something pacific (on the mayor part, lol) and easy to diggest to make for a hard day. If you are a person looking for an anime with such characteristics, consider Sugar Sugar Rune, it could result of your liking.

And while it is true that this show is primarly aimed at schoolgirls and its settings, themes and situations might relate better for them than it does for us, adults, I don't find this a problem as the amazing writing does wonders for keeping the audience engaged and entertained on whatever the series is throwing at our face on that particular episode. Sugar Sugar Rune belongs to a really tiny, tiny group of animes who I could confidently say has no boring or uninteresting episodes. No really, this anime managed to make episodes that in other shows would have make me roll my eyes out of dissaprobal, such as School Festivals and Sport Competionts as interesting experiences with a compelling narrative that left me engaged by the end of it.

Serioulsy, just to put an example of how well this show is written, let me utilize one of its titular propagonists to do so. Chocolat Meilleure: a bratty, undisciplined and lousy schoolgirl that also turns out to be the character we have to put-through with throught this series and are supposed to root for. Now, on any other situation I would probably have ended-up hating a character such as this one, especially is she was given as much screentime as Chocolat Meilleure gets, however through a healty dose of realistic writting and a given set of possitive characteristics who only get amplified and more amplified as the series goes by and Chocolat slowly matures along her quest for the queenship of the Magic World and its inhabitants. Sure, Chocolat Meilleure may be an inmature brat who more than not gets herself and her shy and introverted friend Vanilla into messy situations that end-up beign far more than she could have ever bargained for, she is also a kind, charitative girl who genuinly cares for Vanilla and the rest of her friends and who is willing to listen and learn from her mistakes in order to become a better friend, and of course, a better candidate for the Crown in return.

The result of all what's described previously is very obvious: Chocolat results an empathetic and pleasant character for the overall audience to see, despite all of her flaws listed in the last parragraph. Take this from me: I am a guy who, in theory, has an extremelly low tolerance for characters such as Chocolat, and yet I ended rooting for her at the end of the series and preferring her over Vanilla for the position of Queen. That should really tell you something.

The villains are a strong point when it comes to writing of this series. They progress from beign a misterious and seemingly far-away sort of menace at the beginning of the anime to slowly and steady becomming a more definned but powerfull foe that genuinly represent a threat to the candidates to the Crown in more than one occasion, having an straight-up advantage over them in more than one occasion throught this show. You also get to spend much time among them as the series progresses forward and even get to hear their history, motivations and inner toughts in more than one occation to such an extent that you get to know them, as much Chocolat and Vanilla, believe it or not. And let me just say: they aren't the "let's destroy everything and harm innocent people because we can" type of villain, the villains of Sugar Sugar Rune have genuine and to some extent, agreeable motivations that move them forward to achieve their goals. There will be times when you will be simpatizing with them more than you do with the heroines because they have legitimate reasons to be mad at them and the forces that prop them up as well there will be moments were you will be rooting for their dowfall because the methods they utilize to try to achieve their goals are genuinly messed-up and because, at the end of the, they are still the villains.

While at the beggining Sugar Sugar Rune might appear as your standard good-vs-evil story, as the plot advances forward, you will realize that neither the villains are as "evil" as the "good guys" might like to portray them, nor are the "good guys" as pure and flawless as they would like to portrait themselves. Let that speak for the level of maturity and good writing this show has.

Going back to the first point: I didn't tought any moment of Sugar Sugar Rune was particularly "childish" or "girly" for me to understand or enjoy, maybe there were, but the good writing made me not realize of them in their totality. Quite the contrary, I would say this show is quite mature for the type of public it tries to reach: It teaches it's audience the valor of letting go something or someone instead of clinging to it desperately in the hopes it will return to their side, to not let the opinions of others to disuade you from who you trully want to be, and perhabs most surprisingly of all, on employee-employer relations on the workplace and the way they should look on an ideal ideal. Definitively a very mature anime to be directed primarly for schoolgirls and that you can bet I will show to my children provided I end-up having a couple of them a few years from now-on (we can always hope to, no?)

On the tecnical standpoint, Sugar Sugar Rune doesn't really stands-up from other shows from the early-to-mid 2000s. Its backrounds are pleasant to look like, but are nothing to write about (the irony, I know). Some of them, especially those who aren't are at the center of the scene poorly and lazily drawn and come out as sort of sloppy more than anything. The artistic design of the characters isn't exactly bad, you can come to enjoy it if you are into the more "cutesy" style of things. I personally, don't have a problem with it, I could go as far as saying I enjoyed it in the vast majority of the episodes, but that it can come of quite "aggresive" in some situations, if you look at it closely. The music is straight-up fire, there wasn't as song from this anime, be from its overall soundtrack or its more "up-front" songs that wasn't good. All of them are going into my anime soundtrack playlist no doubt.

Overall: Sugar Sugar Rune is a good anime that no doubt Mahou Shoujo lovers and even wider audiences will enjoy and find memorable for its characters, history, development, music and artstyle. This series didn't really get an audience in North America, but is fondly remembered in Europe and Japan were it enjoyed a wider release, and that's for a good reason. Go watch Sugar Sugar Rune now, it's an experience worth it!

If you came here expecting to see our beloved To Heart 2's character in bikinis, maybe a beach episode even perhabs, like it covers suggests, let me tell you are in, sadly, for a dissapointment :(

This anime special's contents are pretty well sumarized by its synopsis: Yuzuhara Konomi and Kousaka Tamaki join the audience in a little retroespective journey of the series up until the 12th episode perhabs (when this special is canonically supposed to take place, actually) and provide comentary on various moments of the anime we had already seen until this point. Not sure why the creators decided it would be a good ... idea to use Komaki Tanaka in swimwear besides what I am pretty sure is her sister , a character who doesn't even apear in the main series (and maybe in the animated franchise at all, I am not sure) as a cover for this IP, tho.

Maybe we could be looking at an extremely early case of clickbait on the web, lol. Who I am to know, after all?

Everything is discussed and talked about on this special: from simple explanations of what is going on in screen and we already know, to personal toughts our two presenter girls might have over the various situations Kouno Takaaki might find himself through his tumultous school year. I wouldn't recommend this special for more casual viewers who might just be watching the To Heart series as a way to kill free time or who simply don't want to see something they have already seen again. This is howewer, far from beign a bad piece of media, tho. This special features a unique intro and outro to the main series and some of the reactions of the girls in a bunch of the more spicier situations genuinly made me chucle a laugh or two.

What I am getting at, is that you shouldn't avoid this special simply for beign something you had already watched or it wasn't what you were expected. It is only 23 minutes long and may even get a couple of laughs out of two. If you still don't want to proceed with that, no problem, at the end of your day, you invest your time in whichever you determine good and worthy of it. But I will ask you, consider everything I have just said before and take a decision out of that, its the best thing you can do in these kind of scenarios after all, don't you think?