Summary: >

Two years have passed since Aoi and Kauru first met. While the two must continue to hide their secret, every day in a house full of friends is a fun adventure. While Tina is always full of energy, she seems very intent on making good memories. Is she hiding something?

Thoughts: >

It had been a long while since I had seen Ai Yori Aoshi. I happened upon Enishi and I started to wonder what happened with the story of Ai Yori Aoshi. Within two minutes, most of the bad things I recall about the series suddenly came rushing back. I didn't give up on it at that point, but I realized that this series would never live up to my hopes for where it would go.

Ai Yori Aoshi is frustrating because the setup is a very good idea, but then it gets mired in all this overused anime formula crap and ends up being a generic mess. Most of the characters in this series are unnecessary. The biggest problem is that the central focus is on Aoi and Kaoru who are weak characters. Kauru is the typical harem anime male who is completely generic, and lacks any personality save being a "nice guy". Aoi might seem charming at first, until you realize she has no faults. She's not a person, she's an ideal. Without the regular array of quirks and problems that most people have, the romance between these two is left wanting.

[+] theory on the manga

With the first season, the setup went a long way. Aoi showing up at Kaoru's doorstep led to a lot of interesting material, but taken away from this crutch fell flat. By contrast Enishi started weak, and worked up to a better story towards the end. The first few episodes are basically typical fluff stories, and then it moves into some bigger drama revolving around Tina - who actually came out a stronger character than expected all things considered. Much of the character hijinks that had pushed a little too far were toned down, but unfortunately this anime continues to trip into stupidity. Music was a major failing in my opinion, as it tried to force different moods that the anime wasn't getting across. I don't need to be pushed by silly music, if I find it funny I'll laugh. The dub was well acted, but I think the script was a bit off. Anime distribution companies have been trying to figure out ways to mix Japanese culture with dubs, but one of the things that doesn't mix well is using Japanese style honorifics like "-san", "-chan", "-sama", etc into English sentences. Everything else sounded natural but it was obvious that the voice actors weren't comfortable with pronouncing Japanese words.

So overall I had mixed feelings about it. While I don't expect Aoi and Kauru to ravish each other every 30 seconds, I think their relationship lacks the vitality needed for a gripping story. I've come to think that people who really love this series, like it because they WANT to like it, and project things into it that aren't really there. Don't get me wrong, I want to like it too, but I'm realistic about what it is. Enishi did have all the elements needed for a good love story / drama, but didn't have enough of anything to push it into the must see. A decent romance that's perfectly watchable, but skippable too.