D.C.: Da Capo

Hatsunejima abounds in mysteries—one of which is the town's unwithering cherry trees that are said to grant the most genuine wishes. There are also rumors of people possessing supernatural powers, like Junichi Asakura, who can see other people's dreams and create sweets out of nothing. Alongside his sister Nemu, he enjoys living in peace with his friends at Kazami Academy but chooses to shroud his identity in secrecy.

His tranquil school life comes to a halt when he finds out that his childhood friend Sakura Yoshino has returned from America after six years. She is there for one purpose: to fulfill the promises she made long ago with Junichi. Little does anyone know, however, that Sakura's appearance is bound to change everyone's lives—for better or worse.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Asakura, Nemu Main

Nogawa, Sakura Japanese

Yoshino, Sakura Main

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Asakura, Junichi Main

Tai, Yuuki Japanese

Shirakawa, Kotori Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Utamaru Supporting

Momoi, Haruko Japanese

Suginami Supporting

Kishio, Daisuke Japanese

Mizukoshi, Moe Supporting

Itsuki, Yui Japanese

Sagisawa, Misaki Supporting

Matsuki, Miyu Japanese

Amakase, Miharu Supporting

Kanda, Akemi Japanese

Mizukoshi, Mako Supporting

Matsuoka, Yuki Japanese

Kawasaki, Tomoko Producer

Nagatani, Takayuki Assistant Producer

Miyazaki, Nagisa Director, Storyboard

Kikuta, Hiromi Sound Director

Reviews

Nov 4, 2015

Zaku88

Recommended

In my mind, this work is essentially a classic; it's an interesting harem with unique characters and a splash of magic. There is a good splattering of romantic comedy early on before developing into a fairly serious drama. It happens that this anime turned out nice for me but it's not for everyone. If you need a reminder of what good'ol harem meant, definitely give this or Love Hina a try.

Animation:
Though the styling is obviously dated by today's standards, it was pretty good for its time. Some people think the female characters look overly cute but I thought it was fine. Given the magical surrounding ... the sakura trees, expect lots of sakura blossoms.

Sound:
The music in the entire franchise is pretty special, and it all started with Yozuca's melodic opening here. The BGM is orchestral and similar to that in To Heart. However, there are moments of high tension where the OST just adds that extra touch. The BGM always reminded me of a circus for some reason, and though that association isn't necessarily correct mood-wise it definitely made it memorable.

The voice acting cast was very good and includes some very well known seiyuu. Yukari Tamura did great here and, obviously, Yui Horie's character, Kotori, became ridiculously popular.

Story:
The plot is pretty simple at first. It shows Jun'ichi going to school and making friends with many girls, while also conjuring some fairly humorous incidents. Once all the characters have been well introduced, the twists begins as each girl apparently harbors some feelings for Jun'ichi. From this point on, the tone of the series becomes much more serious and intense.

Magic plays a part in the latter half which deals with people's dreams (as in goals/desires) and what happens when those dreams are taken away.

Overall, the themes are all tied together near the end and the conclusion is very satisfying (yes, D.C. has a second series but you could easily just end it at the first series and be fully satisfied).

There are also side episodes attached to some of the episodes which don't have anything to do with the main story. Some are just for humor while others deal with a mysterious cat-like figure.

Character:
Jun'ichi seems like your typical male student, who happens to live with his adopted sister, except that he seems to be overly-popular with the other gender. As in many animes, the parents are always out. The anime does a good job at showing how difficult it can be to express one's innermost feelings as it takes over half the series for Jun'ichi to finally admit his true feelings.

Nemu is a love/hate character. She seems strong on the outside but is actually quite frail on the inside and will often be seen running away from her problems. However, her brother always takes care of her to make up for her weakness.

Sakura is probably the most mysterious character during the first half of the anime. She is much more resolute in her goal to become Jun'ichi's lover and will openly display affection for him. Luckily, most of the mysteries surrounding her are answered in the later part of the anime.

Overall, each character's development is well done and is given a proper conclusion.

Value:
This was one of the earlier harems that I had watched, and one that I still remember to date. Re-watch value is pretty high if you're into the romance aspect, as development goes quite a good deal further than a lot of more current harems. I found the drama near the end very intense and ended up watching certain episodes multiple times. For me, this was one of the most enjoyable harems that I've watched.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Oct 30, 2015

Biogundam

Mixed Feelings

Warning this review may contain spoilers.

First impressions, an anime based off a hentai game, sweet let's see what happens. When I first got into this show I didn't like it at first, but I gave it a second chance and ended up liking it.




Story 6/10

On the island mysterious of Hatsune,
... Where the cherry blossom trees bloom all year along.
The smell of love starts to fill the air.

It starts with are main character Junnichi has a dream about girl that is going to meet him in the near future. After being woken up by his step sister named Nemu. He starts to make his way to school.
He then meets his cousin Sakura, for whom they thought was living in America, Sakura has come to finish the promise she made to Junnichi when they where children. The first half is pretty much an episodic story that contains slice of nothing really happens moments
For example, when the main character comes across that cat girl maid or when he just doing his day to day activities. We slowly see romance starting to take form, which I found somewhat boring to watch.
However, it is necessary, because otherwise I wouldn't care about whats happening in the story.

The second half is more focused more on the love triangle that has manifested between Junnichi, Nemu and Sakura. Both of them are fighting for his affections, which has been building up over time and comes to the surface for all to see. Our main character, then has to make a choice, which is kind of bittersweet but was essential to furthering the plot. So I thought this was a very relaxing ]and it does deliver on those feels. Moreover, when the show gets serious, the show handles itself with maturity, which I quite like. Especially because love triangles can turn ugly very quickly.

The show wasn't without its blemishes and negatives. It really is kind of just a standard story that I have seen told many times before. Additionally, for some reason there is some magic elements in this story with the main character and his cousin (who can use magic) and a magic tree that grants wishes. Another problem I did have with magic being in this show is the fact that there isn't really much explained about how the magic system really works in this world, and any information we are given is pretty vague. It just seems like that the magic in this show can pretty much do anything you want, and yes I know this is a romantic comedy and I shouldn't take the magic elements seriously. Even though, it's a simplistic romantic comedy but the lack of information kind of bothered me.
Moreover, I didn't like magic and I must give them credit that the magic it made things a lot worse. Therefore, magic impacted the decisions and choices that characters made within the overall story.

Characters 5/10

The main character is pretty much your run of the mill visual novel protagonist, who is kind, thoughtful, and always wants to help people with their problems. Even if he the one who will be the most affected by it. The side characters are also very one note. For example, you have a air headed rich girl and her younger sister who always cook hotpot on the school roof very school day.
There is pretty decent character development with the people in this love triangle. Besides, the above points nothing else warrants a mention.

Art 6/10

The animation is average as a whole. The colours scheme is very vibrant and bright and goes with the lighthearted one of the show. It has this very cute style it. Also the transition to the the more darker and drama tone of the show with a dim and greyer color scheme. It's background animation is pretty average. I thought the character design where kind of basic.

Sound 5/10

The ost was pretty forgettable, but it did fit the tone of the show pretty well. Furthermore, the ost was composed by Yuko Kanno, who has worked on other anime osts such as JoJo Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders and Ajin. I thought the voice acting was fine for the most part. The subtitled version was well done.

Enjoyment 6/10

I found it very bland most of the times when I was watching it and the only parts I loved about it was the love triangle parts that moved the story along. I also found it quite relaxing to watch.

Overall, 6/10

In conclusion, if you like visual novel adaptations or shows that take their drama and romance somewhat seriously, then you will probably like this show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 28, 2023

MxS7HGS

Not Recommended

Da Capo is a harem anime that is tedious to watch. It features a male protagonist who is pursued by a series of girls who differ from one another only in their hairstyles and personalities. Unfortunately, the series fails to introduce any novel setting or plot, making it a monotonous experience.

Da Capo fails because it lacks any kind of friction. There is no adverse force to challenge the characters and no conflict between them. There's not even a personality clash worth mentioning. The series feels like an endless bombardment of fake smiles. Despite more than one girl being attracted to the male lead, none of ... them seem to care enough to do anything about it, aside from a few trivial scuffles between the two primary love interests. The male lead, Junichi Asakura, could have just drawn up a rota and saved everyone a lot of time.

Da Capo threatens to excite the viewer only twice in the series, but these moments of drama are abruptly extinguished. What seems to be a dark ploy and compelling character shift turns out to be an accident and a misunderstanding, and the series returns to its peaceful monotony. The later episodes finish early, augmented by a five-minute side episode of unfunny nothingness and dull arthouse surrealism, followed by two moments of mild and stylish intrigue and one final burst of pointlessness. A single good idea is diluted with blandness and then struck down before it dares to captivate the viewer.

The animation is good but not spectacular. Nothing is striking or memorable, aside from some overused face-distorting conceits that are as unfunny as they are annoying. The soundtrack is all right, and the opening and ending tunes are a bit generic. Most of the voices are okay, but some characters stretch out every sentence irritatingly, driving their superficial personalities home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Most of the cast of Da Capo is lackluster and uninteresting, with no originality to speak of. Ironically, the two characters that stood out the most, Nemu and Sakura, were the ones I ended up disliking the most. Their actions and dialogues were nothing but frustrating, be it their petty jealousy or their poorly written lines. Kotori is the only character I ended up liking.

Overall, there are only a few redeeming features in Da Capo. It is dull, unadventurous, and humorless and lacks any element that may make it worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Da Capo Episode 26 Discussion Frash - Nov 24, 2008	17 replies	by Tsukasa_Rio »» Sep 1, 2023 9:55 PM
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