Ranked #1136

Nagasarete Airantou

The purpose of this whacky romantic comedy is portraying every straight guy's fantasy. Ikuto is a teenage boy who happened to get stranded on an island paradise but that's not the whole of it as this strange island is inhabited with girls, all desperate for a man.

This provides the setting of the ideal harem, romantic, comedy because nothing really has to make sense. From the very beginning Ikuto has his pick of any of the gorgeous girls and no matter how cute or crazy for him they are, it is inevitable that he will end up with ****. To my knowledge, only two harem Rom/Coms have been able to produce an unpredictable outcome, full of speculation: "Shuffle (anime)" and "Ichigo 100% (manga)". Nagasarete Airantou is just one of the tonnes of predictable harems being churned out. The other girls are barely a part of the story and only appear for comic relief. After first couple of episodes the story doesn't really develop at all with only minor romantic developments throughout.

This really isn't a bad thing as the comedy is hilarious throughout the series. On the other hand there's one joke that gets old fast and it's the overuse of the classic ecchi = nosebleed one that will make you wonder; shouldn't Ikuto be dead yet from severe blood loss? Like most of the guys watching this anime, I'm always thinking that he should just plug up his nose and wash Suzu's back once in a while XD.

The animation quality is pretty decent for a romantic comedy, with plenty of rich colours to suit the "island paradise" concept. The characters are decently designed, without having bodies out of proportion, but a lot of the character looks do make you question their age or maybe the animators just have a Lolita-complex. The music is catchy but extremely repetitive and it easily gets boring after a couple episodes.

Overall this is another one of those enjoyable romantic comedies that you don't watch for the romantic developments but for the stupid comedy and pointless mini stories. There's really no development at all during most of the show which is why it can get boring after a while however the comedy and cheesy moments do help pick it up all the time, until the inevitable end. So comedy fans should check this out.
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A boy runs away from home, falls off a ship, and washes ashore an island filled with females. It sounds like a guy's fantasy, but Nagasarete Airantou is much more than that.

Story
For the genre, Nagasarete Airantou is a slice-of-life that combines comedy, some drama, some romance, and bits of ecchi.

Airantou, the island that the protagonist Ikuto washes up on, is not a normal island. The village, including the people's clothing and lifestyle, are based on rural Japan. But before that, Airantou is an island where whirlpools prevent anyone from leaving, a mountaintop collects snow in the middle of summer, forests are inhabited by bizarre-looking animals and carnivorous plants and fungi, humans and animals talk to eachother, and a once-every-hundred-years tsunami washes away all the men in the village during a fishing contest.

It's practically another world for Ikuto, who is from modern-day Japan, and that does an excellent job in driving the story forward. With each episode, you get to know Airantou better, as Ikuto himself adapts to a totally new lifestyle. The story's not as deep and compelling as a full-fledged action or drama, but for a comedy/slice-of-life, the setting definitely adds some spice.

Characters
There's a variety of characters on Airantou, including Ikuto, -the only boy in the cast- a whole slew of girls, -as expected of a harem- and -something more or less new to harems- talking animals.

Ikuto may not seem like much, but he is actually an admirable character. The two most notable things about him would be that he refuses to believe anything is impossible, and that his squeamish self suffers a nosebleed in pretty much every ecchi moment.(That doesn't count as an admirable quality) The girls come in distinct personalities, ranging from the innocently cute Suzu to the sadistic voodoo-user Machi. As for the talking animals, they're often just supporting characters, and you won't even hear them talk until Ikuto learns to speak to them. But you can't forget about them; at one point, you will find that a few of them will play a huge role in the show.(side note: there are actually male animals)

Art
Leaning towards the cartoony side, the art style might not suit your tastes, but it's done really well, from the character designs to the backgrounds. Best of all, it somehow feels like it matches the nature of the show.

Music
The BGM is also a bit on the cartoony side, but just like the art, it goes very well with the show. But you are definitely more likely to enjoy the opening theme, a wonderful song performed by voice actress Horie Yui, who also sings the two ending themes and voices Suzu, the lead female character. Both fans of Horie Yui and those who never heard her should check them out.

Enjoyment
Nagasarete Airantou is definitely a comedy. In the first few episodes, just as you and Ikuto are getting used to the island and the village, Airantou will throw out a couple surprises and the characters will pull off some crazy actions, and it will keep on going throughout the whole series! There are very few episodes that you might think as far-fetched, but they're still funny, and may well be the episodes at which you laugh the hardest.

Overall
If there is one point I want to re-state, it would be the one I started with:
Nagasarete Airantou is much more than just a guy's fantasy.

Having said that, I'll close this review with one last opinion:
I wouldn't mind living on Airantou.

(even if the men came back, mind you) read more