Ranked #620

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.
^_^ read more

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

There have been alot of shows like Nagasarete Airantou. It embodies pretty much every harem anime ever, though fortunatly only the good parts. The cast is varied and covers all the typical archetypes (buxom tomboy, cute/creepy girl, bookworm, ect.), and the male protagonist is refreshingly resilient and generally un-angsty (a criteria I hold for all anime). The character designs are well done and the standard of animation remains strong throughout all 26 episodes. The plotlines are more "slice of life" than romantic, though the main romance is well-developed (if never outrightly acknowledged >.<). All in all, this is by far one of the best anime of its kind to come around in a while; certainly of the current batch.
Alas, no show is without its faults, and the only apparent one here is crippling (hence the rounding down of the overall score). That being a totally unsatisfying end. The story arch of the last 4 episodes is an exercise in pointless drama; appropriate perhaps somewhere in the middle of the series' run, but a harsh way of sending the viewer off. Fortunately, if your not the type to strive for completion, this flaw can be easily avoided by simply stopping at ep. 22. The same sense of open-ended resolution is achieve, only without the viewer having to suffer through the aformentioned melodrama (oh anime, will you ever learn). Take this advice, and I can pretty much guarentee that you have a great time. read more

Any man's dream - except maybe this one's.
In regards to the episodic portion of "N.A.", it can be best characterized as a bitter-sweet sandwich: The bread surrounding the (insert lunch meat here) is insanely good; buttery, slightly toasted - not raw, but not too crunchy, and delicious. The inside is the letdown: whichever typical sandwich meat you chose, take that, and try eating it a month passed its expiration date. No. Thank. You. Sir.

Even though the story may sound unoriginal, "Oh, no one's ever thought of THAT before," because, truly, everyone has at one point. However, the creators attempt to differentiate from the typical "cast-away" feeling. They attempt to convey a sense of a "home away from home that's other-worldly." They might do this through the abnormally-sized produce (and other things... *for high-brow's only*), talking birds, cats, lions, chickens, etc., and the people that dwell there. But what really makes this show unique is the latter, the people. 8/10.

The art style had a very "island paradise" feeling to it. Every color seemed to pop out at you because it was so very richly colored.
The characters were drawn exceptionally well; just thinking of the way they drew Suzu (the heroine) makes me smile. All of her mannerisms are portrayed through her character so exquisitely well, that you really get a sense for the character's personality. Now, this is one of the few romance animes that I've seen be able to capture this skill that is seldom seen in a publicly-classified, silly genre. 10/10.

I liked the sound; it got much better as the show went on. As, obviously, it will become more dramatic and that will push the voice actors to do a better and better job to keep pace with the growing drama unfolding within the story, between characters, or in some other aspect. 7/10.

Loved, loved, loved each character in the series. I didn't feel like each was underrepresented in any way whatsoever, the proper characters were compensated with the right amount of screen time, and it's fun as hell watching very contrasting personalities clash over one man.
Sometimes, you might see a bit of repetitiveness in the actions of the characters, but each is so well done that it becomes an afterthought. One of the problems that I thought was a hindrance to the show was the fact that they got almost TOO MANY characters with TOO MANY personalities that it might have been helpful to keep a list of names, accompanied by a physical description of each character. 9/10.

My enjoyment really hinged on how many episodes there were. Usually, this kind of storyline, with these kind of characters, can get boring fast. And it did. Ere go my simile of this show being like an "okay" sandwich.
To me, they could have got MORE done in LESS episodes. Although, this is essentially a series filled with filler episodes, the episodes in the middle are borderline terrible. I was just watching some and I was thinking about something else completely irrelevant to the show; it was so boring. Thankfully, the earlier episodes and the episodes later in the series, hand-in-hand, saved the show. 7/10.

Personally, this series could have been 12-episodes-long. Easily. In the grand scheme of things, I wished they treated the VERY present harem/romance aspect more seriously. I know it's a comedy, but like most good comedies, they become more drama-filled as they reach the conclusion. And "N.A." followed that to a "T".
Although it's obvious that he ends up with ____. I still wished they could've had them be more upfront about each others' very, very obvious feelings for each other. Why not just say it? That was, granted, a very small detail, but it left the exclamation point off, what would have, pushed this show over-the-top and made all the bad episodes that left a bitter taste in my mouth seem worth it. (Although seeing ____ get jealous of the other characters fawning over Ikuto later in the series, provides that in some need somewhat, it still isn't as gratifying as the real thing.) 7/10.

BONUS THOUGHTS!
I haven't watched "Clannad" yet, but what I've read around these forums, seen that there is a sequel, and that the main hero chooses a girl after befriending many, seems like a path this show should have taken. A good, solid, preliminary story that sets-up the guy with a potential for "x-number" of girls, chooses one, and moves into a nice sequel to pleasantly wrap-it-up for all the viewers. Hence the immaculate reception of "Clannad ~Afterstory~".
Too late now, I guess.

Feedback is appreciated! Thank you! read more

Nagasarete Airantou is by far one of the best romance drama's ive ever seen. it starts off with a boy that runs away from home. he gets on a boat and gets thrown overboard... know what the people on deck do... throw him a life preserver and hope he lives. He later gets "caught" onto an island full of girls.
without saying to much about the rest you can sorta see some of the things that will come but you'll never expect somethings likes the "guardians of the island" and the strongest out of all of them is well yeah >.> something "scary". The ending sorta leaves you hanging(you'll know what i mean when you get there) and wanting more and causing you to run around your apartment complex like it did me but hay, that sort of thing only comes if you really enjoyed it am i right.
the characters each have of their own personalities and most of them end up having their hormones kicking in. i highly recommend this anime for all comedy, romance, harem, and maybe even drama lovers as a last last thing you wanna watch. if you watch this first you'll end up like me and not liking what you watch next and will be in a state of depression(yes it was that good... nothing will ever come close to it for me expect maybe video game romances >.>). read more

The dream of most men is realized in this anime, as the wish of being stranded on an island full of women is granted to Ikuto Tohoin, who was running away from his mean father, who put him down after everything he did. After that, he begins to live with a girls named Suzu, who seems to be the only girl on the island with neutral feelings towards him.

What's very interesting (well at least to me) is that this guy gets nothing, and there is not a hint of ecchi in here! Weird huh?

Anyways, the series is pretty long, with those small short stories sprinkled throughout the episodes, which provide insight into the secondary characters' backgrounds.

Last but not least, this anime had nothing speacial, but the comedy held my attention for some time.

8/10 SERIOUSLY, how is this not an ecchi!? read more

Upon reading the sypnosis, you might think that this is an anime that consists only of a perverted guy chasing beautiful girls. It's actually the other way round - the girls are the ones chasing him. I first started watching this out of boredom and almost wanted to drop it due to earlier reviews stating that this was a great anime to watch if you had nothing else to do, but I just kept watching till the end, and turns out it was quite a fun anime, worth spending time to watch.

Though it may not have much of a plot and can be quite random, it's still, as said before, VERY fun to watch XD There's no other word to describe it!

The art was great. The girls are beautifully drawn and no details are overlooked.

The opening and ending songs were really catchy. They make you happy =] The seiyuu for all the characters really fit them.

All the characters are well-developed and most of them are very interesting to watch. You don't really hate or love them, but you get a blast just watching them do their own stuff.

I really enjoyed watching this anime and even though the romance wasn't really followed through till the end, it was still cool watching those two share such sweet moments x]

Overall, it was really, really good. If you like light-hearted anime with lots of fun in it, watch this!

These are my last words: Remember to watch TILL THE END! Don't just go off at the ending song! read more

Nagasarete Airantou has to be one of the most cliche and unique animes in existence. Cliche in the fact that its a typical harem rom/com with one guy and three bajillion women. Unique in the fact that there are chibi (sometimes bishounen) talking animals, carnivorous plants, and a high element of martial arts and moral pride in some episodes.

Story:
Pretty typical with a twist. A guy gets a whole bunch of women after him, but its done so in a weird way. He gets stranded on an island where the only males are animals. I haven't seen this kind of harem yet so, it scores slightly average in story.

Art:
The animation is a bit bad, but the artwork of the island and the characters is pretty impressive. Manages to earn a slightly above average.

Sound:
The sound is very cheery in comedy scenes and serious in dramatic scenes. Its good but nowhere near animes with great soundtracks like say, FLCL. Slightly above average too.

Character:
The characters vary wildly from cliche to unique. There's the standard squeamish male protagonist, Ikuto (although they twisted it to make him react with superhuman ability to things thought to be 'impossible'). There's the standard innocently cute female lead, Suzu. Then there's the characters that are very rare in the anime universe, like say an android chick with big guns who owns a hot springs resort that is haunted by a science-addict's mom (Seriously, wtf? >.>). I also personally love the sadistic voodoo-using priestess, Machi.

Enjoyment:
VERY enjoyable. It has great comedic moments and few parts where you want to slap yourself at how incredibly corny/cheesy it was. Adding a bit of action was a good thing (swordfighting is AWESOME). And I have yet to see an anime where someone gets Falcon Punched in the balls by a talking turtle.

Fun to watch! I suggest you go watch it now. read more