Ranked #2363

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Next Season

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ~Next Season~ is an alternate re-telling of the original KimiNozo, or Rumbling Hearts in English. Rather than choosing Mitsuki, like in the original, this 4 episode OVA follows the story where Takeyuki chooses to follow Haruka instead.

STORY
I can't say I loved the original storyline very much, but at least there were tear jerking moments, and very good drama scenes. In this re-telling, we see hardly exciting "drama", nor a real story to begin with. Almost like it's dragging out the storyline to last 4 episodes. I wouldn't say more as the storyline is so thin, any mention of anything would probably remove the need to watch it.

I might be semi-biased though, since I supported Mitsuki throughout the original, or at the very least, Akane.

ART
As in the original, the art is quite good.

SOUND
The opening ain't bad. Not the best, but not bad.

CHARACTER
I see complete makeovers in Takeyuki, who suddenly became an understanding person instead of the moronic loser from the original, Haruka suddenly turned to be strong-willed, and Shinji suddenly became a relationship guru that everyone goes to him for help. Come on, at least keep the personas the way they were!

ENJOYMENT
I think I enjoyed it more than I'm supposed to, possibly because of the art. But there was too little Daikuji Ayu, meaning far less entertainment than the original.

OVERALL
If you are a great fan of the original, or is a Takeyuki X Haruka fan, you might like this one, though it's far from the standard of the original. Too many persona changes, a mediocre storyline, and too litlle Daikuji Ayu. read more

I'm going to try and keep this as short as possible. By now you have already watched the first season and understand what the plot is, but this short series runs the "What if" situation, where Haruka gets a second chance at Takayuki. After that, everything just falls into place. For once the predictable feel of the anime is welcomed and fits perfectly. It serves for those audience members who wanted them to get back together.

Over all 10/10, still really sad though.