Ranked #1933

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

With the time that was taken to conceive and release this short OVA... I was expecting a lot. It was with great disappointment that the spin-off of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien aka Rumbling Hearts turned out to be a poor crafted and rushed piece.

The story was kept neatly, and that was its greatest point as spin-off. Taking some scenes from the original series as retrospective, it gave a very consistent view of the whole plot. More than the current relationship between the characters it briefly explained their past and their reasons. The story could be taken from a soap-opera, but unlike most anime it has a very mature view about it. It's set at a grownup world with grownup problems, from casual sex to the part-time job distress, with some hints to the economic recession of Japan. One can believe that the story can actually happen. But that's also about the original season...

The characters kept their strong personalities, even though they were not as explored. The mysterious Haruka (the dumb-cute girl that says "ara" sometimes. And that is the minor main character, if that makes any sense) was better revealed and turned out quite interesting. As for the others, it was weird to see them without depressions, despairs and other mental problems. Even anime characters can be cured with some therapy a spin-off.

However... The art was terrible. Not to say it was horrible. I was expecting something cared, detailed, soft... And I see computer generated highlights in a sloppy animation. It had everything one does not want to see in animation, from broken movements to slow mouth motion... The sound was also a disappointment. I don't know what happened to the Voice Actors this time, but they did not do a good job.

Overall, a good watch to an appreciator of Rumbling Hearts. The theme is real and the resolution is pretty. Just do not expect too much. read more