Ranked #3157

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Ajisai Yumegatari~

My goodness, I'm telling you right off the bat--don't watch this OAV.

I have seen quite a few anime from the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de franchise, and I've got to warn you all that this one is by far, the worst, and is just a bad anime on the whole.

Now, the story is the same, pretty much from the TV series: a teenage school girl gets sucked down a well and is transported to feudal country that exists in the distant past. She confronts demons and has eight men of varying age and skill protect her. Now, that's the gist of it. And trust me, you do not want to endure the storytelling this OAV adaptation presents. It gives no real reason why this girl was taken, who took her, who the eight men were, why they suddenly decided to protect her or why anything at all happens. The plot is badly executed and tells a very rushed and shallow story. Nothing is explained--you just take things as they are thrown at you.

The art was bad, but the animation was worse. The art style is rather unprofessional looking. The character design was one of the weak points as well; the characters' faces looked static, and half the time it looked as though their faces were melting. It was very sloppy. If you have seen the movie or series or other OAVs, you will be terribly disappointed by the character art. The animation was awful, really. There was no fluidity in the movements and I swear to you, while the character's spoke, only their mouths moved (and is wasn't even in sync with the dialogue). It was like watching a puppet show--everyone had the the same expression with only their mouths flapping now and again. Poor, poor work.

Characterisation was a failure. The characters are literally all launched onto the screen, no explanation given, no history, no personality, and they all take care of the protagonist without reason. It's almost as though this OAV is a recap of a longer series, but alas, it is not. So the characters were all stagnant, had no development, and really had no purpose for interacting with one another. It pretty much played out like this:

Guy #1: Hey, random girl! I'll drop what I'm doing and risk my life to save yours!

Guy# 2: Yeah, me too!

Six other guys: So will we!!

Girl: * cries *

Demon: Bwah ha hah!

I thought this anime was the absolute pits. I have seen the other Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series and movies, and they are by far superior. I strongly, strongly recommend that you watch Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyou shou~ over this; it is the same story, but it is more fleshed out, the characters are much better, and the art is by far superior.

Stay away from this. Even die-hard fans of the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de franchise should stay far away from this. You'll be wasting about an hour of your life. I know I want my hour back. read more