Alternative TitlesEnglish: Amagami SS Japanese: アマガミSS
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 2, 2010 to Dec 24, 2010
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.791 (scored by 23929 users)
Ranked: #6742
Popularity: #207
Members: 44,068
Favorites: 564 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisTwo years ago, Tachibana Junichi got his heart broken by a girl who didn't show up for a date on Christmas Eve. Now a second year student in high school, Junichi spends his days inside his closet planetarium, going to school and hanging out with his friends Tanamachi Kaoru and Umehara Masayoshi.
After a chance encounter with one of the most beautiful girls in school, the third year student Morishima Haruka, Junichi finds himself spending time with her, carrying books for her or having her unexpectedly jump on his back and act as she's a jockey and he's her horse. Soon enough, Junichi becomes romantically interested in Haruka which leads to...
Amagami SS is based on a PS2 dating game featuring six different girls. The story of the anime will be arranged in an omnibus format, with each heroine getting her own version of the story animated. Each heroine will sing her own version of the ending theme song. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Amagami - Precious Diary
Side story: Amagami SS OVA, Amagami SS: Imouto
Sequel: Amagami SS+ plus
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Archaeon
192 of 320 people found this review helpful
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25 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
If you don't know where you're from, then you don't know where you are, and you don't know where you're going. It's a fairly trite adage, but like most old sayings there's an element of truth to it. When it comes to visual media though, such sentiments seem to go out of the window, across the fields, and off into the wild blue yonder, especially where adaptations are concerned.
So where does that leave Amagami SS?
A number of people may already be familiar with the fact that the series is yet another adaptation of a dating sim, and given that this is the spiritual successor to Kimikiss, it's only natural that Enterbrain would attempt to emulate the relative success of the latter game and its anime adaptation. Unlike its predecessor though, Amagami SS decides to take a different approach with the storyline, and breaks things up into bite-sized relationship pieces that supposedly makes them easier to swallow, which works ... kind of.
The series is split up into six short stories (and one "special" episode), that recount Tachibana Junichi's quest for high school love, and how he finds it with six different girls (and before you ask, no, this isn't School Days all over again). Along the way various relationship shenanigans ensue which cause the usual misunderstandings, reconciliations, attractions, repulsions, etc, etc.
Now on the surface Amagami SS looks like the common or garden harem romantic comedy (but with the harem aspect applied in a different way). The plot follows the game's methodology by offering up multiple heroines for the protagonist to pursue, and while some may find this a refreshing approach, it's not really original as the series attempts to mask its shortcomings by adopting different narrative styles from one tale to the next.
The biggest problem with short stories is that there needs to be enough content and context within the plot to justify the actions, thoughts and emotions of the characters, and it's surprising that Amagami manages to offer some semblance of a storyline over the course of each tale. Then again, the majority of development points where both the plot and the characters are concerned have really been done to death in anime and manga, so it's no surprise that there's at least a half decent story in there.
After all, if you give enough monkeys enough time they can apparently produce Shakespeare (although it does make one wonder where they keep him).
Each individual tale is pretty decent in its own right, but when one considers them as part of the whole a different picture begins to appear. What emerges are a series of contradictory actions and behaviours that don't really seem to make sense. Now these could be explained away by assuming that people act one way with one person, and another way with someone else, and so on, and one could easily view Amagami in this light. The problem is that this assumption ignores the portrayals of the characters in the previous stories, effectively making them little more than blank canvasses. To further compound this, certain characters seem to be clueless about the circumstances around people they've known for years.
Still, if one simply treats them as a series of short stories then they can be entertaining, but the plot for each is nothing special, and the formulaic approach to each tale is, at times, a bit too familiar, and offers very little in the way of innovation, and rather a lot in the way of predictability.
It's pretty obvious from the artwork that there is a large degree of genericism inherent in this anime, and Amagami does nothing to break away from the stereotypes. The high school setting, town and surrounding environs are nicely designed and detailed, but when it comes to rom-com anime, once you've seen one high school, you've pretty much seen them all. Granted there are a few exceptions to the rule, but in general there's not much difference between the various depictions on offer.
The design principle is a little bit strange in one respect (which I'll come back to in a bit), as the characters are nicely envisioned, but are also as generic as they come (much like a lot of things in this anime). That doesn't mean they're poorly realised though, as they're clearly based on Enterbrain's designs from the games, and coupled with some decent animation and backgrounds, they do give the show a familiarity that can sometimes be mistaken for quality. The acid test occurs when one compares the series to its spiritual predecessor, and although Kimikiss was produced by a different animation studio, there are a number of similarities that stand out, not the least of which is the look of the heroines.
But simply looking like another show doesn't mean that the design and animation is substandard, and in all honesty Amagami does manage to hold it's own in the visuals department. It simply could have been better than it is, and it's puzzling why this isn't the case, especially for such a popular gaming franchise.
One of the better aspects of the series is the music, specifically the manner in which it's used rather than the actual tracks played throughout the anime (which are fairly routine affairs, but that's pretty much expected by this point). There are far too many shows out there that play music for no specific reason, so it's nice to watch a series that treats silence as golden for a change, and this is something that works in Amagami's favour as it allows the viewer to focus on the characters without having to suffer through tunes that sound a lot like the music played in just about every other high school rom-com/drama ever made.
That said, the music in itself isn't bad per se. It's simply ... generic (there's that word again), and even with two opening themes and six ending themes (sung by the lead actress from each character arc), there's little on offer that really stands out. Granted there are some decent enough songs (the law of averages and all that), but in all honesty this is probably nothing more than "when you're given lemons, make lemonade", or in this case, when you're given a romantic comedy drama, make a cheesy love song.
Which leaves only the acting, and in this respect Amagami is a bit of a mixed bag. Maeno Tomoaki plays the role of Junichi rather well (even though it's a bit like playing the role of a wet paper bag at times), and the strength of his portrayal gives much needed support to the lead actress roles.
See, here's the problem. No matter how good the seiyuu are, there's a limited amount that can be achieved in four episodes. Granted the actors and actresses have cameos throughout the series, but it's nowhere near enough time for them to truly come to grips with their characters. In this respect Kimikiss is actually superior, as by the end of that anime the seiyuu had grown accustomed to their roles and were able to play their parts with a confidence that, with the obvious exception of Maeno (who plays the only continuous lead character), none of the seiyuu in Amagami can match.
All of which leads to the characters themselves, and in a nutshell they're as generic (I seem to be using that word a lot these days), as they come, but once again that doesn't automatically mean that they're bad. Junichi could very well be a poster boy for harem lead males, and fits just about every stereotype going, especially the ones about nice guys and being a little slow on the uptake. That said, he's a pleasant enough character, and as the only lead in focus throughout the series there is some development to be had, but the nature of the story dictates that this tends to be repetitive.
Unfortunately the female leads aren't as clearly defined, and the reason for this is the relatively small amount of screen time they get. While they also grow as characters, this is tempered with a necessary urgency that precludes any substantial development. The supporting characters also suffer from the "resetting" of their personalities as this leads to repetitive behaviours and actions that simply don't go anywhere, and add nothing more than inane by-plays to the main narrative.
Amagami SS isn't a bad show though, and it does have its plus points. The relationship mechanics are handled in a reasonable manner, and the characters, especially the male lead, aren't as wishy-washy as some I could name. The problem is that instead of trying something original, director Hiraike Yoshimasa and AIC have opted to follow a "tried and tested" method that will yield results when it comes to DVD sales and merchandising, but only in the short term, and this makes one wonder why a hugely popular game franchise like Amagami has an adaptation that is only passing good.
The series is enjoyable to a degree, but it's still nothing more than one amongst many romantic comedies in anime, especially where schools are concerned.
Given the popularity and fervour surrounding the games one would expect AIC to expend more effort on making the anime adaptation better than it is, especially where things like plot and design are concerned. Granted there's only so much one can do in that respect, but the overuse of stereotypes means that the whole series plays out like nothing more than a glorified advert for the game(s). Like so many other game adaptations, the producers, director, animation studio, and just about everybody else in the making of this series have failed to realise the what fans really want. Instead of offering something that is an evolution of the franchise, we're treated to nothing more than a vapid retelling of the same old story. Even though the Amagami tries to be a little different with it's approach, one cannot laud the attempts to hide this anime's failings, especially the overtly generic design and plot, characters that don't really get the kind of attention needed to raise the level of the series, and an almost blind obedience to formula.
In a very odd way, Amagami SS is a clear case of too many girls, not enough time, and the decision to make it in the first place seems to have had little to do with wanting to tell a story, and more to do with letting everyone know how good the games are.
I suppose I can chalk this up as another "victory" for the marketing department. read more
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Gman_Link
137 of 250 people found this review helpful
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11 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Bwahahaha! This anime is starting to be pretty fun, to say the least. I didn’t expect such awkward, but interesting events. Usually one would expect the typical stereotypical actions set in a high school environment, but recently I’ve been surprised.
As this is based off a dating sim game, my first impression was that this anime may be similar to a "harem scenario" like in Ichigo 100% only with no ecchi or Clannad. Even though it is far too early to make such a claim, every other female seem to see the male protagonist only as a good friend, not a romantic candidate seen in most romance harems. But then that claim is faulty since the female the male protagonist was interested in saw him only as good friend but soon changed later after the male protagonist started to pursue her. Courting goes a long way, not surprisingly.
So far, the story has been somewhat unpredictable, in terms of the events in the relationship of the couple. You'd think you'd get the hang of it the first and a little bit of the second ep, but then this anime throws curve balls. You don't really know quite what to expect, like the kind of unpredictability similar to Nishino-and the male protagonist in Ichigo100% with a good dosage of crazy weird fun. In addition, in a dating sim game, the player has the choice to court a number of females. The same concept applies in this anime, only a different female is courted by the male protagonist in each arc. Because of the number of girls that "seem" to be possible choices based from the OP/Intro, we'll probably see a lot of interesting relationships. I think this "date all the girls" is somewhat of a smörgasbord of different relationships that everyone may try to enjoy, if that isn't too offensive, female reviewer readers. [It's not like there are any "dating sim" animes based on a female protagonist's perspective. For example, a female dating each of a bunch of guys.]
--- [I stand corrected. There are female dating sim games.]
This is not the kind of stereotypical story that you'd find in many high school stories. Boy meets girl, boy courts girl, boy woos girl with many romantic attempts. For the most part, only the latter doesn't match. Due to the awkward personality of the female that Tachibana is interested, the story takes an interesting but embarrassingly giddy turn. (Like, if you see a couple doing something completely embarrassing and stupid out in public, you just squirm uncomfortably thinking "Oh lord, please stop.") Yet this is only the Tachibana-Haruka arc. There are still other arcs to go, possibly even "funner" than this one.
Art is pretty decent. Very clear and refined. I don't mind art too much as long as it's satisfactory. You won't find anything irritable like gigantic eyes or any weird facial shapes. For the most part, people are drawn to be as realistic as an animated show can possibly allow.
With the embarrassing, squirmy atmosphere starting to happen, the sound goes a long way. It is no doubt exquisite. Each piece with its respective instrumentation fits the atmosphere perfectly. No worries here.
As for the characters, the two main characters of interest in each arc (At least based on the Tachibana-Haruka arc) develop nicely, although in a "new" way. I say new because there's the interaction between a naive female and the somewhat experienced male. Typically, it's the other way around, the female leading a relationship with the inexperienced and stupid nervous male. The "supporting" characters though stick to their same old self, hardly any development, but their time will come with the upcoming episodes. They don't seem to provide significant obstruction, competition, except maybe support. Understandably, the somewhat experienced male protagonist does make sense since it may be compared to the main character, who seems like a guy that knows how to date a girl excluding the "user" factor, in the game.
Overall, this isn't what I expected at all. I thought it would be a pretty quaint story since most dating sims follow the same "plot line." Meet the girls, choose one, court her, and well, what comes after that varies. But in a sense, the male in a dating sim is required to adapt to the tastes of the female, in most cases. Therefore, the relationship between this anime and the game seem very clear, and thus offer some level of predictability to the story of the anime.
Surprisingly, each episode gradually introduces a "fun" and embarrassing "I wanna punch you in the face" squirmy feeling, at least for now. It may seem cute, to an extent. In my opinion, I feel like we've grown out of these "cute-sy" moments; it's nice to see a flash back to some of our embarrassing attempts at romance, however embarrassing yet horrible funny they may be. In the end, this anime pretty much follows a straightforward dating sim game, even though it does have its moments.
If you're a bit tired of the many trite romance harems, and you're looking for something new this anime is for you. Keep in mind that not everyone will like the arcs. I thought that arcs later on were worse than the beginning arcs. Especially this latest one about that Freshman girl, but this is all due to my own perspectives of an attractive girl. This anime is pretty much a "serious" anime with the occasional comedic remarks, but no change in art. Same art style throughout. It isn't like in Bleach where when one of the characters make some snide or hilarious remark the art suddenly changes to a child-like one. With all these different arcs with different girls, one has to admit that this is pretty much satisfying the masses of the male population, at least in terms of their taste in women. Although, this as a result, causes the anime to suffer drastically. Even I find it difficult to plow through arcs with girls I dislike.
Even if it is high school romance, it is nice to see a naive, "cutesy" romance blossom every once in a while.
P.S. In my opinion, there have been some definite changes in character appearances compared to the manga. I think the anime version is better since the characters seem to look more mature than those in the manga. But that's just me. read more
Recommendations
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While Amagami SS does not have an incestuous relationship as a central plot point, both shows are presented in an omnibus format that allows the viewer to experience all of the available 'good-end' paths for each girl.
Both have an arc for every girl. It's not like Clannad or Kanon, oh no, but in these shows they go back in time and the main character picks out a different girl.
Yosuga's got graphic nudity and sex scenes, while Amagami's more... your average harem anime.
The concept is the same, we get to see all of the possible ending with the different girls. But... with more "hentai" ;p
Both feature a variety of girls getting together with the protagonist. After a story arc is finished, the story resets and things take a different route, leading to a romance with a different girl.
While a story arc in Amagami SS is four episodes long, the ones in Yosuga no Sora aren't as linear, some consisting of barely two eps while others take longer.
Amagami SS is a casual romance anime. Yosuga no Sora features nudity and sex scenes.
Amagami SS takes place during the winter. Yosuga no Sora takes place during the summer.
Both Amagami SS and Yosuga no Sora are based off a visual novel (Thank you Akitso for correcting me), and they both may look like a Harem anime, but they concentrate on ONE heroine. Please correct the following statement if I'm wrong.
Amagami SS seem to trigger different heroine route from the beginning of the game while Yosuga no Sora seem to contain Heroines which that can be triggered in the middle of the game. Therefore, Amagami SS will air 4 episodes for each heroine while Yosuga no Sora might air shorter epsiodes for different heroines.
If you liked the idea of watching different heroine as if you are playing a game, I suggest that you watch Amagami SS as well.
Amagami SS - is Light Romance
Yosuga no Sora - is extreme romance xD
But the main character experiences with different girls in different timespace in different situation
Both shows story line is taken from dating game, and both shows have short storys of the main character chosing difrent girl witch lead to difrent ending.
from what i have read, and what i have watched.. i know its based off euroge
aka a dating game. so basically there is one main guy who gets to try and see how things would be with each different girl, thus like a dating game.
Both extremely repetitive with different scenerios of main guy with the girls around him.
Yosuga no Sora is just a more (unnecessarily) graphic/mature version
Both anime acts like a visual novel where the storyline is separated by different arcs... and girls... and shows how will one guy end up if he goes out with a certain girl.
Both are romantic animes. Where each girl gets episodes with the main guy portaginist then time rewinds and a new girl gets episodes with with guy
Even though the there isn't anything incestual about Amagami SS or in anyway means provocative, it's very similar to Yosuga no Sora in a more softer/cuter sense. Each girl gets to have her own time and her own episodes with the main character. Both are very good series.
Well, it's obvious . Do I really need to tell something ?
Every girl has her own arc.
Yosuga is more .. well .. there is twins .. and also umm.. it's +18.
Both show is about boy and different hot girls.....of course all the girl get their own arc so everyone gets a happy ending
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While not both in an omnibus format, both share the atmosphere, the plots and the feeling.
While Kimikiss revolves around the main male characters and each of their respectable relationships, Amagami SS revolves around the single male lead and his interactions with each girl that has a crush or strong feelings for him. Amagami SS's story is made up of arks for each girl while KimiKiss is just one story that bounces between characters. Both have similar feels to them so if you liked one then you'll like the other.
Kimikiss is effectively the spiritual predeccesor to Amamgami as bith are based on dating sims made by the same company.
It took one episode for me to immediately think of Kimikiss when I watched Amagami. Similar art, similar plot, similar genre.
Very similar premise and feel, i.e. a romance with a bit of drama and a hint of comedy. Not surprising since they're both from the same creator, which is obvious from the similar character designs. Other similarities include annoying little sisters, swimsuit scenes and perky upperclassmen who might just be hiding or denying their own feelings.
The two animes are based from a dating simulator of the same publisher company. Conversation simulators with lots of girls to choose.
Both the games are made by the same group, Enterbrain, which is why the art style and situations are really similar.
They are both very similar in every aspect including purpose. Both anime want the viewer to experience each heroine, they just choose to execute it differently.
Both have the same creators. if one chooses or considers the Haruka Arc for amagami, then both haruka and mao have the common theme for being a year older than their respective boyfriends junichi and kouichi, although regardless of which arc one chooses, mao and haruka share a common theme of being the only seniors of the 2 respective groups of main heroines, plus have two freshmen for each heroine. amagami's nakata and nanasaki, and more than 2 second years. kimikiss' hoshino yuumi, eriko futami shijou mitsuki and asuka sakino and amagami's sakurai, kaoru, and tsukasa. if one follows the kaoru or the morishima arc, both females may have similarities with mao mizusawa. morishima and mizusawa are both older than the male leads while with mao and kaoru, both girls have the similarities of being childhood friends and girlfriends of the male lead
Both are about love story's in different scenarios
Both animes have a romance plot within a school setting,
Both were based on a PS2 Galge or Dating Sim game,
Both have beautiful female heroines !
I DO NOT RECOMMEND watching Kimikiss Pure Rouge if you are hoping for some happy ending romance like Amagami SS. There's really no similarities between this two anime other than it's set in a school and the same creator, also the plots are totally different. Now the manga of Kimikiss does resembles Amagami SS with the different happy endings and one only male main character.
Sorry but this recommendation will only help those who have watched Amagami SS.
Both originate from dating by the same company. Kimikiss has a complicate yet interesting love-rectangle. It still have romance and comedy components. If you like Amagami SS, you should definitely check out Kimikiss.
If you watch both of these series, it will give you a very similar feeling. Although Amagami SS only has one main male protagonist, both series has that romance/school life setting. Keep an eye on both of these series if you're a fan of dating sims filled with drama, comedy, romance, and school life.
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Opening Theme#1: "i Love" by azusa (eps 1-13)
#2: "Kimi no Mama de (君のままで)" by azusa (eps 14-25)
Ending Theme#1: "Kimi no Hitomi ni Koishiteru (キミの瞳に恋してる)" by Shizuka Itou (eps 1-4)
#2: "Kitto Ashita wa (きっと明日は…)" by Rina Satou (eps 5-8)
#3: "Anata Shika Mienai (あなたしか見えない)" by Hiromi Konno (eps 9-12)
#4: "Koi wa Mizu-iro (恋はみずいろ)" by Yukana (eps 13-16)
#5: "Koi wa Aserazu (恋はあせらず)" by Ryouko Shintani (eps 17-20)
#6: "Nageki no Tenshi (嘆きの天使)" by Kaori Nazuka (eps 21-24)
#7: "Koi no Yukue (恋のゆくえ)" by Mai Kadowaki (ep 25)
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Related ClubsShiroku✰Highschool, Arizona Visual Novel Club, Romance Anime and Manga, Nanasaki Ai Fanclub, Nanasaki Ai, Amagami SS, Kamizaki Risa ♥, The Rihoko Sakurai Fanclub, Kaoru Tanamachi FC, Amagami Club , Spread Ha/Ro, Hadōkenbu, Character Manager, HURRAY BOOBIES!!, Tachibana Miya Fanclub, ~ Ecchi 4ever ~, Beautiful Romance, Nakata Sae Fanclub, Amagami, All Ecchi Romance HentaiCharacters Birthday Card Club [Hitatus], Kana Asumi Fanclub, Draccon's Tea House, Dark Legends fan club!, Ayatsuji Tsukasa ♥ , Junichi Tachibana, Ryoko Shintani Fanclub, Harem Club, Morishima Haruka FC, Tanamachi Kaoru Appreciation Society see all
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