In Aisai Nikki we see a man (Keisuke) admitting that he is not pleasing his wife (Sanae) and asking another man (Ryouichi) to please her in his place. This is the first subversion of the NTR subgenre. Second, Keisuke watches it all, arguably for the RAGE, which may make him an NTR fan himself, yet another subversion. The third and fourth are both SPOILERS, but the fourth is really worth mentioning.
***************SPOILER****************
xharemxendingxforxsanaex (parse at "x" obviously)
*************END SPOILER*************
Talk about unusual. Anyways, fifth, there is use of condoms, which is frighteningly rare in hentai.
I really have to give credit where credit is due, and Aisai Nikki actually deserves some praise for ORIGINALITY. Yeah, this is something you probably haven't seen before.
The story itself is simple (it's really just the set-up for a sex-fest), but it is very solid and plays out in an unusual way. It never fails to make sense, even when it may seem a bit odd (although the pregnancy vs. safe day mixed message is a bit puzzling). It also does a good job leading to the sex scenes. I mean, really, what more can we ask for in a hentai storyline? That was a rhetorical question; I kinda miss the 1990's, when even hentai often had fairly engaging (if silly) plots.
In case I haven't established it firmly enough, Aisai Nikki is all about the sex. Despite any praise I give to the story, it's not deep or complex or even intriguing in any way. It doesn't really raise any questions or address any themes. But it never even TRIES to do any of this. Aisai Nikki is clearly meant for titillation, not literary analysis. It knows its selling point is sex; it just happens to give us a solid, non-traditional premise and resolution.
Anyways, the characters are really nothing special. Keisuke is our erectile-dysfunctional lead, who loves his wife enough to do something most men wouldn't dare do. Sanae is the typical hot wife, who loves her husband but discovers she also really loves sex. Ryouichi is...um...a pretty cool dude.
The cast earns points with me for generally being more open-minded than most hentai characters. So, I guess, in a way, the characters ARE kinda special. Just remember: don't expect anything deep, complex, or compelling.
The art looks good at a glance, but it quickly becomes fairly obvious that there wasn't much of a budget behind this. The color palette is fairly dark, but it works decently. Lines are sharp, as always. Backgrounds are totally unnoteworthy. Lighting is okay, but occasionally has those weird shading gradients that I find a bit nauseating. The animation itself is decent, and nothing more. A number of shortcuts are used, even in the sex scenes (okay, most of Aisai Nikki consists of sex scenes), such as looping, repeated animations, and some minimal movement. Granted, there's quite a bit of drippy detail, if you know what I mean, but still. Sanae's character design is pretty typical for hentai; she's thin and very, VERY well-endowed. One noteworthy detail is the way she blushes, which is very sexy. The two males are somewhat unusual in that they are both pretty hot. Granted, they basically have the same design below the neck, but I'm willing to pay that price at the moment. Also, Keisuke's hair always covers his eyes. This tends to dehumanize the eyeless character, and I'm not sure why Aisai Nikki does that to Keisuke.
The sex in Aisai Nikki is pretty decent, but definitely not top-of-the-line. It's of the rather explicit variety seen frequently nowadays, not shying away from revealing, hardcore camera angles. The positions are generally the basic ones, but they're fairly erotic, with a good amount of energy in the sex, expressed by arching, moaning, cries of pleasure and throes of passion. There's a fair amount of attention to detail and bodily fluids. We even get some internal views, which may or may not be your kind of thing. I find that they don't really do anything for me. Anywho, the downside to the sex is that there is a lot of looping and a lot of repeated footage. I challenge you to NOT notice it, especially now that I've drawn your attention to it. Also, the camera angles, while generally good, tend to linger too long on any one shot, which can be a big problem since not all the camera angles give us a particularly erotic view of the situation. These problems are not deal-breakers, but they are troublesome and a bit of a mood-kill.
Almost all of the sex in Aisai Nikki is completely consensual, the one exception being dubiously consensual, tending towards consensual. It's nice; after all, I find sex scenes to be hotter if the females really get into it. It's ESPECIALLY nice because we get one of the very few consensual double-penetration scenes in hentai. Hot. In terms of type of sex, it's all "vanilla," though there's some element of voyeurism involved. Oral, anal, and vaginal sex are all present and accounted for. There isn't much clothing in this, so this is not going to do the trick for clothing fetishists, with the exception of aprons.
I really don't think there is anything noteworthy about the sound. Voice acting is competent but by no means the best I've heard in hentai. Sanae slurs her speech a LOT during sex, which may or may not be annoying. Keisuke seems angry most of the time, but that is kind of his character. Ryouichi sounds...like a pretty cool dude. The BGM is practically nonexistent. The sound effects are moderately heavy on the squishy and slurpy sounds, but otherwise unnoteworthy.
Overall, Aisai Nikki is a fairly solid hentai, it's most special strength being its somewhat original story. I'm not a fan of NTR, so seeing the subgenre twisted like this is rather amusing and satisfying. Other than this, though, Aisai Nikki does not stand out much. Its sex scenes are just enough to keep the title afloat, but many other recent hentai (and a few older titles) can just blow it out of the water in terms of sexiness. And, of course, since Aisai Nikki is pretty much all about the sex, this means that it will have limited appeal.
If you're looking for something that gives a middle finger to NTR or for something a bit different from what you usually see, Aisai Nikki may be a good choice. If you're just in it for the sex, or if you're looking for a really compelling story to go with your hot animated sex, then Aisai Nikki is not what you're looking for. That's how I see it.
Of course, with only one episode out at the time I write this and with no clear direction for future episodes, I'm really jumping the gun with this review. Oh well, I doubt anyone really cares.
