Kimi no Iru Machi: Tasogare Kousaten

I haven't read the manga but i must admit the ova's were awesome.
Good climax, decent characters, and nice story.. makes t worth watching.
It proves my theory..
"You can fall in love more than once"

Making an OVA off a popular manga is challenging. This is especially challenging for die hard fans of the original work, even more so with over 100+ chapters already published. But that's not nearly as hard as having a long-distance love relationship, or is it?

Based on the popular manga by Kōji Seo who bought you the sports/romantic comedy Suzuka comes a new story known as A Town Where You Live. The OVA starts off with a winter like setting and laters changes to Spring. Now, we learn about the two main characters of the OVA, Haruto Kirishima whom seems to have a reserved personality. On ... the other hand, Yuzuki Eba is quite the opposite and seems to be a sociable character. If we take notice of this, you would probably see that they are practically Ying and Yang on the opposite side of a coin. Can such a couple co-exist? Of course, there are not without obstacles and time is the least of such worries especially when there's another girl by the name of Nanami Kanzaki that laters enters the picture. Although initially trying to get Haruto to play the actor, it definitely seems that she has real motives. What's worse, that motive seems to be a obstacle in Haruto and Eba's relationship. Wait hold on, let me correct that...I meant long-distance relationship because if they were in a relationship already, they would be sharing bentos, walking to school everyday, and having sex like normal couple would. So, long-distance relationships and another girl in the picture, I can see nothing but misunderstandings and drama going on there like a soap opera.

It starts out with almost no prior introduction of the main characters, story, or anything. It's just a couple who enjoyed a scenery of the blooming season. While technically dating already and being boyfriend and girlfriend, they seem to be “distant” if not already. Yet when Eba moves away from town, Haruto realize that a long-distance love relationship is their most difficult challenge they'd ever face. Time will do its worst but somehow, someway, they are determined to get through.

The sound of the series flows well although not something extravagant. It fits within the tone of the seasons like Spring and the metaphoric Winter. It also has that sort of romantic melody that makes the OVA relaxing to follow through.

As for the art, for those who have seen Suzuka, you would see similarities. (Honoka/Eba, Yamato/Haruto, Suzuka/ Nanami Kanzaki). But overall, the art is decent as with most recent series. Regardless of OVA or anime series, it brings out the image and mood of this short series.

Now, my overall enjoyment of this OVA has mixed feelings. Like most romance themed series, there is drama and emotions running through. But yet, there are also sweet moments (and a little ecchi to go with that). However, this OVA lacks flavor. Although it's an OVA, there is technically no background of the characters or story whatsoever. With a lackluster plot, this anime seems to be bring a distance away from viewers. It definitely has potential if the anime becomes a full time series but pulling off an OVA with a manga of such magnitude is a little bit much. Yet, there still may be hope in the future, if someday this OVA becomes an official series.

Although this OVA was a short scene from the manga, it was a major point in the plot. Similar to the manga, this OVA reveals Eba's beauty wonderfully :D What I liked about this OVA was how it was able to condense all the important scenes into two 20min OVA's that delivered the emotions with a big impact. Eba's emotions were nicely portrayed through her facial expressions in this OVA and builds anticipation in the audience of what she might do next.

I liked how the OVA ended on a very joyous moment, a somewhat alternate route in comparison with the manga where it continues with ... a roller coaster of emotions and twists in the plot. If the manga was reproduced into an anime instead of a short OVA, there would be no doubt that it would be a magnificent piece :D