Tokimeki Memorial: Only Love

For those of you who like humor, pretty girls romancing over a guy, and interesting episodes; this is one that I would recommend.

Story:
Ah the various goals of these romantic comedies. Is it for the guy to get the girl(s) or for them to graduate and have life lessons, etc... It is a harem comedy, so the guy has to choose between a few beautiful girls. It is a high school set, so you move through the school season.

For me personally, the Journey is entertaining. The humor stands out. For example, they have a little chick (baby chicken) that is one of the characters, and acts like a mentor. It also has the ability to kick ass. For the most part the story is realistic; but they have a little bit of fun and can throw in ghosts and goddesses in select episodes.

While this may be in the Harem category, it is not in the Ecchi category. There were no panty shots or girls with crazy cleavage. The girls are very pretty, and you do have girls with short skirts and huge ( ) ( )'s.

The main female attraction is really quite amazing, and you find yourself rooting for something to happen throughout the episodes.

Art:
The art was well done, not cutesy or young. The main female attraction was very beautifully drawn.

Sound:
I actually enjoyed the intro song for all 25 episodes.

Character:
The main male character was well done. He was a normal nice guy, who was lucky and could excel at what he put his mind to.

The variety of humerous characters were abundant, and fun. Not too much of specific ones to make it boring. Okay I lied, there were two instances where I didn't think they had to draw out (a teacher, and i didn't like the youngest love interest). But with 25 episodes, it was very good overall.

I've seen quite a few of these romantic comedies, and this stands out as an entertaining series.

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There are 3 main aspects that make a high-school harem love comedy work. 1 is pretty girls, the second is chracter drama and the third is comedic moments. Whereas Tokimeki Memorial hosts the first two, it is severely let down by the comedy.

The attempted comedy in this show is very over the top and stupid, and while this may work for some, it fails to hit my funny-bone on more than a few occasions. Support characters, such as Aoba's friends are full of idiocy, yet lacking in any real substantial humour. The sports societies and their presidents are one off lame jokes, and by far the worst is the chicken, Hiyoko, who, despite attempts to become the supporting entertainment that Da Capo's Utamaru brings us, fails to be comedic on any level.

That said, its nice that the development between Aoba and his 3 main heroines is nicely paced and the nice guy with three main girls routine never seems to get old on me. Romantic scenes are full of drama and makes the series some what watchable if you can ignore the comedy aspect, although I could never understand why Sayuri was so popular because she feels and looks rather dull and uninpiring(And I have a personal hatred for those cheesy Sayuri Legends that pop up in episodes which try to be funny and heartwarming yet fail on that behalf). Another great character was Inukai, Aobas lazy classmate, whose story started incredibly well and was very dramatic, yet, in the end its a shame he didnt get more screentime.

Visually, the series isn't top notch, but is competent enough to allow us to enjoy watching the show. The girls are all attractive and cater to many tastes, from Pink-haired firey Kasuga, to the slender Ayame (my personal favourite, there is plenty for the young otaku to lust over. The audio is forgetable but never intrusive on the main action, yet opener and ender songs feel lacking in life.

Overall, Tokimeki Memorial wasn;t a total waste of time. Its nice that the main story developed rather realistically and was full of drama and heartbreak. I'm also glad that there was no flip-reverse 180 turn at the end of the story, otherwise I'd be ranting about that cheesy 1980's style end (although it was still a pretty over the top ending. I can't help but feel somewaht cheated afterwards, with the fact that, for one there was nothing new that you have''t seen in other harems before, and again, the lack of hilarity filling the episodes (I had more of a feeling of embarassment than laughter by the end.) Still if you're looking for a harem to fill your void between seasons, then Tokimeki will not disappoint, as long as you don't enter with such high expectations

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This is the second best anime ever made.

I never thought that this would happen, I really didn't, but I actually found a harem that turned out to be the best anime (TV) that I have ever seen. There are two main factors that contributed to this, one is the fact that the producers have found perfect harmony between storyboard and screenplay, it was simply beautiful. Secondly was the main character. He wasn't stereotypical at all, which is a first when it comes to harem. Usually harem main protagonists are guys with no redeeming traits nor any extraordinary attributes. Here we have a different type of main protagonist, here we have a guy who's honest, smart and he can run really, really fast. He has to run often though, because that mischiveous student council pres. is one sneaky fox!

Then there's also the question of the main protagonists female (love) interest(s), these girls actually have a heart, they're actually colourful and are genuinly nice characters to look at and to see interact in the episodes. Again, not stereotypical for a harem at all. We also have the little chicken who basically is the main protagonists best friend. It turns out he's either some mutant chicken or he's on steroids, because he's one strong chicken!

The sound is epic, simply outstanding, the OP is so catchy and good, but the ED is even better, the only slight downside to this anime is the background art at some points which can be a bit bare, but that's the sort of thing I'm willing to live with for a masterpiece like this.

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To sum up Tokimeki Memorial - Only Love in the best way I could without giving spoilers:

Pretend your an egg, freshly laid from your mother hen. You feel joy to the world as in a matter of days you will hatch and become a cute little baby chick. Then all of a sudden an old lady picks you up as well as your brother and sister eggs beside you and places you in a basket. Your thinking, "this old lady must think we're cold so is putting us some place we could hatch in a warmer environment, oh how kind she is!".

Then you realize your in that old lady's kitchen, and to shock horror, a brother of yours is cracked, fried and on toast for that old lady's breakfast. That afternoon a similar fate happens to your sister as she is boiled in a pan of hot water. This terror follows for the next few days until you're the only one left.

You've pretty much resigned to your fate, and with the temperature as it is, there is no sign of you hatching. Your the last egg in the basket and the only thing on your mind is, "will I become breakfast, lunch or dinner?" You've even gone as far to think how you'd like to be served. Fried rice? Scramble eggs? Boiled egg in ramen and so on, as you count your days.

Then without warning, the old lady's grandson happens to see you and decides to keep you, and your thoughts are, "Yes! I am free!" You thank the gods as well as this wonderful being who has set you free. The child heads for the old lady's backyard, and you think, "Is he taking me to mum? Lucky!"

He then places you on the ground opposite your brethren chickens and heads for the shed. You patiently wait for him to come back, and when he does he has with him a hammer. You think to yourself how kind this child must be as he's probably going use that hammer in his hand to fix the cage the other chickens are being kept in.

"I may have seen hell whilst in that old lady's kitchen, but thanks to this boy I can enjoy freedom! When I grow up, I want to become an astronaut! Thank you little boy, and thank you...hey little boy? What are you doing? That's not how you use a hamm-...." SMASH! - are your final thoughts.

For those who didn't get the metaphor to my little tale and are thinking of purchasing(or even downloading) this 25 episode anime with high expectations, let me give you a word of advice so you don't feel like you wasted a good amount of your life(as well as your money/download) like I did....this series is S***! The only reason why I finished it was due to my partner making me watch it as punishment for wasting money on the boxset.

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