Akane Maniax

Story:

The overall story is pretty good. I really liked all the obstacles the main character had to overcome just to get accepted. However, the ending was a little disappointing but at the same time reasonable as well as weird and funny. Also, this OVA is really funny at times especially all of the mecha parodies introduced into the story line.

Animation:

Not much to say here, but clean, crisp animation expected out of an OVA. Especially, the comedic scenes.

Sound:

There's not much of a soundtrack to this OVA, just your typical instrumental background music. You don't really notice it at all. It really doesn't make much of an ... impact during the more serious scenes.

Character:

By far the main character Jouji Gouda is one of my favourite anime characters. You can't help but admire his determination even when faced with many difficult obstacles. Although, he still shows his human side of getting down every now and then, but sure enough his strong determination picks hims up out of the gutters. If anything, Jouji is the reason to watch this OVA just to experience his character. However, my one pet peeve is that his imagination is so random that it kind of gets annoying at times and I feel it interferes with the story. In addition, Akane Suzumiya's character is done pretty good as well. This OVA gives you a better understanding of Akane's character. However, the secondary characters don't make much of an appearance and are there just to solemnly interact with the two main characters.

Enjoyment:

This series is really funny and gives you a light-hearted view of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien's character Akane Suzumiya. But again, the star of this OVA is definitely Jouji Gouda. I had a really good time of witnessing Jouji's efforts in convincing Akane of his love.

Overall:

Overall the series is very good. It's especially great if you're looking for something light-hearted and funny. It also does a fairly good job (although slightly) of epiloguing Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. The only thing I would change is to provide more screen time for the secondary characters since some of them appear to be very interesting and having less time for Jouji's flamboyant imagination scenes.

Spoilers for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, beware.

I found this to be an interesting and likable OVA to one of my favorite anime drama series. There is a huge shift in the tone of the series, which explains the polarizing views of this mini-series. While the original Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was a very tragic affair, Akane Maniax turns into a parody of old big robot series from the past few decades, complete with a slapstick new character serving as the primary focus.

I can't say much for this OVA in terms of its technical aspects. It was fairly hard for me to track down a ... decent quality version of it, and one with dvd quality was nigh impossible. If I were to compare, the animation about as good as the original KGNE series but not as good as the ~Next Season~ ova. There are some differences, but this is more attributable to the change in art style to reflect the comedic nature of the mini-series rather than worse animation.

For sound, all of the voice actors did a good job. As this is a three episode epilogue rather than a full blown story arc, there isn't as wide a range of material to work with, but the voice actors put in the necessary emotions. The opening song was cute and similar to a lot of high school comedy animes, as was the ending. The background music was not at the same level as KGNE or ~Next Season~, but they also had much more dramatic material to score.

Coming into this series, I had read a lot of reviews calling it stupid, strange or pointless and wasn't really sure what to expect. For a time, I wasn't even sure if I was going to watch it. Ultimately, I decided to have a go for completionist's sake. I'm glad I watched.

I'm not new to tragedy in fiction. I've seen a fair share of depressing films and series, and read numerous works of literature with stories far darker than the relationship drama presented in Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. Yet, for some reason this series affected me very deeply, particularly the last episode where Takuyumi and Haruka decide to never see each other again. In the last few minutes of the show, we see that Takuyumi and Mitsuki are living together while Akane and Haruka have moved on to pursue their dreams. It was nice, but I questioned if any of these four people were truly happy.

It bothered me for a long time. The people in this epilogue had experienced a great tragedy that led to them parting ways forever, and it upset me. The ~Next Season~ ova did not provide me the closure I wanted. While it was nice, it ultimately felt like a sweet dream that was never meant to be. Just thinking about KGNE was enough to make to upset.

That is when I finally saw Akane Maniax. While it is a slapstick comedy, this ova was exactly what I was looking for. This is the tale of Akane dealing with the aftermath of Takayuki leaving her family forever. This is the story of Akane told from Gouda's perspective. Every scene with Akane, you are shown how she is understanding but ultimately hurt by what happened in KGNE. You can't help but think Haruka feels similarly despite her absence for most of the show.

While you can dismiss a lot of the mecha battles in the series as childish and over-the-top, there was actually a lot of meaning to them. What Gouda sees in those battles is what is happening in Akane's heart. The enemy pilots are quite familiar... and while Gouda doesn't know who these people are, he can appreciate the scars that they've left Akane and, in the process of trying to court her, he decides to heal those scars.

There really isn't a whole lot of plot in this series to spoil, so I'll leave it at that. What I've meant to say during this review is: KGNE left Haruka and Akane completely broken, and then showed a future where they had moved on in life, but not necessarily in spirit. At the end of this OVA, I finally felt that Akane had really overcome her sadness and doubts. With that, Haruka could as well. I see now that at the end of KGNE, rather than doing the best they can in the wake of their unfortunate lives, they truly are happy. So, I thank this ova, which in the strangest and most unusual way, put my heart at ease.

OK, what was that? It’s either a big “so what?” or a big mistake. Either is just fine.

What an absurd storyline. It was worlds away from what Rumbling Hearts was. It went from drama to stupid in a snap. I mean, what’s with the mecha? I’m pretty sure this is the OVA for Rumbling Hearts, so where the heck did the mecha come from? I did say that I like Akane, in fact she was probably the only thing that was OK about this OVA, but even her presence wasn’t enough to catch my attention.

There were new characters (that teacher named Kouzuki, wasn’t that the ... name of the doctor in Rumbling Hearts?) and all of them were just irritating and forgettable. Plus, they all lacked charisma. Even for Akane. She was different this time around, and that kissing scene with Narumi threw me off. The new guy, Gouda Jouji was also irritating. I said “Gouda, that’s a type of cheese, right?” When I saw how CHEESY he was I was like “oh, that’s why.”

I’m sure whoever made this was trying to be funny, but I just found it to be corny. Maybe it’s the 80s feel of it (paging Gouda Jouji, Gouda Jouji) but really, maybe they were trying too hard to be funny that it ended up becoming corny. I got a few chuckles out of it, but when I say FEW, I meant it. I only laughed twice, and it was only one “ha”.

What’s with the 80s feel, anyway? The drawing style was just so 80s, except revamped a little, but 80s nonetheless. And really, that Gouda guy was the embodiment of that decade. “Gouda-kun, the 80s called. They want YOU back.” Really, take him back. He’s just so annoying, and his seiyu made him even more annoying by sounding too loud and obnoxious. Even the BGM was 80s and cheesy.

I also noticed a difference in the drawing style. I was like “aha, a sweatdrop!” You didn’t see a lot of those in Rumbling Hearts. Jouji even went chibi on me. The slight change in drawing style was shown by the supporting characters (whose names I can’t even remember) – Outrageous hair in different shapes and colors, cutesy outfits (yes, they were wearing seifukus but one girl has a slightly different seifuku). There was even more fan service in this OVA. A lot of panty flashing and naked bodies.

The opening and ending themes weren’t bad, I liked the ending and the opening theme was ok. Cutesy, but OK. The ending theme kinda reminded me of that song called “can’t hurry love”, at least for the instrumental at the beginning.

As of now I’m trying to forget I’ve ever watched it. I really wanted to quit watching by the time I got to the second episode, but I wanted to see Narumi and Haruka (sorry Mitsuki, I hate you, remember?). I only got to see both of them a few times though. Anyway, if you happen to read this, don’t watch it. If you do, don’t expect much from it.