Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi

Ever have a romance anime end right when the lovers finally confess their love after a long agonizing courting period? Ever wish to see how the lovers spend time together after their declaration of love? That is the purpose of this uneventful anime, pure slice of life anime. It still manages to make every episode enjoyable...kinda. The ending of the last episode is incredibly open, true to the nature of the series. Truly, this anime is nothing but a slice of life - a view into the everyday lives of the characters, with no unusual problems.

Although this is a sequel, expect the pacing to ... be even slower than the first Ai Yori Aoshi. In fact, even less happens here than the first time, so even though you've seen the first installment of Ai Yori Aoshi I'd say this sequel probably won't add much to it. It's not bad, but definitely not as good as the original series. Not much happens other than the introduction of two new characters not seen in the original. Expect an almost complete lack of plot. This is a mellow series - even mellower than most slice-of-life - so obviously avoid if you're looking for action, intensity, and other stuff you won't find in any slice-of-life anyway.

Characters are as likable as they were the first time around, so you'll like them again this time around the same way.

Major points off however, since there's a lack of resolution at the end, which seemed to be something the series was hinting at the entire time at the very least.

Oh em gee. I didn't think it was possible! A sequel that is BETTER than the original series! Well I guess there's a first for everything.

Story:
The story picks up 2 years after the ending of Ai Yori Aoshi. Kaoru, Aoi, Tina, Taeko, Miyabi, and Chika still live together and Mayu is still the daily guest. Everybody's a little older but pretty much the same. There really is no time in this sequel for the story to drag as the series itself is so short, so the story moves along at a nice pace. Every character gets a "love-episode" with Kaoru, and each episode was very ... enjoyable to watch.

Art:
Beautiful! Beautiful colors, beautiful animation. Just outstanding. There isn't as much ecchi in this season, but there still is some, but not as over-done and badly portraid as in the original. The eyecatches (the things that split the episode at where the commercial goes) run long though.

Sound:
The opening theme, "Takaramono" is just lovely. If you liked "Towa no Hana" then you will like this. "Towa no Hana" is played once during the course of the series though ;) The ending theme, "I Do!" isn't as enjoyable. The special ending theme, "Presence", is also decent but not my favorite. The original soundtrack is pretty much used with a few new tracks.

Character:
Every character is developed further, particularly the character of Tina Foster. There's really no new characters except for Chika's friends.

Enjoyment:
Completely enjoyed. Enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I enjoyed the first season.

Overall:
If you have seen the first season, then don't hesitate for a moment to watch this. It is better than the original, and the story is moving. Just know that you might wanna buy a tissue box =]]

Well, this is a show that pretty much takes place pretty much right after the first one. I was really surprised that they felt they needed to make a second season with just how odd the fist one turned out. It just didn’t feel needed in my mind. It’s the same stuff that was going on in the first happening in the second. A little romance, Comedy, Drama… and Kaoru and Ai never seem to get a break.

Sadly, they sometimes make Kaoru seem a bit even more like a pervert then he should. I know its normal for a guy to have those thoughts but ... sometimes they make it out as though he has even more of a perverted mind at times. The sweet and innocence in the story messes up when they do that.

The animation is pretty nice, pretty similar to the first one. Not much to talk about in that regard. It looks like every other romantic comedy out there. Large eyes, bright colors, nice looking girls all around one normal looking guy. Each character looks exactly like the role they are supposed to match.

The dubbing is… well the same as the first again. I like that they kept it consistent but then again, they matched it way to close to the Japanese translation. Sometimes even some of the words don’t seem like they are used right.

Just because it really has not changed at all, I have to give it the same rating as I did for the first. It’s slightly bland but a good watch if you liked the first.

This is the follow-on series for the 24 episode Ai Yori Aoshi series.

If you enjoyed the first series as I did, you will be richly rewarded with this series. As is often the case with anime, there are many episodes so the plot moves slowly at times. But the character development is very carefully done, and you are soon drawn into the story and nearly forget its make believe. There is much humor and a fair amount of indirect fan service -- but also there is quite a bit of emotional drama towards the end, as some of the characters near the end of ... their college life.

Because this is a 36 episode journey, if you make it to the end, you will love each of the characters and you will shed tears when they eventually must face their reality and the hard choices about their destinies after college is over.

Well...personally I loved this sequel...The Original series was cool too...so as this sequel...yje only new characters was Chika's friends...but still...I love how the story developed and how each episode had a "love episode" with each character...

I enjoyed the soundtrack's in the anime...the graphics are cool and smooth!
If you ever watched first season...You MUST watch this sequeal too :D

A show I thought would never end.

After watching about 26 episodes of this, I really had trouble getting through this second season. The formula is exactly the same as the first season so I often felt bored and wanted to watch something else.
The romance is very light-hearted throughout most of the show, but occasionally there are some very good moments.
The harem fighting is nearly constant and you'll be able to see a different aspect of a couple of the supporting characters (Chika & Mayu).

~Character 7/10~
Although you do not meet new characters, the creators did deepen some of the supporting cast (Mayu and Chika) showing how ... much they really do love Karou.
Aoi is still the perfect wife, but it still feels like she is a stranger. Her and Karou's characters do not reach the depth needed to pull off a good romance.
Overall, the character aspect was not focused on very much.

~Story 5/10~
This just continues the nearly random events of the first season.
The focus for this show seems to be more about comedy rather than romance. Although I didn't find myself laughing much, I found myself getting bored and frustrated with the lack of direction this show takes.
Besides putting a few good moments together, the rest of the show seems like useless filler.

~Sound 8/10~
The English dub is actually okay for this show. After watching it with both languages, the Japanese dub hits it out of the ball park. There are some great musical spots, but they are rare and far between.

~Art 7/10~
The art-style remained the same as the first season. However, I couldn't help but notice the higher amounts of ecchi moments.

~Enjoyment 7/10~
Although I do like harem fighting and arguing, I do not like dragging a simple love story over 38 episodes. With the second season I found myself getting bored and frustrated rather than actually enjoying the show. Moments became very typical as if they were following a strict formula.

Overall I'll give this a 7/10.
Although I didn't particularlly enjoy the show, I do appreciate the effort and challenge of making such a show. I had set off to watch a romance series and found myself getting frustrated by the lack of romance.

Ok, i liked the first season but this one... was a little disappointing.
First of all, the main characters. Aoi and Kaoru. The anime revolves on this two, but this time, they were pushed in the back for the side characters. I pretty much didn't like this thing.
When i first started to watch AYA Enishi, i was expecting an evolution of the relationship between Aoi and Kaoru. But that's was only a far far dream in my head (and heart). This season instead focused on the other girls of the house.
In twelve episodes (plus one OAV) Aoi and Kaoru basically don't do anything ... special or important. They are like two years ago (in the serie). The relationship doesn't go forward, not one step.
That's why i had to pick a 6 this time. That's not a second season, that's more like a serie of OAV that shows the other girls' life with Kaoru.
And, obviously, the enjoyment dropped going on episode after episode. I watched the last two-three episodes bored and tired. "Come on, next one will be better! Aoi and Kaoru will finally go over this time!" Even if their relationship was accepted, even if Miyabi was with them... nothing important happened. Ah, disappoint.
Neither a happy, funny character like Tina was able to recover this time.

Story 6: not so much different from the first season, maybe even worse without all the family story.

Art 6: 2003 anime, not much to say.

Sound 7: i liked the soundtrack, especially the second ending song "Presence". Voice and other sound were good.

Character 6: here too, no differences from the previous season. A little development maybe, but that's not enough.

Enjoyment 5: went down when I begun to realize that the main story would not go where i expected (Kaoru x Aoi).

Overall 6: yes, Tina and the others had the chanche to show their feelings to Kaoru. Enishi means "bonds togheter" but that's too much. Maybe with more episodes...

The words sorta kinda and almost get used a a lot when describing this shows its sorta enjoyable to watch the endings kinda ok and I'm almost glad I watched it. If I was into slice of life shows I probably would have like it more.

i like the overall story and creation of the anime but i felt not satisfied because its like the end of the story (episode 12) is lacking. The relationship of the two main characters are still not publicized that they are not then an official husband and wife.. so im kind of not satisfied.. :(

I think the critics have been unfair with this anime. It's true that is a romantic Harem anime where all girls are in love of one guy and that one is very recurrent in many anime is this kind. However I've seen other anime Romance and Harem that simply I don't mind to make a review. Aoi Yori Aoshi shows that an anime doesn't special effects or fantasies to become a masterpiece.

It can say that in its genre is undoubtedly one of the best anime with a very positive message about the perseverance, the value of real friends.

Positive aspects: It show the traditions ... of the Japanese culture and the contrast with the modern world habits (SIMPLY I LOVE IT!!).
Also it shows how hard can be the Japanese culture. I know many people love Japan and for vacations can be fantastic. However, studying, working or living there is not for everybody and I think this anime gives that message always in a positive way, of course.
Despite the protagonist is an student. This is not the typical high school anime. in fact the protagonist is a university student close to graduate and with short projects in mind.


Negative aspects: There were unnecessary chapters that sometimes made the story bored and there si not a conclusive ending.I know the anime was created in 2003, nevertheless at that time service that now provide Funimation, crunchyroll, VRV were not available, and as a result many great anime could conclude with a great end. I think Ai Yori Aoshi has all necessary elements to become a master piece with just making a third season.

I just binged watched this entire series. After watching it all IMO Aoi is best girl and i'm glad the MC picked her. As well as telling her he loved her along with showing Aoi how much he cared for her. The MC throughout the series was actually interesting as he didn't do what most MC's in harems do. He actually CHOSE a girl and STAYED with her. For the most part in the series the harem isn't really shoved down your throat so i'm glad for that. The animation is pretty good compared to some nowadays IMO. Seeing Aio end up with the MC ... and living with him without all that needless drama you see in most anime is refreshing. Like they could have pulled some BS and made Aoi stay at her parents home for half a season as the MC tried to think of a way to get her back. But all in all this series is good. The characters have actual feelings for the most part and aren't cardboard cutouts. The MC isn't useless and the ship has sailed in a HAREM!! Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi is an 8/10.