Ai Yori Aoshi

The story itself isn't out of the ordinary......boy meets girl, falls in love and another 4 girls do the same. However, it is good the way the story develops around the two main characters. The male lead isn't an asshole nor an idiot and that makes him a likable character. The female lead is.....interesting......She doesn't know anything else besides her love for the male lead and it's kinda interesting to see how the story develops around her.

There is no tragedy to make the plot a little more complicated (except the facts concerning the past of the main male character which I won't spoil for you), ... so all you can expect is love-love in every episode.

The motivation of each character is explained and you get to identify with the situation of a few characters, however there are some that only do what they do because they want and that leaves you with the feeling of emptiness.

I would recommend this anime if you want a light story of love....

Ai Yori Aoshi is a very straight forward one dimensional anime. There isn't anything else i could say to describe this anime other that. It's a typical lovey dovey through and through, but nothing else.

It's story is incredibly simple. It's a typical harem anime in the sense that the main male character is surrounded by five or six females who all have feelings for him. However it is very evident in the beginning who he will end up with. The story it's self does not know what it wants to be. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a romance anime that specifically focuses ... on the two main characters or a harem anime. Sadly because of this the series takes the horribly awkward approach and tries to do both things, but fails miserably at it.

It's harem elements are never flushed out enough to ever bring anything to the table, other than two or three episodes, most of which are filled with echhiness rather than the actual problem at hand. The feelings just linger throughout the series with nothing to make note of.

The two main characters are forced to hide their relationship, and thus have to "sneak" around in order to get any alone time. But this is incredibly misleading, because the backyard is like a different dimension of which no other character is ever allowed to step foot in. Even though the scene's done with the two main characters are done correctly and are very nice to watch, there are very few of them and very spread out through the series.

It's characters however are the weakest part of the show. Most of the characters in this series are plot devices use to simply keep the harem plot moving. They never try to confront their own feelings, they are barelly even aware of it throughout the series.

The main characters are just flat, nothing more. They aren't deep. Aoi is a character with very little emotion at all, expect that of the love she feels for our main protagonist Kaoru. Kaoru is a character i had hope for. He is the only character that even has a chance of development with the fact they actually take the time to explore his past. But instead of having him confront his past, the allow him to run away from it the entire series, and use the same three clips to show his "awful" child hood. He remains flat, undeveloped and almost unlikeable.

The art is nothing spectacular. It uses many still frames, and focuses on the characters faces a lot. Not to much attention to detail, at least nothing popped out to me. The characters have a very moe feeling, which is fine since they are really well done, with a lot of detail in their facial features. It's not bad but not great either.

The sound track of this anime is different. It's music when it's upbeat is pleasant and easy to listen to. However when every there is anything remotely bad happening it uses the most dramatic and mysterious music ever. I found myself thinking i was watching a murder mystery at many parts rather than a romantic comedy. It's original Sub is fine, but avoid the dub at all cost. Despite some decent English VA's it is awfully done, one of the worst dubs i have personally come across.

Overall if you are in the mood to see a lovely dovey anime with echhi scenes in it than you should give it a try. However if you are looking for an anime with any sort of substance than steer clear of this.

Why do I rate this anime so highly? Why do I give a 10 in nearly every category? Well, it's simple. It's an awesome show! In my own personal taste, in what I liked to see in an anime, this was what hit the spot. I'll review this as I have a few others, by category then by my overall take on it.

**Story**
First of all, the story. In my opinion, one of the 2 most important aspects of any anime. You can have crazy action, you can have ecchi-ness and nudity, whatever, but without an actual story that ... makes sense and that is fun to follow, there's nothing to be had from watching it. When I first heard of this anime, I thought it sounded silly - a man who's had some girl devote herself to him since she was little who plans on marrying him and giving herself completely to him. Who does that? But as I watched more and more into the show, I began to realize that it was exactly that point that made this story so unique and fresh. Karou already has Aoi-chan. She's his, will be his wife one day. But then you've got a twist that they have to hide it. Suddenly Karou is surrounded by other girls, and you've got yourself what appears to be a typical harem anime. However (I won't spoil) there's so much more that happens here and much later into the anime that just makes you root for everyone; Karou and Aoi and all the other characters.

**Art**
What can I say? This one is beautiful. Attention to detail everywhere, from the outfits to the floorboards and walls. It would see that every scene is fully animated and given great care. There are several of those "awww" moments with the gorgeous backgrounds, the shading and texturing on the faces, all that jazz. I really can't say more here, as you just have to see it.

**Sound**
The only category I did not give a 10. It takes a lot for me to give an anime a 10 in sound. In this category I include the music as well as every little sound effect and noise and speech and everything else. The music was alright, nothing too special, nothing that blew me away. The sound quality, likewise. But it was the character's emotions in the voices that made me rate this as high as I did. You can feel true emotion pouring out. So well voice acted that at times, you want to cry right along with a character.

**Character**
The other most important aspect to an anime. Without a good set of characters and the way they interact, what's left? A narrative about the beautiful landscape? No, especially in this show, the characters are a major driving factor. I would even go so far as to say that characters are what determine, develop and drive a story. That being said, Ai yori Aoshi brings us some of the most interesting and lovable characters I've seen in an anime. You've got crazies, you've got adorable cuties, you've got sensitives, hard-asses, uptights, lowlives, and nearly every imaginable kind of character, all represented amazingly well. The only other thing I can say about this category is that when you have such high quality characters interacting with each other, you're bound to have an emotional response, be it laughter, crying, anger, frustration or something else. I experienced all these while watching.

**Enjoyment**
Well, as you can tell thus far, I enjoyed this anime. Like I mentioned before, I've watched it three times. There's just something about Aoi-chan that keeps bringing me back to watch this. Karou, likewise. He's a great guy. He genuinely cares for those around him, and especially Aoi-chan. The same parts that made me cry and laugh and get frustrated the first time had a similar effect the second and third time. I wouldn't doubt it if I watched it again, I had the same responses. Not much else to say, other than mentioning that the dialogue and story are what make this so enjoyable to me.

**Overall**
How do I feel about this anime overall? Well, obviously I loved it. One of my favorites. I rated it a 10 overall. Why? As I stated above, all these categories shine out. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this anime. I love watching the ending as it feels so resolved (even though they made a sequel, which is also good). I get such a good feeling after finishing this anime. If you at all enjoy romance and slice-of-life genres, then you must give this anime a try.

This IS the best ROMANTIC Seinen anime ever.....

To me the story feels like Love Hina yet more Japanese, the main plot is that Kaoru is a student and by chance meets a girl who is lost at the Tokyo Station, he helps her and so have it she is going near where he lives, Kaoru helps the girl (Aoi) out to find the house but yet to find a empty plot, so the note she had was wrong, it starts to rain and Kaoru lets Aoi come to his place to keep dry then he finds out who he is and thats the person Aoi ... was looking for.

This is all in the 1st episode (which i have to say is one of best opening to an anime i have seen) then the rest of episodes are like Love Hina with the day to day life.
I would put no more but with the great voice acting of all characters like Tina (whos voice is perfect for that character) and also Aoi and etc....

The animation skills are top notch and with a great story and music this is a perfect anime, unlike Love Hina there are a couple straight away but have to hide it from the world due to some reasons you will find out. The ending is quite good but was quite predictable, but i didnt see no wedding which is what i wanted to see but maybe its in the next season.

A nice mix of how the girls all get to like Kaoru was nice development and also the way its portrayed and stuff was amazing overall a MUST for any romance fans.

This is so far my favorite anime that I have seen so far. Its the kind of anime you don't want to end, because you want to watch more of it lol. Its a great story of a guy and a girl who has pretty much been waiting her whole life to be with him. It is technically a "harem romance" but it is really close to just a pure romance, because even though the main character is surrounded by girls, it is very clear who his love is.

Like i said earlier, the story is very good about a girl who has been waiting ... her whole life to be with the guy she loves and how they interact with each other and the things that they have to go through to be together. It has lots of fun and interesting characters. Unlike traditional harem romances, they main character knows who he loves and wants to be with, unlike the usual premise where he has to decide by the end of the show. The main female character has no doubt of who she wants to be with also. The other girls are also fun and likable, in as much as you don't really find yourself rooting against them, even though you know what the primary outcome is going to be.

The art and music are also very well done. The art is drawn very well and is bright and colorful. There is a lot of good music in the anime, not just the opening and closing scores but also in the episodes themselves.

basically I really enjoyed watching it, to the extent that i have re-watched it 3 times. I really believe that if you like romance animes, that you will love this one.

In a nutshell, Ai Yori Aoshi is a "feel good" kind of anime. It's primary strength resides in its pure, innocent and lighthearted storytelling that revolves around the unconditional love shared between 1 man and his 5 female companions. While this kind of story is naive (slice of life tag, what?) as in real life a scenario like this would be highly unlikely and accompanied by more impure feelings (such as lust), I still think that this anime has plenty of good points which I will go over section by section in this review.

STORY (7/10) :

As outlined in the synopsis, the story follows the ... life of the male lead - Kaoru Hanabishi and his fiancee Aoi Sakuraba. Early on in the show we are also introduced to a lot of other [female] characters that will accompany the male lead in virtually every episode. The nature of the story is very episodic and the plot progresses extremely slowly (think To-Love ru). The episodes themselves are mostly based on the adventures (or in some cases shenanigans) of the main cast.

Despite the show's romcom nature there is still some breathing room for a bit of drama but that aspect is unfortunately curtailed by this show's prime flaw - lack of realism. I can say this straight away - your investment in this series will be on a purely abstract basis. Real life harems are a rare thing indeed and difficult to achieve I imagine, not to mention that they would carry a lot of consequences with them (School Days anyone?). As such, the story is slightly detached from reality.

That said, there are plenty of positive aspects in the plot - it is extremely straightforward and doesn't require much thinking. It almost feels like an accomplishment to be able to understand every single plot point. The major strength however and prime entertainment value resides in Ai Yori Aoshi's comedy. While you will certainly find a lot of cliched slapstick moments here, you will also be surprised at the sheer amount of unorthodox comedic content, so to speak. As an example I can say that this is the first anime where I've seen the male lead successfully infiltrate and escape from a women's bath house UNDETECTED. Who would have thought that?

CHARACTERS (6/10):

The characters are definitively likeable. The male lead shows a lot of kindness and understanding to the world around him, hence the rest of the cast is drawn to him like a moth to a flame. The female characters are diligent, hard working bunch of people and rational too. And so in a way you will like the cast simply because they are good, virtuous people.

However, the problem with this section is that there is little to virtually no character progression, something that has troubled me tremendously while watching Ai Yori Aoshi. Kaoru and Aoi start off as a shy couple and 12 episodes in (half way through) not much really changes. In the first season, at least, their development is minute and falls short of what I'd expect to see in a romance themed series. The writers of Ai Yori Aoshi could have definitively squeezed in a lot more focus on those 2 characters.

Likewise the rest of the cast stays tremendously underdeveloped and for the most part - shallow. I feel that the time that was used for some of the plot insignificant episodes (there's a lot of those) could have been used better to give the cast more substance and depth. More flashbacks, character exclusive episodes that focus more on the plot etc.

ART (8/10)

The animation in Ai Yori Aoshi is exceptionally good when you consider that it aired 12 years ago. Everything is fluid and crisp through the entire length of the series. The studio has paid attention not only to the characters but also static backgrounds and such.

For today's standards the quality of art in this anime would probably be considered average or sub-par. In comparison with recent animes I would have to drop 1 or 2 points from this section however I am being lenient here because I'm rating this anime in comparison with other works from around that time. Bearing that in mind, the artwork IS pretty good.

SOUND (8/10)

Likewise, the sound department of Ai Yori Aoshi maintains a high standard. The OST is truly original and features some really heartwarming pieces. The quality of the music is good, the music itself fits in perfectly with the overall tone of the series and additionally, there is a tune for every single occasion.

The only two minuses here would be the opening and ending song. They were fairly bland and I found myself skipping them after hearing them once.

ENJOYMENT (9/10)

The strongest aspect of Ai Yori Aoshi. I have enjoyed this anime a lot. Despite the numerous pitfalls (especially the underdeveloped cast) I liked the story for what it was. A stress free, easy to follow love story that is sure to cheer up even the most depressed individuals. Watching this anime is good for the soul. I'd prescribe Ai Yori Aoshi to any individual who feels that the weight of life is turning them into a cynical and harsh being. The sheer innocence and purity of the romance contained in here is staggering. I'm not delusional however and I realise the naivety of the plot, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Who doesn't like to immerse in a fantasy every now and then?

OVERALL (8/10)

A truly appropriate rating for this anime would be 7,5. However MAL's rating system is rather limited and 7,5 would round up to 8 anyway so that is the grade I will go with.

To recap, the strengths : Heartwarming tale, good comedy, good art, good soundtrack, high enjoyability

Weaknesses : Shallow characters, slow plot progression, nearly non-existent character progression

All things considered however, it is still a very good anime. Solid 8 points.

When I watch this anime, I feel touch by the way the romance goes, this is probably the only anime (that I know of) were the lead male character actually ends up with his childhood friend ( he only met her once as kids) and the lead male did actually lived up as to what he is about. Also,I really do admire the lead female character for living up as a "Yamato Nadeshiku," the two are a perfect match. So how do I rate this:

Story: Very Good 8

I like the romance on which the lead female character is so in love with the male lead ... that she herself went out of her way to look for him and also despite of other temptations of the other ladies involve he remains true to the female lead.

Art: Very Good 8

The art is ok so there is nothing more to say.

Sound: a decent number 4.

I hate the opening theme.

Character: a fair number 6.

There isn't much to say about the characters and about their roles, but I do have a lot of awkward questions about them- OK I know it's just an anime but I just like asking it anyway,so let's start:

Karou- Ok,so he's a college student, but what was he taking up in college? We do know that he and his grandfather never got along and he always ends up beaten with a bamboo cane in the back, good thing that he was still able to maintain his sanity and not sustained any spinal fracture. So for him to have those whip marks on his back his grandpapy should be using a whip not a bamboo cane or a some kind of kendo stick thing whatever.

Aoi- my question for this character is:
-Did she had a normal teenage life or was she just confined to learned how to cook, do origami, sing, do household chores or any other stuffs that traditional Japanese women do?
-Is she younger than Karou or are they at the same age?
-Did she actually attend school or was she just home schooled?
-Does she ever wore any other clothes other than a Yukata?
-Since she's rich,I wonder as to why didn't she enrolled in the same college as Karou?

Miyabi- my question for her is:
-Did she also enjoyed a normal teenage life or was she confined to be Aoi's Babysitter/bodyguard/ playmate?
-I wonder as to how old is she and if she's gonna get married?

Tina-
- Now why does she have to attend college in Japan when she can go to any of the top universities in the US?

Taeko-
-If she's so clumsy, I wonder if she's as clumsy with her grades?


Enjoyment: a fair number 6

So far, even if this anime has a comedy tag in it, it is still the romance and drama part that is more profound.

Overall: It is a very good number 8.

No need for me to discuss.

Ai Yori Aoshi is like your typlical love story; boy meets girl, they fall in love. . . but then four other girls do the same. What?

What makes this story different is that the main male character, Kaoru, is really sweet and he is a one girl kind of guy. True, he is tempted by his housemates a lot but at the end of the day he still truly loves his fiancé and it’s not hard to tell either.

As for the main female character Aoi, she’s basically obsessed with her husband to be and has spent basically her whole life training to be a perfect ... wife for him. She’s devoted herself to making him happy and she is constantly thinking about him, making it extremely hard for her to hide her undying love for him from the others. (I feel her character pushes the image of what a "typical women" should be and I some what dislike her character for that, you'll see what I mean.)

The plot isn't very complicated and is easy to follow, but that doesn't mean you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen during the whole course of the anime. The series ends on sort of a cliffhanger so the outcome of their relationship and what happens with their little family is unknown, but it’s not too hard to guess what will happen.

Over all this anime is truly beautiful. You learn so much about each character and it’s not hard to notice how happy and loving they all are towards each other. This anime won't hesitate to make you laughing, crying and possibly hanging onto your seat, but most of all it will have you wishing you were a part of their wonderful family. Watching how quickly they all go from strangers to practically brothers and sisters is truly amazing.

I want to like you, but you are so generic, and so slow. This is one of those anime you pick up because you thought "maybe i will like it now" and then it just fades into obscurity until you drop it to watch something more interesting.

I can't be the only one who hates the harem where no girl stands a chance, it is so rarely done right despite how many series do it, i find that promotional material actually plays a huge role in this, because it does not matter in the end because the cover girl will win or we will get ... a cop out ending.

Maybe i will pick this up again though i doubt it...

Very good anime. I liked it. If you liked Ah! My Goddess, you'll like this. Unless you don't like ecchi.

Story:
The main storyline did drift off at some points, and there were non-important side stories that had no real point but overall the story was very unique.

Art:
The art was very bright but the animation was not the best I've seen.

Sound:
The opening theme was abosutely beautiful with an ok ending theme. The two special ending themes were also just ok. Didn't care too much for the insert song. The background score is nice but I wouldn't listen to it without watching the anime. The vocal cast was ... really good though and really fit the characters.

Character:
The two main characters, Kaoru and Aoi, are very developed. This anime has a lot of non-important side characters though. Such as Tina, Taeko, and Miyabi but the ones that really have no point are Mayu and Chika. Chika's tan is also really dumb.

Enjoyment:
I've seen this series twice and I enjoyed it both times ^.^

Overall:
If you want a not-so-strong storyline, ecchi, and romance then this anime is for you!

The story line is a rather interesting version of Romeo and Juliet almost. A boy who isn’t liked because he denounced his name and a girl who wishes nothing more then to be with him even against her parents wishes. It’s a rather romantic story, and then they have to add everyone else into the mix and well, we get this. Not to say this show is bad, its just… it gets dull after a while with pretty much every trick in the book being done to keep the two apart from roommates that get in a way to time they have separated from each ... other and even the family problems. I’m happy it’s not a slice of life in a school (and it’s not… technically…) but it sure feels like one. I most of the time wanted to bash a couple heads together and yell ‘GET TO THE POINT!’ but yet, I have to sit through some of the slowest moving pieces until someone finally gets to a punchline and then I feel myself sitting there sometimes asking ‘how the heck did that happen and where was the fun?’ I do have to mention now that this is one of my favorites of the genre, its just does have a lot of flaws though the good points.
Ai is so adorable though her personality is a little two innocent. She seems way to matter of fact and logical. She also sounds like a broken record in that she keeps going on about becoming his wife. She feels much like a Mary Sue character in that with almost everything she does, she does well and the stuff she isn’t good at is done in a way that makes her more Moe (and now I’m thinking about Konata’s saying from Lucky Star ‘Clumsy is sexy…’) to the point where I just want to smack her. Luckily, she doesn’t go into the realm that I would want her to be attacked by one of the girls from When They Cry, but she sometimes gets close to it. Kaoru though seems well put together or else it’s because he is around crazy people. Sometimes I even wonder if they put him in the middle of all these crazies just to show how bland he really was. There are times though that I wish he wasn’t so easily pushed into doing things he didn’t want to do or would hurt Ai if she took it the wrong way. Unfortunately, both main characters are actually less interesting then the characters around them and the story just seemed to become dull just because I wanted to learn more about the characters and it wouldn’t let me. The arrange marriage thing is hard for me to think of in the modem day sense and makes me wonder if it actually happens still. There is a lot of fan service in this and it makes me feel really sad because it really didn’t need it!
Now we go into the extras and the reason why I call them extras and not supporting characters is this… they do not support anything. They are there to tear the two main characters apart and bring comedy into what could be even more boring story plot. I think without them, I would never have been able to get into the story. Their fun antics, although annoying at times, made me smile and laugh to break up the tension of a hard core sad areas. I do believe without them, the ending would not be as heart retching as it was because it seemed to have more meaning.
The artwork is so beautiful and shows a lot of detail throughout the show. The backgrounds are rich in detail for the most part but there are times that it looks rather low in contrast. The comical points are really odd looking, where most of the artwork during that time pretty much lacks. The opening is rather nice in following the sweet music for that. But seems almost like Ranma’s opening in how they made it.
The Voices are interesting, and Ai’s seems way too breathy. The English is a little off, almost like it’s a exact translation and I wish they would change it a bit. Some characters were a little creepy in voice and I was a little disappointed in that. The Japanese is alright even if it’s pretty standard for this type of show. The Japanese and English Ai sound very close to each other. It’s a little nice that way but also somewhat bothersome.
The music is so pretty for the opening and closing that I actually looked for the opening music on its own. The other background music is a little to sappy even for the happy moments and sometimes breaks the mood.

Once again, I’m dipping my toe into the pool of harem anime and I’m still very much against the genre as most of it is just unfunny, uninspired, sophomoric and juvenile shows about what annoying girl gets to be with some generic guy and the dumb-ass antics they go through. I may come out as being cynical towards it but yet I got every reason to and I don’t know about this one, as I don’t feel that cynical towards this title mainly because of its story. So what is it about, you ask? Oh, did I mention that the title in English is actually ... called Bluer than Indigo?

Kaoru Hanabishi, a college student who lives alone, met a beautiful but bewildered girl dressed in kimono at train station. He volunteered to guide her way to the address she was looking for, which looked like in his neighborhood but turned out to be an empty lot. Not knowing what to do next, Kaoru invited the devastated girl to his apartment and asked for additional clue -- a photo with two children whom Kaoru immediately identified as himself and Aoi Sakuraba, his childhood friend. It turned out that the girl in front of him is Aoi Sakuraba herself, his betrothed fiancée who came all the way to Tokyo to marry him. Her revelation was not only surprising but also reminded the deepest part of Kaoru's memory for why he left the Hanabishi family in the first place.

Well, what can I say? The romance between Aoi and Kaoru is really the heart of the show and I was really rooting for those two to get together and make it last with the drama of their families keeping them apart makes it more interesting, like a rendition of a classic love story……….

BUT………unfortunately, as the series starts strong, it limps into almost Love Hina/any harem category when the main plot is sidestepped by the additional characters of the story. I get that reason for their existence is that Kaoru can have someone as family to him considering his mother abandoned him and his family kicked him out of his home and I would be fine with that, if the characters weren’t just the basic harem archetypes…but then again, it could be worse.

Also, I’m impressed with how long they kept the secret of Aoi & Kaoru being together from the tenants as some other shows would have somebody knowing about it halfway….that or some of the tenants aren’t that bright.

But like I said, the only interesting characters in the show are Aoi and Kaoru and yet, there are some things that I don’t like about them. For example, Aoi is about as adorable as a character can be, but she is more like an otaku’s waifu dream and that’s not a good thing. She’s more of a fantasy self-insert character that only wants to be that guy’s wife and nothing more. Kaoru is the more reserved character but not the generic passive, simpering moron you see in most harem shows although that does lead to the next problem of why so many of the girls in the show are attracted to him. First, there’s the token American character Tina Foster, the very energetic and loud character whom loves animals, drinking a lot of booze, and can often play grabby hands once it comes to Taeko, the accident-prone and ditzy bespectacled girl who’s only purpose in the anime is being either cosplay fetish…..oh, did I forget to mention that she has big breasts? Miyabi, Aoi’s bodyguard, is the one character who at first, I thought I would hate but actually she’s one of the better characters of the show….well, her and the pet ferret. Mayu, the prodigy, is the worst offender of them all as she is the most annoying character of the show, up to Love Hina levels, as she keeps going on and on about being with Kaoru and often fights with Tina, which makes her more bearable in comparison and last is Chika, Taeko’s cousin, who looks up to Kaoru as an older brother, but thankfully, not in a creepy way.

The animation by J.C. Staff is very artsy in its own way. The scenery is like what most amateur painters would want to capture in their own canvas. There were a few mishaps in some parts of it, mostly the gag-based animation, but it still holds to being alright. The music is sweet and gentle as the show fits although the opening and ending themes do nothing for me other than skip through them.

The Pioneer (Geneon) / Bang Zoom dub was more of a miss than hit. Michelle Ruff as Aoi was convincing enough to enjoy it and Dave Wittenberg was listenable as Kaoru but Wendee Lee’s portrayal of Tina Foster was just unbearably obnoxious and grating as she tries to sound like a drunken Texan; Karen Strassman (or Kirsty Pape) and Sue Beth Arden’s performances were a bit too high with their voices and mostly irritating, coming from Strassman’s performance. There is also an unrecognizable Kari Wahlgren (Kay Jensen) as Chika and honestly, I thought it was some other actress doing that voice….and I checked the VA’s of this show beforehand.

FINAL VERDICT: The show does feel like another harem clone in the making if it weren’t for the romantic love story angle that kept the show from being bad, but you should give the show a chance to look at before judgment.

I'd like to say Ai Yori Aoshi was a fantastic anime. Both Kaoru and Aoi faced many obstacles that prevented their happiness, but in the end the true feelings are much stronger than obstacles.
The message is very clear here and to me always staying true to ones feelings will overcome almost any obstacle that is put to prevent happiness.

Story: I liked the first part of the introduction story regarding the Sakuraba and Hanabishi family. It was interesting to see every character's background story covered in detail. In my opinion the story did not lack anything, it had comedy, romance, and serious moments as ... well.

Art: For an anime made around 2002 the Art was pretty good. Every character didn't look overused, and the animation was very well done. My only complaint has to be Chika-chan's tanning because she has lighter skin tone in the ares where she has clothes on. I honestly found it annoying with Chika-chan's skin tone lighter in different areas because it made it seem that she had some sort of pigment problem or she wasn't getting her skin vitamins.

Sound: Both Opening songs were fantastic. Honestly the way the Opening songs showed the past of the characters was very well done also. The second opening song is slightly different and in the end it compliments the true feelings of Kaoru and Aoi in the ending.

Character: I was surprised with the way Kaoru behaved throughout the entire series. I was expecting some type of multiple lover issues but that's not the case. Kaoru is a guy who is respectful, has true feelings for someone, and despite being surrounded by girls every day he doesn't let his manly emotions get the best of him. Every character's personality was very well done too. There was a lot of balance in this anime regarding personalities. I was also impressed with Tina because she was a very energetic girl who was open for any adventure, and to see her behave properly at home an not act all hyper was simply impressive.

Enjoyment: Every episode I enjoyed to the fullest. Comedy + Romance make it very interesting to watch in my opinion. The story also played a role because I wanted to know how things were going to end.

Overall: Even if there wasn't a 2nd season the ending was very well done and in my opinion this first season lived up to my expectations. I expected an anime that would make me laugh, keep me wanting for more, and also thinking about the message being sent: Stay true to your feelings and do not lose hope on what you are working for.

Ai Yori Aoshi was a very nice surprise for me, this anime masterpiece will surely get the heart of any romantic soul on this planet.

Characters are nicely done with great personalities, each having a story of their own.

The graphic design of the anime is very nice, buildings, trees, people, there is hardly anything to pick up as bad from it.

Thse story is very comedial and, what's the main thing, very romantic. The determination of both main characters, their way of direcly expressing feelings for one another, suporting each other - that is the best thing about this anime. In todays stressfull world it is the ... right thing showing that love can overcome any obstacle and that a person is never alone.

Even though this review is not very good and is short I can guarantee that Ai Yori Aoshi will not let one romatic eye dry, will provide lots of funny situations and the best of all a happy ending.

Hope you enjoy watching it as I did.

So i gave this a rating of 5 why? I came into this series in the 1st couple of episodes and i loved the concept country girl out of her element in the big city and meeting of childhood sweethearts add in the trauma faced by the male lead and it has all the ingredients needed to tell a great love story. What is the finished product Cliche and bland.

I was hoping for Aoi that away from the live she always had in the country we would see her struggles maybe have to get a job to make ends meat. None of ... this happens and she takes to the city like a bird to flying. I like all kinds of female leads tsundere, sporty, nerdy etc and this one had potential at the start but there is only ever 1 thought on her mind our male lead. Nothing wrong with being in love but this is the kind obsessive, can't live without you kind. The manager also mentions this point towards the end of the series. I don't mind love but i need character depth. What does she care about besides him? who are her friends? What are her hobbies? Whats her goal for the future? The answer to all that is our male lead or have his friends.

Kaoru is our male lead and he's as dull as a plank. We see so much potential from him in the start with all the problems he's faced and they go nowhere with it and any time he's facing difficulties with his past they run the same scenes over again. Does he deal with this trauma to overcome it, face his past and move on. Nope every chance from beginning to end he runs away from his past never facing it. He seems to be in college but there is no direction to his life i mean he wants to take care of Aoi but he never once mentions what job he'd like. He has a hobby in the photo club but he puts 0 effort in and the series never gave the impression he even cared about his hobby. He love Aoi supposedly but what's not to love when a gorgeous woman is practically throwing herself at you. They set up the reason why she loves him but never really why he loves her just always there for him that's about it.

As for the other characters when they started being introduced is when it really went down the drain and turned into a harem situation with our ML sometimes having perverted thoughts about them. The series spends 90% of it's time on side stories, minor characters or slice of life episodic moments that don't add up to much. Only 10% is good quality story stuff so if you can stick out the boring for the occasional sprinkle of good, go ahead.

When coming to my conclusion i'd like to mention a manga series i enjoy Hajimete no Gal. This is 100% what i wanted this series to be - ecchi stuff such a good story that focuses on the main couple despite there being many other characters. What we get reminds me of when the same series go an anime adaptation it went to hell focusing all it's attention on the minor characters much in the same way Ai Yori Aoshi has. There's nothing special about any of the characters here, nothing of note in the story you can say it's average and that's about it.

Story:

I enjoy the story for Ai Yori Aoshi. Basically, a young girl from a rich family is betrothed to a young man from a rich family. She likes him a lot even at such a young age, but he eventually disappears from his family. She goes to try and find him and ends up succeeding. They end up living together in a large house and many of their friends also end up living there. Of course, that are all girls and they all fall for the main male protagonist. The show basically follows their daily lives and the growth of Kaoru's and Aoi's relationship.

Animation:

The animation ... is nice and bright. I think it looks good and is drawn well.

Sound:

I love the music in this anime, especially the opening song, Towa No Hana, it is very beautiful. I very rarely skipped this song while watching. They also do very well with the music during the episodes.

Characters:

I really enjoyed the characters, there really wasn't any that I disliked. They are all different with different personanlities. The main male protagonist, Kaoru, is a little bit too nice though. I enjoy watching the growth of the love between him and Aoi. Aoi is probably my favorite female protagonist in a harem anime.

I think Aoi gets alot of flak because of her supposed "weakness" about wanting to cook and clean for Kaoru. No one makes fun of Martha Stewart for being good at cooking, entertaining and cleaning. Aoi is good at what she does and she knows what she wants, going after it with a rather single minded determination. She is actually one of the tougher anime characters out there. Everything she does is because of a dilberate choice, no one is making her do anything.

The other girls are also pretty fun, like I said before, with their own different personalities. Only thing is, like any other harem anime, I fell sorry for the girls falling in love and not being the one picked by the male protagonist.

Overall:

One of my favorite animes, in part because its one of the first ones I ever saw and probabaly only the 2nd or 3rd of the harem genre. I think it is a little different from a typical harem, because pretty much, you know from the start who is going to be chosen in the end. I think it is worth a watch if you like romance animes.

A love story between a boy and a girl. There are other girls involved as well but the main plot is about the main male and female characters. The one good side about this story is that the male character isn't an idiot or a pervert. He is a normal likable college student.

If you like romantic stories with happy ending then you may enjoy watching this anime.

An uncommon plot: boy and girl fall in love, and boy and girl are loyal to each other throughout the whole series. It doesn't deserve to be called a harem for that in my opinion. Yes, there are several other female characters, all of whom seem to have feelings for the male lead, but he (as I said) is pretty kind about things. The female lead is positively beyond human--patient, kind, and generally perfect to a point that is impossible for a real person. It's a happy, uplifting show. Absolutely wonderful.

Note: This will be a review of both seasons.

Overview:
"Ai Yori Aoshi" is a slice-of life romance anime that first aired nearly two decades ago, and since then has faded into almost complete obscurity. As someone who happened to come across and watch it myself, I think that is a real shame, as it has many strengths that set it apart from most of its genre while also lacking many of the things that make many other examples annoying. The result is a very mature and nuanced romance story that, while by no means perfect, should definitely appeal to any older person who enjoys the genre.

Story ... (7.5/10)
Set in Tokyo, college student Kaoru Hanabishi comes across a young woman wearing a kimono, and offers to help her find the person she has been looking for. After a series of events, however, he discovers that the man she has been trying to find is actually him, and the woman in front of him is actually his childhood friend Aoi Sakuraba, whom he hasn't seen in a whopping 18 years. While that would be surprising enough, the truly shocking thing about his meeting is that Aoi is engaged to be his wife, a role she has spent her entire life preparing for. Unfortunately, things are nowhere near as simple as they seem, as Kaoru left his family a long time ago as a result of constant abuse, as well as the fact that he was never really one of them since his parents never married. Ultimately, when it's clear that Aoi won't give up on Kaoru, her family reaches a compromise with her- they will allow them to be together, but in the meantime they will live in a summer mansion owned by the Sakurabas, with various people joining them as the series goes on. During this time, Kaoru and Aoi must keep their relationship secret, with Aoi posing as the landlady, in order to avoid shaming the Sakuraba family.

I can't say that there's an awful lot to the plot, but there doesn't really need to be. Rather than having a group of extremely dysfunctional people, the story is instead focused on developing the relationship between Karou and Aoi, and it does so in the most realistic way possible. Overtime, they are joined in the summer home by various other girls, and while this does result in a harem, it's by no means the focus, as Aoi has already won within the first few episodes. The focus instead is the story of two people who will not only to anything for each other, but will do absolutely anything to be together, no matter how much the world seems to be attempting to keep them apart from one another, which makes for a really sweet and heartwarming love story.

Unfortunately, the pacing of the series could definitely be better. It takes three-and-a-half episodes for the story to really start, a lot of which consists of Kaoru and Aoi talking in the former's old apartment. While this does provide exposition regarding the two's relationship as well as Kaoru's troubled past, I still couldn't help but feel that it didn't need to be as long as it was. And while things do get better once the rest of the cast are introduced, the main obstacle regarding Kaoru and Aoi's relationship is more or less resolved at the end of the first season, making the second season, "Enishi", feel like little more than a sequence of side stories since none of them to anything to resolve any other of the plot points. That's not to say these are necessarily bad, however, as episode 9 in particular has probably the single most romantic moment in the entire show. Ultimately, though, the story ends incomplete, which will leave you believing the series needed a few more episodes to really wrap things up.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Ai Yori Aoshi" has very good art for its time that still manages to hold up even to this day. The characters are all very well drawn and the environments don't look bad either. The fanservice is also kept to a decent level, as the series definitely knows when do use it and when not to. It can get a bit odd during comedic moments, however, such when a character's facial expression gets wacky and their nose disappears for no reason, which I have always found to be an unnecessary feature in anime.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Ai Yori Aoshi"'s soundtrack is best described as unconventional, but great. While there were no tracks in particular that stood out, the music as a whole has this very romantic, Japanese feel to it that really fits the tone of the story, and especially emphasizes the most romantic moments in the series. The voice acting is great as well, with Dave Wittenberg and Michelle Ruff delivering great performances as Kaoru and Aoi, respectively, and Wendee Lee giving Tina a hilariously exaggerated Texan accent that somehow fits her perfectly. Overall, I would definitely call this the best part of the whole series.

Characters (8/10):
On the surface, Kaoru may seem like your typical nice guy protagonist, albeit a few years older than the norm. However, his usually cheerful demeanor is largely just a front, and he's secretly very hurting with plenty of scars, both emotional and physical as a result of being abused by the Hanabishis. While he's definitely kind-hearted, he's also prone to a mixture of anger and depression whenever he's reminded of his past. After meeting Aoi, he slowly grows to realise that he had nothing to live for before he reunited with her, and now he can stop wondering why he was born to begin with. All in all, he's a very well-written and sympathetic character, and later episodes show him slowly start to heal and change for the better. Besides that, he's also very mature and refreshingly loyal, as whenever he starts to show attraction to someone besides Aoi, he's just as quick to shrug it off, reminding himself that Aoi is his only love and the other girls who surround him are just friends.

My favourite character, however, would have to be Aoi herself. As kind as Kaoru is, Aoi gives him a run for his money, as she is never seen getting angry or saying something bad about anyone. While such behaviour is perfectly normal in Japan, some Westerners may find the idea of a girl preparing their whole life to be someone's wife as sexist, and I've even seen some complain that whenever a girl acts tough in anime, it's always a cover-up for some insecurity. But really, how many pieces of Western media portray traditional feminine traits as being worthless and imply that women must masculinise themselves in order to be taken seriously? The answer is 'more than I can count' so it's good to know that there are at least some people out there who understand the value of feminine traits and that while your gender may not define you as a person, it's rather childish to believe it doesn't matter at all. While Aoi starts off very shy, she's definitely not weak, as she defies her family time and time again to be with Kaoru, showing that it's something she wants and will make HER happy rather than the will of someone else. Her character doesn't revolve solely around Kaoru, either, as she interacts plenty with the rest of the cast and goes through some genuine character development, showing that Kaoru is just as good an influence on her as she is on him.

The rest of the cast aren't quite as good, but they're still far from bad. One example is Tina Foster, an American woman who attends the same university as Kaoru. She and Kaoru met in the past when he first started college, and she joins the Sakuraba summer house due to not having a place to stay, having just come back from a trip around the world. To sum her up, she's very loud and outspoken, and often greets women by groping their breasts, basically making her the complete opposite of Aoi. While she's mostly comic relief in the beginning, she becomes a much more serious character when her insecurties come to light, particularly those in regard to her hopeless crush on Kaoru, which would probably be returned if it weren't for Aoi. There's also Miyabi Kagurazaki, Aoi's caretaker and the manager of the summer house who is the only one besides them who knows the truth about Kaoru and Aoi's relationship. While she starts off quite cold to Kaoru, it's mostly because she wants what's best for Aoi and she eventually accepts Kaoru upon realising just how good a match he and Aoi really are.

Next up is Taeko Minazuki, a woman who attends the same university as Kaoru and Tina and is in the same club as them as well. She soon joins the Sakuraba household as the maid, though she's not that good at it due to being very clumsy. Along with Tina, she serves as the main comic relief of the series, perhaps even more so as she doesn't become more serious later on, even if she does have quite a sad backstory. My least favourite of the major cast would have to be Mayu Miyuki, a spoiled rich girl who, like Aoi, has been in love with Kaoru since she was young. Unlike Aoi, however, her crush is very unrealistic, and more often than not she is very bratty and rude, though she does at least have a sympathetic excuse and some rare cases of being kind. There's also surprisingly few incidents of Kaoru getting beat up by girls, as whenever he ends up in a compromising situation, he's nearly always given a chance to explain himself, as they know he's not the kind of person to be doing that sort of thing. Overall, I really liked the characters, though some far more than others.

Enjoyment (8/10):
Mature it may be, "Ai Yori Aoshi" remains a very lighthearted series throughout. When it's not being sweet or heartwarming, it's being really funny. This is in no small part thanks to Tina and Taeko, but Kaoru also gets in on the fun whenever he has perverted fantasies about Aoi, which can get pretty hilarious. The slow pacing may hurt the enjoyment for some, but hopefully not so much that it ever gets boring, as that wasn't the case for me.

Overall:
"Ai Yori Aoshi" is a deeply touching, very heartwarming and extremely mature love story that has been sadly overlooked by the newer generation, to the point that nowadays you'll hear people talk about it once in a blue moon. It definitely requires a good understanding of Japanese culture to truly enjoy, but if you can get past that you will be rewarded with very likable characters, a great soundtrack, and a number of really touching, heartwarming moments. While the story may feel somewhat incomplete, I nevertheless believe that any romantic drama fan will walk away satisfied.

Score:
7.5+8+9+8+8=40.5/50=8.1/10

This anime made me learned alot and I reallly enjoy the stoy..Love the character and the mature of the main lady...I just wish I could be just like her..One of the best anime ever..