Green Green Thirteen: Erolutions

Green Green takes a lot of heat for being a down-right bad anime in plot, character development, and writing (and, it frankly is). However, as you are even looking at this capping episode, it means you've most likely watched the show. So with this in mind, I'm not really going to get into the original show itself. Sufficient to say, I got really REALLY into the romance between Yusuke, Midori, and Futaba. This was the only thing that kept me going throughout the show, as the rest was pretty superfluous, forgettable, and weak (see my basic Green Green review for more).

Originally ... ignorant of this thirteenth episode, I was SO disappointing with the outcome/finale of episode 12 because I believed it to be the end. Yusuke basically ended up with neither of the two leading girls. It felt hollow. After finding out about Erolutions a day or so later, I literally leaped for joy (sorry for sounding like a fangirl).

I will note that Yusuke lost a bit of respect in my mind with what he proceeds to do in this episode. Yes, he connects with his girl in perfect romance, but he also dishonors her morally, even after showing a great act of chivalry earlier in the show for this same girl (depending on your outlook).

As far as the genre of this special OVA episode sequel: Yes, it is technically labeled "Hentai" due to two sex scenes within the episode. I'm not sure if it is correctly labeled though. I've seen Ecchi that are just as bad (if not worse) and have WAY more sexually explicit content almost constantly throughout the whole OVA (nudity, constant groping, masturbation, nipple ejaculating, orgasms, tentacle, etc). They are just lacking the sex itself (looking at you, Kagaku na Yatsura). Or take Futari Ecchi, a romance ecchi anime OVA series completely revolving around the early innocence of a virgin couples' sex life within the first few weeks of marriage (yet this anime is not labeled Hentai even though it has tons of sex scenes). Not trying to cause a fight but, the "Hentai" label on this episode tends to scare people off more than it should. It's borderline or soft Hentai at best. Erolutions also does a very good job in not contrasting to the original show, it hardly feels different.

The story was "fair" in comparison to the rest of the show as it gave closure. Art and sound were just as good as the original anime (blended/merged very well with its anime cohort). The characters are basically the same as they were before (though this episode gives us the final touches to Futaba Kutsuki's transformation of character that the show had been building. Midori is also a bit more mature and less annoying/more understanding).

Why did I rate this so high? As with the original show, I personally enjoyed it very much. Quality-wise, this OVA special episode just capped off a majority-opinion bad show (so it deserves a much lower, more realistic rating in that regard for sure).

Anyways, this really REALLY adds closure to the series. If you've watched all 12 episodes of the original Green Green (and liked them, mind you), you most definitely need to cap with this. Otherwise, the show is very dissatisfying in its closure as it isn't complete.