Yume de Aetara

For a short 3 episode OVA, "yume de aetara" is actually a pretty good anime. It manages to nicely establish the premise, introduce the characters, have a classic conflict and then finish off with a satisfying ending. All of that in roughly 90 mins. There is also a TV version of this anime but I would recommend watching the OVAs as they compact the story into longer episodes so it's easier to watch.

The story itself follows the male lead, Fuguno Masuo, as he struggles to find a suitable partner. This is where the two main female characters come in, Shiozaki Nagisa and Hamaoka Miho. ... As with nearly all romance themed series there is going to be a lot of conflict between the male lead, the girls in the cast and predictably, secondary male characters too. I don't want to spoil this series for anyone reading this so I will only say that as far as romance goes, Yume de Aetara did a very good job of conveying the story in such a short time span.

However, what really surprised me in Yume de Aetara is that the characters are very realistic. Believe it or not, the women in this anime actually resemble their real life counterparts. No blue, green [enter the spectral colour name here] haired characters, no exaggerated reactions, no slapstick humor, no superhuman strength, no mallets, no exploding heads... I think you get the idea. This anime is realistic and I can always appreciate a realistic anime.

The major problem here lies with its rather poor animation quality and sub-par sound department but that is to be expected. I had no problem with the style itself though as it is old-school (we're talking 90s anime here) and reminiscent of perhaps titles like Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. Older anime watchers will definitely feel the nostalgia contained within this 3 OVA piece.

As far as enjoyment goes, I must admit that I have been caught off guard. I picked this up on a whim and didn't expect anything great and granted this isn't exactly a masterpiece. The story might seem cliched, the quality isn't that good either BUT it is still a good anime. The characters are staggeringly realistic in comparison with some of the petrifying creatures that one might encounter in modern anime. And as I said before, considering the length of this series the pacing is near damn flawless. As for the content itself, it is a heartwarming tale of two people who fall in love and have to go through trials to prove that love. Definitely an enjoyable experience.

If you want to see a short realistic romance story and are prepared to disregard its quality issues, look no further. This is what you'll want to watch.

7 points overall.

Picked this up on a whim in a used store with no prior knowledge of what to expect.. in doing some research online before watching it I found several reviews, which all seemed to paint an image of a sub-par, run of the mill, cliché ridden release. I also found that there was a re-release 2-disc set complete with the alternate 16 episode tv-series for the same price I paid for this used single disc OVA only release.

After watching it, I’m going to certainly agree with the reviews I found online.. it honestly seemed as though it may have been written as a student project ... of an exercise in actively using clichés, which were introduced in nothing but the most boring and drab way possible.. sometimes, feeling as though the story itself was trying way too hard to simply pander to the viewer.

I think I found myself barely crack a smile maybe twice.. and while the OVA almost teetered on the verge of mild entertainment, it was otherwise devoid of any moving, memorable or emotionally charged moments.

The characters were transparent, forgettable and without any substance.. almost as though they were built around the scenes in lieu of their own backgrounds. Scenes of situations that sometimes seemed almost too sudden, as if written in the middle of the animating process in order to make sense of a storyline contradiction, that maybe wasn’t caught in proofreading.

The Art was fairly typical although some colors seemed to stand out for me a bit now and then, catching my eye. The sound was really neither here nor there as well; neither opening nor ending themes were anything to write home about.

Overall, I gave it a 4 out of 10.. and will state - if you’re looking for a nice memorable romantic comedy.. Look Elsewhere… but if you, like me are duped into owning it before really knowing of its not-so-greatness, then it will give you something to mildly keep your interest for an hour and a half.. but believe me, I’ll by no means be shelling out any more money for the re-release complete with entire mini-episode tv-series, as it could no way be worth even the measly $11 US ;-)