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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- It took me a lot of work to figure out what the story is about, but in the end I really enjoyed watching this OVA. For one thing, the background art of the streets of Kyoto was beautiful. I have never been to Kyoto, so I feel curious about whether they have realistically recreated some neighborhood. It looks as if they tried hard to do a good job. I can't think of any other anime series which is about Maikos, so this is certainly not an overdone genre. |
| Been wanting to watch this one for ages, but glad to have finally seen this OVA. I agree with you, on how fascinating it is follow the story of aspiring maiko. Very rare topic in anime, if not at all been done before. Probably not enough for a 1-cour anime series, as the light novel is only 6 chapters long, and also not much interest in the anime buying community unfortunately. Rank / Last week rank / Weekly sales / Cumulative sales / Weeks Charted / Anime Title BD 74 *** *,308 ***,308 **1 Mitsuwano |
EjcJul 21, 2014 2:08 AM
The News Club: Quality News/Discussion (anime, CDs, manga, novels, games, seiyuu), & sales data (daily, weekly, mid-year, yearly). |
| Whoa. Very cool story. But...not a world I understand. I found it interesting that when dressed up even Riko's hair was dark. I didn't think they wore wigs? Sorry, I couldn't follow everything. Was Mai homeless/run away? okanagan said: Oo! Oo! I have! But, though I spent three days in and around Kyoto, I was never in that part (which I assume was Gion).I have never been to Kyoto, so I feel curious about whether they have realistically recreated some neighborhood. |
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| The official webpage (all in Japanese) for the OVA is here: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/ There it gives a brief explanation (あらすじ/arasuji) of what is going on in the story, 一ノ瀬舞依は、修学旅行中に出会った一葉に憧れ、舞妓になる ことを決意。反対する親を説得し、中学を卒業後、京都にやって きた。しかし、お世話になる予定だった置屋が、急遽、店を畳む ことになったことを知らされ、舞依は途方にくれる。しかし、そこ で偶然、一葉に再会。一葉がいる置屋の「菊屋」の女将さんを 紹介してもらい、ここで修業させて欲しいとお願いする。女将さん から入門の条件として課された試験に合格した舞依は、同じく 舞妓志望の四十川翠や、菊月莉子とともに、菊屋で修業するこ ととなった。 Besides that, the Japanese Wikipedia article gives a lot of background of who the characters are: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%BF%E3%83%84%E3%82%8F%E3%81%AE Before I explain the meaning of the "arasuji", here is some background information. First, there are five main characters, and I have given links to their pictures to help you recognize them: 一ノ瀬 舞依 Ichinose Mai ... light brown straight top eyes http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/images/img_chara01.jpg 四十川 翠 Yonjikkawa Midori ... purple eyes http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/images/img_chara02.jpg 菊月 莉子 Kikudzuki Riko ... light brown droopy eyes http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/images/img_chara03.jpg 一葉 Ichiyō ... light brown rising eyes http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/images/img_chara04.jpg 志乃 Shino ... blue droopy eyes http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/images/img_chara05.jpg The first three girls, Mai, Midori and Riko, have all just graduated from middle school and they are all the same age, I surmise. Mai is the main character of the story. Then there are the two older girls, Ichiyō and Shino. Apparently, they are the same age. In any case, the two of them are at the same level in their training as Maikos. Since the "arasuji" does contain some content which is not explicitly in the OVA, I'll use spoiler tags: Trivia: The title of the light novel and the OVA is "Mitsuwano", which is written as みツわの. However, my guess is that this can also be written in kanji as 三ッ輪. That means "three circles" or "three rings" or "three loops". All throughout the OVA, we see the symbol of three interlinked rings many times. I don't know what connection this has to the story. Midori's given name is 翠 meaning "jade" which is a green-colored stone. "Midori" is also the word for "green". Midori always wears green clothing, and her Kimono is also green. Prior to the story coming out in March of this year as a light novel, it had been serialized from June to December 2012 in the online magazine BOX-AiR which can be read on smart phones using an app. The issues can also be read as pdf documents in an internet browser on a laptop. The light novel (printed as a book on actual paper), came out as a single volume on March 4, 2014. The OVA went on sale on March 12, 2014. The Amazon Stalker points are 309 for the Blu-ray and 216 for the DVD. |
okanaganJul 22, 2014 7:38 PM
| Just watched a sub'd version, which filled in a few details I didn't get before. Still, I don't really understand the context of Mai's flashback in the rain. No, I mean, I understand it was the seed that caused her to want to be a maiko, but I don't understand the setting itself. What was she doing setting there alone in the rain? (without okanagan's 'spoiler' above, it makes no sense is what I mean). Those box-pillows. Been wondering this. Are they part of the training, like sitting under a cold waterfall or something it's supposed to make they better maiko...? |
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| Somehow I hope this gets at least a 12 (or 24) episode adaption. Pretty much I don't really get the story and characters in here. Well the MCs stand out a bit but I wasn't drawn into them. I would say the Maiden Performance was good but I want to see a Maiko performance or something :D. Basically I'm having a relaxing feel from this OVA. |
| the maiko stuff isn't my thing but really love the whole calm vibe of the show along with the orchestral / soothing music 7/10 |
| I certainly feel happy that I was lucky enough to spot this OVA as it came out. I don't expect to have the opportunity to visit Kyoto, let alone the legendary Gion district. My past knowledge of the world of Maikos and Geishas was limited to some rather stilted English-language documentaries along with that 2005 movie "Memoirs of a Geisha". So it is great to see "the real deal" here. I don't know for certain that this is technically accurate, but it seems that they went to a lot of trouble to fill in details. The BD/DVD which went on sale in March is not a best seller, with Amazon Stalker points of 309 and 216. That is really lousy. So their income from sales was low. On the other hand, there was some income from sales of the light novel which also went on sale in March, and I don't know where to access numbers for that. Was the OVA intentionally made at a financial loss as an advertisement to boost sales of the light novel? If I was in a bookstore, I would at least want to read Chapter 1 to learn about Mai's past. How did her parents react? Why was Mai sitting out in the rain looking all dejected while she was in Kyoto on her school trip? The official advance information in the article in Animate.tv magazine offers some tantalizing details which I won't spoil for you. So the OVA along with its publicity will strongly motivate people to at least look inside the book's covers. Is it possible that they got financial support either from the cultural office of the Japanese government or the tourism bureau of the city of Kyoto? In case anybody wants to follow up, here are some links to related information, all in Japanese: Wikipedia article on the novel and OVA: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%BF%E3%83%84%E3%82%8F%E3%81%AE Official webpage for the OVA: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/mitsuwano/ Two-page article in "Animate" magazine from December 19, 2013: http://www.animate.tv/news/details.php?id=1387361192 Regarding the box-pillows that we saw the three girls sleeping on, apparently Maikos and Geishas rest with their necks on small supports called "takamakura" (高枕), instead of normal pillows, so that they keep their elaborate hairstyles perfect. It takes a lot of practice for them to learn not to roll in their sleep. You can search on Google Images for either 高枕 or "takamakura" to see what they look like. |
okanaganAug 2, 2014 4:23 PM
| Eh I'm not sure how I feel about this. There isn't enough development and it felt like watching Hanasaku Iroha but without much of the comedy. Rating this barely just a 6/10. The girls looked cute though and the music was nice. |
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| I didn't like this OVA that much, 6/10, I already knew the story wasn't promising... |
| Not sure how I think about this, it felt too short. Nice music though. The music reminded me of the Gion district; it was captured well. |
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| Not really into this but since it's from another culture I'd like to maintain an open mind about. Anyway, feels like a slice of life genre, I didn't expect much so I wasn't disappointed overall it was pretty OK. 5/10 |
| You see there's no need to wonder where your god is, Coz he's right here! ...and he's fresh out of mercy. |
| boring ova about 3 cute girls studying to be traditional japanese prostitutes 5/10 |
| It was nice change of pace to see life of maiko apprentices but it wasn't anything special either. Their main conflict was based on mere misunderstaning and that wasn't enough to make this stand out. I take it that maiko preparations are tough and stereotypical but we only got to very small part of their life. Maybe if this was a series it would be better. Kyoto dialect was nice though. 6/10 |
| Re-watch 4 times already This anime needs full TV series adaptation |
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| It had quite a nice atmosphere and setting but the pacing was a bit on the slow side. In general it sure was a lovely ova! |
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| Not bad. Another anime that introduced Japanese culture to international viewers. The animation and story is okay, and it would also be cool if this is a series. |
  ★━━─ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺? |
| meh boring conclusion i wouldve prefered it only being two of them were chosen and the mc deciding to quit and then the show continues to follow her doing whatever else.. |
| This should be a full series because it has potential. The dance and outfits were amazing, I hope those three become Maikos (too bad I won't see them become them). I hope in the future some studio will pick up a full anime of this one. 7/10. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
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