Back to nanami_cow's Profile nanami_cow's Profile

I happened to stumble across Video Girl Ai while I was clicking around on TV Tropes one day, and the plot sounded interesting, so I figured, "hey, it's only 6 episodes, so why don't I give it a shot?" And I'm pretty glad I did. This is an under appreciated gem. Even though it's listed as an ecchi, the fanservice is actually pretty tasteful, and it's much more focused on plot rather than fanservice. So, even if ecchi titles generally aren't your thing, you should still give this a chance.
The story is a romance with a slight supernatural element to it. At its heart, it's ... a love-triangle (well, actually more of a love square) between Youta (the main character), Ai the video girl, Moemi, and Youta's best friend. The whole thing was kind of cheesy, and it had an 80s brat pack movie kind of vibe (technically, the OVA came out in 1992, but lbr the early 90s were basically the 80s). I loved it despite its slight cheesiness, though. It was light-hearted, but with just the right amount of angst. The music was fun, and the art was very impressive. All of the animation was very fluid, and it seemed very ahead of its time (although there is some bad CGI in the opening). Even though the story was a little dated (it's about a girl who comes out of a VCR after all), it manages to hold up, largely thanks to the quality of the art. My only complaint would be that the two side characters, Moemi (Youta's crush) and Takashi were kind of lame. But Ai had enough spunky character for the both of them, really.
All in all, it was a solid show that's easy to pick up because it's so short. Despite it's length, it still manages to be satisfying. I would definitely give it a shot if you're into older shows, romances, or if you like fanservice that comes with a great story.