Game, Anime: Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien was originally a PC dating sim released in 2001 by age, and was later ported as a family-friendly version known as Rumbling Hearts to the Dreamcast by Alchemist (who also did a port of Aria the Natural and Bincho-tan), and to the PS2 by Princess Soft.
The anime itself was produced by Studio Fantasia (who also produced the Saikano OVA and did the animation for The End of Evangelion), and directed by Tetsuya Watanabe (who also produced the Tsubasa and xxxHOLIC movies). It ran on Japanese TV from October 5th, 2003 to January 4th, 2004, and has been licensed Stateside by Funimation; the third and final volume was released March 27th of this year.
Story: The first few episodes focus on the developing relationship between two high-schoolers (Takayuki and Haruka), and how Haruka's friend (Mitsuki), who also has feelings for Takayuki is dealing with this. Don't immediately write this off as your stereotypical shoujo romance, though; in the second episode, Haruka gets into an accident that sends her into a coma. The next episode picks up three years later, with Mitsuki and Takayuki in a relationship, and Haruka just coming out of her coma. The rest of the series is centered around what happens because of Haruka's waking up.
This is one of the best romances I've seen in a good long time. There's a real push-and-pull between Mitsuki and Haruka, whereas you're clearly meant to side with one or the other in most series. Also, one of the reasons for the first two episodes, which may seem unnecessary at first glance, is to establish all the characters and get you involved before they start getting into the real meat of the story. And damn, does the actual story of the series deliver. Like Saikano, if this series doesn't make you cry, or at least get close to it, at least once, you're a heartless bastard.
There's one thing I didn't like about this series, though: all the female characters. Yeah, I understand that there's going to be a lot of them, what with it being based off a dating sim and all, but about half of them were simply two-dimensional and simply put there comic relief. Here's the thing: they could've limited the story to just Mitsuki, Takayuki, Shinji (another one of Takayuki's friends), the girl he's pursuing, Haruka and her family, and the series wouldn't have suffered at all, though it would've been a bit more depressing.
Also, if you don't like the way the series turned out, there is an OVA that's due to come out on December 21st in Japan that gives the happy ending for the girl who didn't end up with Takayuki (what, you thought I'd spoil it for you?).
Art: I love the way they did the eyes in this series. I know that's an odd thing to pick out, but they really stuck out to me. Otherwise, the art's pretty standard; good quality, and pretty. The only real color scheme I noticed was a tendency towards blues, purples, and greens, which are some of my favorite colors.
Music: The OP and ED aren't anything to write home about, really; the OP's the standard female upbeat number, and the ED's a female balladish-type of song. The background music's heavy on strings and piano, and it's nice enough, but it doesn't really stand out all that much.
Length: Just the right length; honestly, I probably couldn't have taken any more than what they had here, and any shorter than this, and it would've screwed the story over.
Seiyuu: Takayuki's seiyuu also played Seiji in Midori no Hibi and Eusis in Nishi no Yoki Majo: Astraea Testament, and Daisuke Ono shows up in a throwaway role, so that's a nice touch. Good cast, overall.
Overall: An excellent story with a strong emotional core that gets you invested in all its characters and pretty eyes.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 7/10
Length: 8/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Overall: 39/50; 78% (C)
