Reviews

As soon as the words came out that Bungaku Shojo was going to be animated as a film and OVA trilogy, I was very excited to hear the news as one of the loyal fans of the Bungaku Shojo light novel series. The opening theme of the OVA gave me a initial impression that was very positive; not only it was a good way of introducing the major characters in the novel, but it was also visually pleasing, especially with the surreal background of sunset shining on Amano’s face with a slight red hue and the beautifully-rendered colored marbles flowing out of Amano’s hands. Later, the quality of the visuals remained solid with the episode itself with no apparent drop in quality. However, I was slightly annoyed that some of the drawing felt bit angular such as the hairstyle and the jaw of certain character’s face. On the other hand, I think it had the advantage of keeping the characters crisp without any unnecessary details that would distract viewers from enjoying the overall mood of the story.

The classic music in the background matched well very well with the overall atmosphere of the show, which was light-hearted and calming in the most part yet dramatic and serious in some crucial moments. Also, the lightening effect was employed with precision for similar purpose as above, as the shadow caused by the sunset fills the most of the screen when Amano finds about the retirement of Miu Inoue and it is again filled with bright light when she discovers and meets with Konoha Inoue at the school.While there’s really nothing particular to note about the side characters’ voice acting, I really liked the decision to use Hanazawa Kana for Amano’s role as her youthful and energetic voice fits well with the literature girl image. (Just to note, Hanazawa does also very good job of acting quiet girls like Fujiwara Sora in Sketchbook and Sengoku Nadeko in Bakemonogatari) To be frank, I also really look forward Hirano Aya and Mizuki Nana’s voice acting in the future episodes of Memoire OVA.

Even though Bungaku Shōjo did not seem to be a high-budget production, I should give credit to the director, Shunsuke Tada, for keeping the OVA consistent with the novel while making efficient use of the available resources. Overall, the OVA should be appreciated by the fans of Bungaku Shōjo, while remaining enjoyable for those who have faced the series for the first time.

Source: https://blogs.emory.edu/animec/2010/07/17/bungaku-shojo-memoir-i-yume-miru-shoujo-no-prelude-ova/