Pioneer raped Aoi
July 8th, 2007 by AuthorThe usual suspects weigh in on the subject of Ai yori Aoshi in general and Aoi in particular in comments at Chizumatic.
Ai Yori Aoshi… I’m conflicted on this show. I -like- the parts with Aoi and Kaoru. Had the whole show been about them, it would have made me very happy. But unfortunately, it’s not; their story gets embedded in a harem plot, and while some of the alternate characters are a lot of fun (Tina is among my favorite Americans-in-anime), there’s too many little girls involved and those little girls spend more time naked than I’m comfortable with.
He is quite right, IMHO. Naked girls are no problem; don’t let this non-issue to bother you, I just left it in the quote for completeness. The real problem is, turning the promising story into a generic harem was a crime against all that is good. The issues with respective families, succession of commercial empire, and the love provided all ingridients necessary for a competent scriptwriter.
The question is, would it sell? That we cannot answer. Back then, harem wasn’t as oversaturated as it is now, but it certainly was a staple. On the other hand, people still buy Maison Ikkoku.
I have the first two episodes on my iPod and rewatch them often, and I just do not care for the rest. I didn’t even bother to buy remaining DVDs.
As far as being a strong woman goes, she’s definitely the “if you don’t sing, I’ll wait” type; people walk all over her until they finally give in.
I think J is wrong, even although it’s common to question Aoi’s strongwoman credentials (for example, Astro does the same). The whole runaway business was an action, wasn’t it? Overall, I’m solidly in Shamus’ corner on this issue (Based on two episodes, ok? I’m having my dream here, if you please.)
UPDATE: If he weren’t so salacious, the propreitor of Karmaburn would’ve been my spiritual twin. Just look at this:
I’m so pissed at Ai Yori Aoshi. That show had so much potential. …
Ai Yori Aoshi quickly turns into a harem comedy, and a bad one at that. And that’s the real tragedy. If they had just stuck with the two leads, kept them in Kaoru’s small apartment, and simply made it an anime about the demands and serendipity before them it would have been an amazing show. Curiously, this is an approach that no show appears willing to take. Even Kare Kano wouldn’t do it.