I"s

3 reviews - 5.0 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (1.7)

3. Olmanek

It is a unique talent to be able to tell a story filled with murder, love, relationships, even motorbike chases and make it entirely unexciting, but that talent is well achieved in this wretchedly wrought, incomprehensible and lackluster OAV.

See, I think it is generally understood that if a story is going to be character driven, you would then try to make the viewer feel empathy for the characters, and try not to craft the characters as lifeless pathetic and boring, this OAV however decided to go against the norm, totally unconventional logic, and it did it brilliantly, consequently making itself totally unmatchable. Strange incoherent flashbacks to scenes meant to be of importance which were poorly executed and failed entirely to capture a feeling of nostalgia also contribute to make this OAV the height of tedium.

The animation is quite good, very nice use of colours and the character design is very similar to that of Video Girl Ai, which as I've read is because of the man responsible for Video Girl Ai is also partially responsible for I"s. So in that department there is nothing to complain of, but every other aspect is weak.

If nothing else, this OAV will help you appreciate how important it is to have a reliable director at the helm for a story to make it worth taking notice of, so much hinges of the direction of a series that even with a good story any piece can become terrible. And unfortunately this OAV seemed to have almost none of the necessary qualities to make it good.

2. Tempy

Loosely based on Masakazu Katsura's (Video Girl Ai) popular manga series, I"s follows Ichitaka, Iori and Itsuki during a fateful summer. Intended to be dramatic and nostalgic, the execution is simply dreadful. There are flashbacks every few minutes, and they're repeated as well. Flashbacks can be used well, but not if it continuously takes the viewer away from what's currently important. When tension builds up -BAM!- we go to a flashback. The music is poorly synchronized and wanders around nervously, never settling down to a set pattern of notes. It's like a kid pressing some random keys on the synthesizer in succession. Very annoying. The story is rife with stupidity as well as featuring some rather unpleasant characters. To top it all off, the resolution is ineffective, unsatisfying, and totally unbelievable. Katsura deserved better.

1. End of Hearts

Completely unsatisfying is the only way to describe this OVA. Muddled with awful direction, flat and horribly applied music, and uninspiring characters, I"s, pronounced “eyes,” is a disgrace to what the manga truly represents. I"s OVA takes on a different story, using the same characters and basic concept of boy loves girl. Gone from the manga are the great interactions, suspense of decisions and events that happen between the lead and girls he throughout the manga meet up with. The OVA’s are wonderfully drawn, but too many useless fanservice scenes, tangled with the unexciting music simply just do not deliver. On its own, the story in which I"s takes is different, so a person who read the manga will not know what is going to happen. Murder, love, promises, done before, yet at the end, I appreciated what the OVA’s were trying to accomplish.