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2. Iodine 
A dated love comedy about the lives of Miki Koishikawa
and Yuu Matsuura, two teenagers whose parents have
traded partners with each other, and landed both kids
together in the same house. Romance soon blossoms
between the step-siblings, but determined rivals and
difficult circumstances continually threaten to come
between them. While the writing is inventive and the
premise is good, the show's faults are numerous and
not easily ignored. The biggest problems lie in the
maudlin dramatics, that keep the show from ever being
more than a teen soap opera. Miki and Yuu's
tumultuous relationship is such that even the smallest
misunderstandings can lead to crisis, and most
episodes end with "shocking" revelations. The characters don't help either. Yuu is handsome but
bland, while Miki is the type of girl who overreacts to everything, and can squeal her boyfriend's name at
an incredibly high pitch. Another big headache is the length of the show, that drags on past several obvious
stopping points to end at whopping seventy-six episodes.
The graphics are rudimentary and taken almost straight from the comics. Much like Hana Yori Dango, the
budget was obviously not very large, and recycled scenes are frequent. The style is bent on being as cute and sweet as possible. Various trinkets are used
for plot devices, and only the most benign of romantic
activities are even shown. The music is full of
plaintive vocals, that can get very hard on the ears with repetition. The secondary romances are more
entertaining than the central one, and the secondary characters tend to outshine the central couple too.
More than anything, Marmalade Boy feels like a junior high girl's fantasy of what a high school
romance should be, and thereby is unlikely to be very entertaining to anyone else.
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| 1. Olmanek
It certainly takes a toll on your emotions, this is not the
type of anime you can watch unscathed, happiness sadness and various other emotions
are commonplace in this series, as one would expect from its outer appearance.
I can't stress how impressed I was with this series, entirely character driven,
and of the highest proficiency, it is not an easy thing to develop a story around
characters rather than some grand storyline. Without becoming arrogant it cleverly
weaves through the emotions and general nature of the characters, pushing the
series forward from this. Mainly focusing on countless love triangles, with each
character belonging from 1 up to 4, though usually at different times. Enjoyably
they present some of the more genuinely likeable characters in anime, and, because
of the length without making any sudden and generally absurd realizations which
make them complacent for the rest of the series, every selfish action has an unfortunate
side effect, every unfortunate side effect allows for growth and possibility,
it's really quite brilliant. |
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