Mizuiro (2003)

2 reviews - 8.0 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (4.0)

Creator - Nekoneko Software
Director - Kiyotaka Isako

2.Ganoen

A surprisingly clean remake of a hentai-based series, Mizuiro revolves around a high school student named Kenji who lives with his sister Yuki (and supposedly his parents, though they are MIA for the duration of the series). He hears noises coming from an old closet, and when he finally opens it, a childhood friend named Hiyori he thought had moved away spills out. The ensuing tale is sweet without being saccharine and more than a little wistful as Yuki struggles with her guilt over a broken promise while she and Kenji try to discover the reason behind Hiyori's mysterious appearance. Despite its short 2-episode run, Mizuiro manages to explain most aspects of the plot and, while not quite tying everything up in a neat bow, leaves you hopeful about the future.

The art and animation in this series is topnotch. Everything is bright and attractive, and flashbacks are done in a nice pink-orange hue. The voice acting is all there too with one exception. The seiyuu for Hiyori unfortunately damages the series by locking her voice into a plaintive wail in almost every scene. I suppose she was trying to convey Hiyori's relative immaturity and innocence, but the result is more annoying than anything and impacts the series heavily since she's on-screen a lot.

My only other complaint with the series is its use of the childhood friend/memories theme that I see so often in romantic anime like Love Hina and Ai Yori Aoshi. The idea that relationships are set in motion around the age of 9 seems to recur a lot in romantic anime. Still, Mizuiro puts such a fresh twist on it (no one comes falling out of a closet in any other anime I can think of) that it's a minor issue. I'd love to see a longer non-hentai version of the series.

1. Tempy

After the hentai game and the hentai ova series, comes another version of Mizuiro. This time however it's fit for all ages, lacks any fanservice, and concentrates solely on the story and characters. Brought to you by the staff responsible for other hentai-game-to-non-hentai-anime conversions such as Comic Party, To Heart and Kanon, Mizuiro (2003) succeeds in producing a bittersweet tale.

One day clumsy Hiyori appears from out of Kenji's dresser. Kenji and his sister Yuki used to be Hiyori's childhood friends, but Hiyori moved away a long time ago. Now she's back, but in spirit form!

Essentially a romantic triangle, Yuki has feelings for her brothers that she's not supposed to have, Kenji tries to figure out what tragedy has befallen Hiyori, and Hiyori tries to regain her memories while lamenting the fact that she cannot touch anything anymore. Promises are made and broken, Mizuiro (2003) covers a few of the usual "bishoujo game" themes, but executed so well, I couldn't help but enjoy it.