Sister Princess RePure is the second series based on
the Sister Princess dating sims. It's about 12 sisters who like their brother
a lot, and that's all there is to it. There is even less plot than the first series,
which wasn't plot-heavy in the first place. RePure does not refer to the
first series at all, as the sisters and their brother all live apart from each
other. Their brother looks the same as in the first series but his voice actor
is different, he acts more grown up, and his name is never mentioned (it was Wataru
in the first series). RePure consists of 2 distinct parts. The first part
(labeled "Stories") features inconsistent artwork, and simplistic plots involving some
of the sisters and their brother going somewhere to do something. Now I love slice
of life shows but RePure can be a chore to go through at times because the girls are extremely shallow
(their love for brother borders on the obsessive), the dialogue is banal, and
the only conflicts consists of things like Karen worrying about brother being
sad and disappointed because there's a nasty chocolate ice cream stain on the
pretty dress she bought to show off to brother. Kaho loses her gift for brother
and panics. Mamoru is afraid brother doesn't like tomboyish girls. Kaho worries
about her weight (she's like 6 years old). The older girls have slightly less
mundane worries, but an intelligent character study this ain't. A couple of episodes
are quite enjoyable though, most notably the Chikage episode, and whenever the girls
enjoy the simple things in life.
But. The second
part of each episode (labeled "Character") is shorter but totally different
from the first part. The focus is on one girl who will narrate about her dreams,
her past with brother, and her love for him. Combined with beautiful art, completely
different character designs, good animation, and a lovely new song each episode
composed and performed by Ritsuko Okazaki (who also did the songs for Fruits
Basket, Princess Tutu, and UFO Princess Walkure), these bits
are very very lovely. There's a certain poetry and beauty to it all which I find
irresistible. It's like a completely different production team worked on it. Why
couldn't the whole show be like this?
Luckily the
"Stories" and "Character" segments are actually released separately
on R2 DVD! If you even remotely liked the first Sister Princess series,
I recommend grabbing the "Character" boxset (all 12 "Character"
segments and the "Character" audio cd).
(3.5)
