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| 5. Iodine
A sweet, character-driven little fantasy-romance about a girl
who pops out of young man's television one night in order to help him with his
romantic problems. This matchmaker plot may be as old as the hills, but it meshes
nicely with the OAV's light fantasy elements and suburban Japanese setting. Though
it seems to share a lot with other supernaturally-themed romances, it's the intrinsic
differences from shows like Oh My Goddess and its imitators that make the
series work so well. Basic everyday interactions, rather than flashy dramatics,
have the focus here, giving Ai and Youta the chance to comfortably establish their
relationship and help us get to know them. It doesn't hurt that the main characters
really are a charming pair, especially Megumi Hayashibara in fine form
as the irresistable Ai. The secondaries are also very well developed with strong
personalities of their own. As is the usual for romances,
the series is done in pale colors, with restrained but very expressive designs.
The animation is about on par with most OAVs of its time, and the music is pleasant,
unobtrusive schmaltz. Good dialogue and a tight story make this one of the most
genuine, most delightful romance anime to date. The six episodes only cover a
fraction of the manga, so there's a distinct lack of conclusion to the story,
but that doesn't hurt it in the least. |
| 4. Cross
Scars
From a magical video store High School pupil Youta Moteuchi
picks out a video girl of his choice to help him get over the fact that Moemi,
the girl he likes, in fact is in love with his best friend. During his viewing
of his chosen tape, much to Youta's surprise, out of the television comes Ai,
Youta's chosen video girl and so together they aim to win over Moemi. Video
Girl Ai seems the type of romance anime that doesn't get made very often anymore
and that's a shame give the quality of these series. VGAi may only be six
episodes long but in that short space of time it still manages to superbly craft
a real sense of feeling between the characters. Until almost the very last episode
the only characters involved are the three friends and Ai but it's this sort of
focus that allows us to get in synch with the characters. The relationships between
them progress at the perfect pace and the love triangle involved keeps you uncertain
until right near the end. The series builds to a very touching conclusion and
as each episode ends so the emotions rise as, in a device borrowed by the much
more recent Mahoromatic, we see the video clock click down the time until
Ai has to return to her video. Perhaps the series could have down with a more
impressive soundtrack to really intensify certain moments but the characters feelings
still come across brilliantly despite this. The Video
Girl Ai OAV may not contain all that is in the manga but none the less this
is an excellent romance anime easily up there with the best in this genre. |
| 3. Polaris
Video Girl AI, also known as Denei Shoujo, is
one of my favorites. The plot of Video Girl AI is "Guy likes girl,
girl likes someone else" with a twist. Youta likes Moemi, who in turn likes
Youta's popular best friend Takashi. Takashi, however, does not like Moemi and
rejects her. After seeing Moemi hurt by Takashi, Youta tells Moemi that he will
help get them together even though he likes her. This is all nice until Youta
goes to an adult video store and rents a movie. The movie when played causes AI
to come out of his TV. AI, like Youta, hears the story and decides to help get
Youta and Moemi together. Unfortunately, AI starts liking Youta and this is where
things get complicated. I really love Video Girl AI, so it was really hard
to give it a four. The problem is that the OAV's are nothing like the manga which
tells the story so much better. Also, the beginning of the OAV's can be confusing
with the multiple flashbacks unless you have read the manga previously. Another
problem I had with the OAV's is that there are only six episodes while it should
have continued past as the manga had done. However, the characters are transferred
from manga to the anime really well and Megumi Hayashibara was the perfect
voice for AI I also liked the music, especially "Ureshii Namida"
and "Message" (the song at the end of the first episode). The
omake stuff was really funny too. All in all Video Girl AI is a wonderful
show but I would recommend you read the manga first or else it probably will not
have the full effect. |
| 2. Tempy
 
Yota is in love with Moemi, who's in love with Yota's best
friend Takashi, who in turn isn't interested in Moemi at all. Despite his feelings
for Moemi, Yota tries to make Moemi happy by getting her and Takashi together.
After suffering more pain from his unrequited love, Yota encounters a mysterious
video store and rents a naughty looking videotape. AI emerges from this tape,
but because Yota's VCR is faulty, AI is not the perfect and innocent girl on the
tape, but rather an energetic tomboy, whose breasts have also mysteriously shrunk.
Seeing Yota's love for Moemi, AI vows to help them get together, but things become
a bit complicated when she starts having feelings for Yota... Well, what can I
say, the manga by Masakazu Katsura is better. While AI is very cute and
lovable, the execution of the story disappointed me. While there are several good
scenes, most of the time the script, directing and editing are strictly average.
Scenes with Ai are very good and enjoyable, but everything else becomes a chore
to watch. The music is also decidedly unimpressive and fails to evoke the emotions
inherent to Katsura's story. In the anime battle of shounen romantic comedies,
Oh My Goddess reigns supreme. |
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