Friday, June 08, 2007
Ai Yori Aoshi: 5. With All My HeartHarem shows are a dime a dozen these days. The premise which started way back with Tenchi Muyo was repeated over and over through the years. You take a rather awkward teenage boy and surround him with gorgeous women who all have the hots for him. While there have been variations on it over the years with such series like Angel Tales with the girls being pets and series like Love Hina where all characters are made as unlikeable as can be.
Ai Yori Aoshi is at the higher end of the harem spectrum. What makes this show interesting is not the fanservice as clearly that is not overwhelming in the show but it's the fact that it does set out to tell a story and include some very interesting cultural overtones such as the traditional lifestyles of Aoi's family blending with the more western and modern style of Kaoru and how it shows that while the two may not mesh well all the time, there are high points of both.
I personally really enjoyed Ai Yori Aoshi despite the fact that it took me so long to watch it all. The show really, for me, is a great relief from the pratfall a minute and two-dimensional characters that so many harem type shows have as standard. It was also refreshing to see Kaoru as such a strong male lead who can stand up for himself and not be a pervert or doormat like so many other male leads seem to be.
Ai Yori Aoshi is easy to recommend. It has a lot of laughs and a lot of quiet moments to get you thinking about the characters and their life. If you want to see if a harem show can be deeper than Love Hina, you can't do much better than Ai Yori Aoshi.
Highly recommended!
