July 25, 2004
Ai Yori Aoshi Episode 11
"Debutante"
Oh. My. God.
I think J.C. Staff should be embarassed by the English in the first part of this episode. It's bad enough when the "English" girl tries to speak it ("Here is not motor circuit."), but when Tina, our American character, forgets English, I wanted to put my head through the screen. I think the really funny part about it is how much Mayu's voice actress changes pitch and tone when she speaks English instead of Japanese.
Ai Yori Aoshi is a harem show, so the more challengers for Kaoru's affections the better! This time it's Mayu, a (presumably) childhood friend of Kaoru's who was sent off to London so she could learn English. Now she's back and immediately is back in love with Kaoru. Being the nice guy that he is, Kaoru isn't really able to fight her off, and agrees to spend some time with her (which naturally makes Aoi worried).
This entire episode is used to explain Mayu's character, or rather, her main characteristic, which is her loneliness. Above being told that she's a solitary girl, this is reinforced by visuals, her attitudes, direct observations in dialogue, etc. I'm not really sure if an entire episode was necessary for this introduction, I think we all get the point.
Rating: C
Posted by Kei at July 25, 2004 11:05 PM