August 10, 2004
Ai Yori Aoshi Episode 13
"Star Festival"
Ah! My Goddess is obviously not the be-all-end-all of this sort of show, but I couldn't help but think that this episode was an amalgamation of many of the episodes of Ah! My Goddess, mixed into one. You've got Kaoru working all the jobs to buy that special gift for Aoi, and then a line that's almost straight out of Ah! My Goddess about being together this year, and every year after that, etc.
The "twist" of this episode, is pretty obvious almost from the get-go. It's not that bad, though, and doesn't take away a lot fromt he episode.
It's very convenient, for the purposes of creating emotional moments, that Aoi's confidence in herself is almost nonexistant. The second Kaoru shows disinterest towards her, her entire emotional fabric seems to come apart, leading inevitably to a scene where Kaoru makes everything better, while Aoi cries and is relieved. I guess it's hard for me to accept this girl who is so fragile that she goes to pieces at the slightest sign of problems. You'd think she would have figured out that Kaoru actually really does like her. Makes you wonder what might happen if something bad came to pass, and how she'd be able to deal with that.
Of course, this show is the guy's point of view, so of course the female is going to be constantly reinforcing Kaoru's control, and his command of the situation. This has pretty much been my biggest complaint with the show, and doesn't seem to be getting any better.
Complaints aside, this is your average episode for a show of this type, nothing really special, but nothing really wrong with it.
Rating: B
Posted by Kei at August 10, 2004 01:46 AM