September 10, 2004
Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi Episode 1
"Spring Blossom"
It's pretty rare that anime series go for a second season, but the fact that Enishi is means that we have to start out with another introductory/recap episode. This one feels a lot like a recap episode where the show's creators are trying to sell the show. There's a whole lot of fairly meaningless stuff that goes on, that didn't happen in your average episode of the first season. On the one hand, it does a good job of showing you everything you can expect in an episode of Ai Yori Aoshi, but on the other hand, it makes for a disjointed, scattered episode.
Each character gets a tiny introduction that tries to introduce you to their main roles/traits in the standard harem anime mold. Aoi and Kaoru are introduced, along with the state of their relationship. There's also a moment of gratuitous, random Aoi fanservice, which felt like the most "hey, watch this show!" part of the entire episode.
It's two years after the end of the first season of Ai Yori Aoshi, but it doesn't seem like much has changed. Of course, this episode doesn't really tell you anything, so we'll have to wait and see.
Rating: B-
Posted by Kei at September 10, 2004 01:51 AM