 Ai Yori Aoshi's sort-of-schitzophrenic nature has annoyed many a fan - some prefer the AYA-the-love-story aspect, best shown in Volume 1, others prefer the AYA-the-harem-show side, while the show itself can't seem to make up its mind... So what do we get with Volume 4?
Sorry, love-story fans - this is almost entirely harem filler stuff, with the exception of a few small scenes in the disc's final episode...
Shores
Summer! Beach! Swimsuits! You get the picture. Also the arrival of new
girl Chika, Taeko's younger cousin, who obviously spends far too much
time in the sun. Usual beach episode routine follows, but is Taeko
developing 'feelings' for Kaoru?
Waves
Beach story continues, with a healthy dose of onsen just in case the
swimsuits didn't work for you. Chika's quick on the uptake & has
noticed Taeko's attraction to Kaoru. Knowing her cousin isn't the most
forward of people, she takes matters into her own hands & works
towards getting the two of them together. Can Kaoru resist when he's
stuck in the shower with a naked Tae-chin?
Bedsharing
After two episodes of Taeko chasing after Kaoru, it's Tina's turn. A
daytrip to the zoo turns into a date, sort of, as everyone else drops
out leaving Tina & Kaoru on their own. A freak storm makes matters
worse, however, leaving the two of them to spend the night in a love
hotel. Yup, it's another test of Kaoru's hormone control...
Lap Pillow
Chika comes to visit under the pretence of needing some help with her
holiday homework, when it seems that what she's really after is some
companionship. Being an only child she feels she's missed out on a lot
of the 'family' experience, and looks to Aoi & co for some of that
- particularly as one of her holiday assignments is to write an essay
on 'my family holiday', and she's at a loss for what to write...
Cure
Cultural Festival time, and the photo club are putting on a Cosplay
Cafe. Until Tina accidentally ruins things by releasing reptiles over
the customers. So it's down to plan 'B', featuring Aoi with neko-mimi
& her specialty Japanese tea. Unfortunately for Kaoru, the whole
traditional tea-ceremony thing brings back unwelcome memories of his
time with the Hanabishi...
Okay, let's see.... If you're looking for the love story between Aoi
and Kaoru to advance here, you'll be sadly disappointed. This is very
much a 'summer of fun' disc and focusses almost totally on the show's
other women. For the one episode where they could have made more of it (Cure), it's only briefly touched upon & then pushed back into the background, which was disappointing.
The 'contrived' award goes to Lap Pillow, particularly Aoi's
'We're all family' speech at the end. This really came out of nowhere
& for the life of me I still can't figure out what part of Chika's
behaviour would've prompted it. It's a minor gripe, however.
This volume's worth depends on what you were looking for. To get the
most out of it, you'll be wanting to go into it with your mind switched
off & looking for some shallow fun - it has that in spades &
will be very entertaining if that's all you want. If you're looking for
something with a bit more depth and emotion - which AYA can do when it wants to - you'll be disappointed. |
