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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 11 May 2005 13:55 |
 Arriving at around the same time as the Ichigo 100%
TV series, this one-off episode gives a little bit of a taster as to
what to expect, although I'd expect the TV version to be a little less
fanservice-y. On that basis of this episode, though, I'm curious
enough to give the TV series a good chance...
Love Starts!? Photography Training Camp ~Shaking Heart Going to the East and West~
Junpei Manaka has a problem with girls - there's just too many of them
he likes. He seems to be making some progress with at least one
of them, though, when he finds a scantily-clad Yui next to him one
morning. Problem is, neither of them can quite remember why she's
there. Never mind that, though. Junpei and the rest of the
Photography Club are away on a club trip, making an amateur movie -
Junpei's sent to meet Toujou, one of the club members, from the local
train station, but they get lost on their way back to the camp.
To make things worse, a storm brews up, so the two of them take refuge
in an abandoned building. Thunder, lightning, wet clothes - could
this be another chance for Jinpei to get lucky? It's all good
until the rest of the gang come looking for them. Later, the
traditional 'test of courage' leads to some opportunities with
Nishino...
The one great advantage about OVA episodes is that they can ramp
the fanservice way up without annoying anyone. It's great.
:) Ichigo 100% doesn't go too far over the top, but it definitely
has its fanservice moments.
Junpei has a harem of four girls to work through - Toujou
(brunette), Nishino (blonde), Satsuki (ponytail), Yui (blue-haired),
and there's the usual range of personalities and attitudes. The
difference between this and most harem shows, as least from appearances
here (I've never read the manga it's based on), is that Junpei would be
quite happy to jump the bones of any one of them. Even better if
it's all four. He's just too shy to carry through on that notion,
but it makes for some good comedy moments watching him deal with their
approaches & his inability to carry through.
The OVA jumps into the middle of the story & doesn't give any of
the setup - that's what the TV series is presumably there for - but
harem shows are usually simple enough that you don't need much of an
introduction, and Ichigo 100% is no exception. If
this episode had been truly bad, it would have given me an excuse to
write the TV series off, but it's not, so watch for some thoughts on it
soon.
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