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Now in Japan
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Tuesday, 15 November 2005 00:00 |
 Another season, and another deluge of dating-sims-turned-anime shows hits the airwaves. Canvas 2 ~Niji-iro no Sketch~ (the original Canvas
anime was an OVA series) follows trainee art teacher Hiroki Kamikura
and the girls he teaches - with a little side interest from another
member of the school staff. With originality being a lost cause
in harem / dating series, it all comes down to presentation, so how
does Canvas 2 manage..?
1 - Forbidden Classic Red
Hiroki Kamikura is one year away from qualifying as an art teacher at
Nadesico Academy, a high school that specialises in artistic
subjects. He's also the guardian to Ellis Housen, his younger
cousin whose parents were killed in a motor accident several years
earlier. It's Ellis' first day at Nadesico Academy, but her
direct manner and overly-familiar attitude to Hiroki (they do live
together, after all) don't endear her to the other students. When
a painting by the art club chairman is defaced, suspicion immediately
falls on Ellis. Later, Hiroki receives a surprise when Kiri
Kikyou, a girl he's been dreaming about lately and is now all grown up,
arrives at the school...
Canvas 2 isn't a bad show by any stretch, but another
h-game turned harem anime
isn't really what I'm looking for at the moment. The visual
presentation of the show is good, in terms of character designs and
animation quality - it would be a little bit ironic if a show with an
artistic theme didn't look the part - but, so far at least, there's no
real sign that it's going to try and do anything out of the ordinary.
I suppose one break from the usual tradition is the inclusion of a
girl who's an obvious shoe-in for Hiroki's affections.
Teacher-pupil relationships seem to be more accepted in anime than in
the real world so I suppose pairing Hiroki up with one of his students
isn't out of the question, but the appearance of Kiri on the scene,
along with her highschool confession to him, gives some fairly strong
pointers to where things may go.
I had to laugh at one glaring plothole, though. There's a lot of
emphasis in this episode about Ellis' fear of the colour red, and the
reasons behind it. Shame someone forgot to take into account her
bright red pantsu, as featured in the opening scenes, and her
mostly-red school uniform. Not quite as big a phobia as it would seem, huh?
A quick cast round-up for harem fans who have more time in their
schedules than I do. Hiroki Kamikura, as mentioned, is the male
lead - a trainee art teacher, who won't draw anything himself for reasons yet to
be revealed,
but he's happy to teach & critique other people's work. Ellis
Honsen is his blonde cousin who lives with him as her own parents are
now dead - she definitely has something of a brother complex.
Hagino Kana is the little redhead that loli-fans will love, young &
inquisitive with detailed computer records on everything that goes on
around Nadesico Academy. Takeuchi Mami is the chairwoman of the
art club, formal & proper most of the time, although she sees Ellis
as a possible artistic rival which could possibly change that.
Hikari Tamaru is the stereotypical shy & quiet type, while Kiri
Kikyou - the girl from Hiroki's dreams who confessed her love to him in
high school - is the latest member of staff at the Academy and the
obvious choice for future love interest.
Personally, I won't be sticking with Canvas 2, but it's
more due to lack of time than lack of interest. Diehard harem /
slice-of-life fans may well find enough here to keep them interested
for longer, though.
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