 If there's one thing that comes to mind after this volume of Ai Yori Aoshi, it's "Where's Aoi?!"...
5 - Piano
Mayu's mother has sent her a present - a dress, designed just for her.
All she needs now is an opportunity to show it off, so she railroads
Kaoru into going on a date with her (much to Tina's disgust, and it
takes some explaining to get it past Aoi). Of course, Mayu's so
focussed on showing off her dress that she forgets to decide where to
go... With that sort of start, just how good a date can it be?
6 - Journey
End of term approaches, and Kaoru needs to hand in his thesis before
the holidays begin. Problem is, he's having a hard time getting any
peace and quiet at the house to get it done. He eventually points out
to everyone that he needs some space to work on it, but even that
doesn't seem to get him the free time he needs. If he doesn't get it
done, he'll be spending his summer holidays in supplementary classes -
but what are the odds of his housemates leaving him alone for long
enough to work on it?
7 - Summer Resort
Summer holidays - and with his thesis out of the way, Kaoru has the
chance to go away for a summer break with the rest of the gang - as
long as they can survive Taeko's driving (according to the guys at the
game centre, she's really good...). Once there, it's straight to the
onsen for most of the gang, while Aoi and Kaoru try to get some quality
time together. Easier said than done, especially when Mayu shows up...
8 - Fish and Water
Chika's back in school ahead of the new term - not for lessons, but for
swim club practice. While Chika & Natsuki have no problems
swimming, their friend Chizuru just about drowns everytime she gets in
the pool. With a competition coming up & Chizuru somehow managing
to get selected, some expert tuition is needed. Sadly, the only person
available is Tina...
More focus on Chika & Mayu, and depressingly little of Aoi, who
is reduced almost to a cameo role in these episodes - it's a big
failing of ~Enishi~ that it seems to forget about its biggest
asset, focussing instead on the rest of the harem. It makes no sense to
me to ignore the star of the show in favour of the supporting
stereotypes.
Not that I'm saying these episodes are bad - just that, more than ever, AYA seems to have lost sight of where it began and what the main story should be. Most of these episodes are quite enjoyable in their own right (Journey
would be the weakest of the bunch, while the other three are good fun,
in a typically mindless way), but I do wish there was more of Kaoru
& Aoi together.
Kind of ironic, really, when during the first season I was
complaining that the show really didn't seem to know if it was a
touching romance or a harem comedy, For ~Enishi~, the writers seem to have decided which path to stick to - and I have to say I think they made the wrong choice.
Overall, this disc provides a good dose of comedy, but could be so much more.
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