Harem; Romance @nimes Recommendations
Comments(1) If you haven’t noticed, there have been lots of delays this week in terms of the release of animes. This is mainly due to one thing, examinations. It’s true that most fansubs are either university students or college students, so the only thing plagueing them from fansubbing is mainly due to school work. Since I haven’t had anything to post, I may as well talk some crap.
The first crap that I’m going to talk about may be crap to some, but treasure to some. I’m going to recommend my all time favourites and recommendations of Harem; Romance animes.
The reason why I placed Shuffle! first in rankings is the fact that this anime is so popular that a recap has to be remake to cleanse the evil desires of Shuffle! in fans. Shuffle! airs in 2005 July and ends slightly pass the new year in 2006. It contains 24 episodes and is no doubt one of the best harem romance animes around. Currently it has already been licensed and dubbed by a U.S based company FUNimation. I got to say, the dubbing was pretty bad. The character voice doesn’t suit the character itself. That’s why I prefer reading subtitles instead. Speaking of the remake, it’s just a recap of Shuffle! and contains an original fan service episode as episode 12. Honestly speaking, I feel that the recap isn’t done nicely as it’s based on the characters. Each character is split into 2 parts and is separated in chronological order. It gives the entire Shuffle! anime a poor remake of the original counterpart. I think this is by part due to the company trying to ern some money as the Shuffle! craze was still hot. Shuffle! Memories air from January on 2007 to end of March. Exactlly 1 year after the original Shuffle! series ends. As for the storyline of the original Shuffle!, it’s perfect and the development of the characters are not too fast or slow. The main protagonist chose a good choice as his partner. This, I do not wish to spoil those who have not watched. However, my favourite character in the series in Asa Shigure. The anime has perfectly developed her arc right from the gradual start to the end. Even after watching Shuffle! for countless of times, I still do not get bored of it. It’s touching and is a definite choice for someone who loves romance to watch. Just a warning though, Harem animes are designed to the fact that if a viewer supports the girl which do not end up with the main protagonist, it will be quite hard to swallow, but that’s the thrill of watching harem. Over the years, the countless harem that i’ve watched, no many end to suit my taste but overall it’s still nice to watch.
2. Da Capo I; D.C.S.S; Da Capo II; D.C.II.SS
Yes, Da Capo is the very first harem anime that got my attention. In fact I was involved in the subbing of the anime with a defunct fansub group called HQA fansubs. It was a joint together with AnimeOne fansubs. Da Capo has lots of cliff-hangers and is slightly not as well developed as Shuffle! due to the quality of animation at that time. Da Capo airs in 2003, and mind you it’s such a long time ago. Basically, Da Capo is a harem anime has a clearly defined main female and main character. Even noobs who have never watched harem before will be able to guess who the main male character end up with by not more that 5 episodes. Da Capo is light-hearted and consist of a mixture of comedy and romance. However, it does hae it’s climax seriousness just like Shuffle!. Da Capo ended in a pretty bad shape as Sakura left and Nemu and Junichiro remained passive and do not have any developments. However, a second season dubbed Da Capo Second Season returns with much nicer drawings of the characters. Junichiro had a transformation in his hair from brown to black. The second season introduces a new character similar to the role of Sakura in season 1 who finally realises her mistake. The new girl called Aisha came to learn magic from Sakura’s and Junichiro’s grandmother who already passed away. Aisha then pestered Sakura to teach magic which Sakura refuses due to the fact of her regretting her naive actions in season 1 which caused a disaster. Aisha, however, stood firm to the fact that magic can bring happiness to everyone which Sakura over the course of the anime tries to teach her. Unfortunately, Aisha finally managed to use magic on the Sakura tree and caused a series of changes. In the end, Aisha realised her mistake like Sakura and revets the magic. She then attends Nemu’s and Junichiro’s wedding as a mature magician.
Da Capo Second Season concludes Da Capo I, however, Da Capo II marks the third season on October 2007. It contains 13 episodes and is a disappointment to the Da Capo series as it fails to meet expectations due to an aweful plot and short episodes to develope characters. The sequel, Da Capo II Second Season starts to go more in depth in the main characters, thh Asakura sisters. 2 characters that i’m supporting in this anime is Yume and Koko. I think Koko really does not stand any chacne as the first 5 episodes that i’ve watched seems to put the most focus on Otome. Da Capo II also marks another mistake by the old at heart but young in appearance, Sakura. The plot revolves around her actions seemingly related to Yoshiyuki and Otome. Overall, the Da Capo II venture is rather confusing at the moment. However, the remainning episodes will reveal more, hence although it the first season of Da Capo II is disappointing, do continue to watch the rest of the second season, I still wish to know which girl Yoshiyuki ends up with.
As of the remake of most animes like the original Shuffle! to the recap, it was poorly done. However, for Kanon, it’s a different story. Kanon first sired in 2002 with a childish and unappealing drawing to most. It later got remade into a better and longer version with greater development in the characters and the storyline. Kanon focuses more on friendship and slightly less pon romance, hence it’s rated lower than Da Capo. It’s plot is excellent similar to that of Shuffle!. Like I’ve said, it’s similar to Shuffle! with it’s tinge of seriousness and comedy. Kanon also marks a genre of the mystery as to how Ayu was able to have a spirit seen by the other characters even though she was in a coma all the while. Similarly, it’s also licensed by ADV.
To Heart 2 is not exactly a good harem series due to it being short and the cliff-hanging ending which the prtagonist ended up with no one. However, it deserves praise as it manges to become popular with it’s seemingly undying OVAs. A new OVA was announced and set to contain 2 episodes. It’s called To Heart 2 ~Another Days~. This mark the undying series. Popular rumours is that To Heart 2 may want to prolong it;s vintage before a smashing second season is released. However the official site did not reveal any information regarding a possible second season.
5. Canvas 2: Rainbow Colored sketch
This is another one of my favourites. However, the official genre of this anime does not state that it’s harem, so it’s ranked low. As the series is long with 24 episodes, it can be predictably said that it will be good. This is due to a few factors, firstly, harem and romance animes must have enough episodes to develope characters which unfortunately Da Capo II series failed to realise, secondly, for a harem series, a right mixture of comedy and romance must be in proportion. This, Canvas 2 had done it quite well. A typical example of a poor harem anime is Da Capo II series. Firstly, Da Capo II first season have too much emphasis of friendship and comedy, a wrong mixture for a harem genre. Secondly, the second season is separated which should not be done the season season seemingly has no link with the first. The second Season, Da Capo II Second Season developes too much on mystery which makes comedy out of the genre. Also, the asakura sisters were forcible squeezed into development as the first season did no develop them. Thirdly, the punishment of Koko as the possible main character to a side character up till the current episode is cruel. The first season depicts Koko confessing to Yoshiyuki but later on breaks up with him. Finally in the second season, she has been ousted into a side character. I was even thinking and anticipating the second season due to the hope that Koko will reconciliate with Yoshiyuki. If the second season were to develope further without Koko, what’s the use of making Koko Yoshiyuki’s girlfriend in season 1. This is a huge flaw in the plot. Canvas 2 had a satisfying ending to suit my predictions. Do watch this anime together with my list of recommended ones.
