So, Fumi and Sugimoto are broken up now. Not entirely surprising, but it is a shame. About the very end . . . I believe Fumi and Sugimoto are definitely finished, and Fumi does not have an unrequited love for Sugimoto floating around in her heart like Ikumi does. Acchan jokes that Fumi is putting up [...]
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I may boycott lezbanime even when made by J.C.Staff, but never fear, the animeblogosphere is diverse enough to have all your perversions covered. Here’s a what Andy has to say: Finally got round to watching the last 3 episodes tonight, really wasn’t worth it. The pacing in this show was seriously off, the last episode [...]
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This is something a little different from my usual episodic 'blogging, but I figured I'd link to it as it's still a new series that just finished airing in Japan so it seems relevant to the remit of this place. As this season is ramping down, and with it the number of shows I need to watch here is going a little quiet for a couple of weeks, I'm finding myself with time to revisit some of the
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>> muhootsaver Highly recommends this show. I watched this episode using crunchyroll streaming service. © 2009 志村貴子・太田出版/青い花製作委員会 Above images are from the official homepage: HEREOh man, I ended up jerking out some tears. T__T I can't complain if it en..
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My view of Sugimoto is softening ever more now, even after the emotionally tumultuous ending of this episode. This episode — particularly the way Sugimoto acts around, and is treated by, her family — has me more convinced than ever that many of her actions that hurt people are unwillful on her part. She is just [...]
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My concise reaction: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ The longer version: Happiness. All of my classes this past week were ♥. And as the fudge icing on top of a delectable chocolate cake, the finale for Aoi Hana was freaking brilliant. It maintained the series' sentimental, down-to-earth focus on the small (or not so small) joys and trials of the characters' daily lives, while wrapping up the series in the most satisfactory, romantic way that it could have while remaining faithful- but not slavishly so- to the manga. I couldn't be happier with it! ^^ The hard thing about writing this post is that it won't surprise anybody who has read anything I've ever written about Aoi Hana, particularly my reviews of volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the manga (which the anime covers). ^^; lol But that's a good thing, no? I can't even think of any artistic inconsistencies to complain about. (Darn it, J.C. Staff. -_-) The biggest deviation from the manga came in the final episode, "Fireworks in Winter" (or as I like to think of it, "How Kyouko Saved Christmas") which changed what felt like a mere bridge between storylines in the manga into the emotional peak of the anime. (Mental Note: On Christmas or Christmas Eve I must do a marathon of yuri anime Christmas episodes.) Warning: There are spoiler-y images and descriptions below the cut. This is one series finale that I really don't want to spoil for anybody who hasn't seen it. The final episode borrows a few plot details from volume 4- just enough to provide some necessary closure. (Like Yasuko leading the Matsuoka basketball team to second place in the regional tournament.) Akira decides to throw a party on Christmas Eve (mind you, Christmas Eve has a much more romantic connotation in Japan than it does in most countries), and invites Fumi, Mogi, Yassan, and Pon-chan. Kyouko can't make it because she's spending Christmas Eve with Kou. Even though Fumi has pretty much gotten over Yasuko, she's still haunted by one thing that Yasuko asked her. Since Kou never manages to get Kyouko a present she likes, he asks Akira for help. Fumi spots them shopping together while she's shopping for a present for Akira- but she doesn't approach them. At the Christmas Eve party, Akira recieves a text message from Kyouko, thanking her for choosing Kou's present- it was so remarkably non-terrible, that Kyouko figured it out. lol Akira tells Fumi about it, causing Fumi to feel incredibly relieved. Since Christmas love is in the air, even Shinobu receives an unexpected confession. Fumi sleeps over at Akira's, but since they can't sleep, they sneak out at night and wind up at the tree where they spent their last day together before Fumi moved from Kamakura. Fumi and Ah-chan return to their old elementary school building. I loved Fumi's sly look before she went inside, while Ah-chan was afraid to go in. lol Fumi comes across a spot that she remembers from when she and Ah-chan were together as children. She suddenly remembers that her first love was...Ah-chan. Fumi and Ah-chan leave the school while holding hands. Even though the series is ending, we're left assured that Fumi and Ah-chan have come full circle and are facing a new beginning.    Absolutely beautiful. As a fan of the manga, I really couldn't have asked for better.Story: High AArt: AOverall: Easy A
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OMG!! Where do I start!?! With this episode, I particularly liked how it started with Fumi and A-chan going to school again. It’s almost like they’ve taken us back in time to the beginning of the anime when they first met. Not a whole lot actually happens in this episode. Again, we can see how [...]
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I love that Aoi Hana can deftly avoid obvious plot points while still remaining wonderfully emotional. Case in point: The above screenshot comes from a familiar scenario. Sugimoto loved her drama teacher in the past but claims the past is where those feelings are buried. Yet when she receives a rare compliment from the teacher, Sugimoto’s [...]
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Kou asks for Akira’s help to pick a present for Kyouko but Fumi becomes paranoid when she sees them. Yasuko makes preparations to go to university in London, Kyouko manages to keep it together after finding out and bidding farewell via (phone) email. The girls have a Christmas party, after which Akira and Fumi [...] Related posts:Aoi Hana 4Aoi Hana 10Aoi Hana 6-8
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Finally, a non-filler post. I was ranting and raving about how amazing this anime was back when it started, and then, after I finished episode 4, I stopped watching it, and instead opted to wait for the series completion. Well, the series has now come and gone, leaving one question up in the air: “Do I [...]
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Fumi, Achan, and their friends have a Christmas party. Impressions: I thought this episode was great. They are finally getting into some of the more important things it seems. The episode just seemed to b very heavily focused on Fumi and her feelings. While the same could kind of be said about some of the more [...]
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Sugimoto’s sister’s wedding takes place. Impressions: This episode was alright, but until the end it didn’t actually seem like it amounted to much. Sure the wedding is kind of a big event, but it’s really with some characters that didn’t seem to affect Acchan or Fumi. It kind of progresses along Sugimoto’s story, but even with her [...]
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This is going to be ONE BIG POST!! Sorry guys but time has been scarce lately!! I cannot believe I have not watched episode 10 till now and the final episode is also out!!! OMG! I want to cry!!! It’s the end of the most pure yuri anime for the season!!! We need to cross [...]
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            While there are many series I love, there aren’t many I’m willing to call a masterpiece. However, I do feel Aoi Hana deserves this title.     What sets Aoi Hana apart is the animation. It truly goes over and beyond the typical water color look that I’m use to from J.C. Staff. Really boring subject matter [...]
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J.C. Staff? Why must you be a tease? I was really hoping for an AkiraxFumi ending, with a kiss or something. Instead, we got Fumi realizing that Akira was her first love, and leaving it at that. Really, the actual story ended in episode 10, this episode was all about tying up loose ends. It wasn’t that [...]
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The season is changing to autumn and as Akira struggles to wake up, she sees that her mother has taken out Fujigaya’s winter uniform for her to wear. Running late because she had fallen asleep again, Akira meets Fumi at the train station like every morning. Glad to see her dear friend, Fumi has a [...]
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          This episode begins with the change of seasons (and the change from summer to winter school uniforms) and life seems to be moving on just fine for Fumi and Akira. The two girls seem to be following their normal routine of meeting at the train station and sharing the train ride to school, and [...]
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Since it’s finished, here’s the review for the series~. I was clueless about the series when I intended to watch it but I still watched it because I wanted a dose of slice of life anime. I didn’t even knew that it has yuri elements. I don’t know but I just feel annoyed whenever I see [...]
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At the start of this year I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of romance, but damn. 2009 has surely proved to be an excellent year for this genre. The year already started out with gems as Clannad’s After Story and Genji Monogatari, then it continued with the truly excellent Ristorante Paradiso and Cross Game, and [...]
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Ah, this really was a cute ending for such a consistently excellent series. While not the best single episode of the series, it provided closure in a “life goes on”-kind of ending. The series feels complete, even though the manga goes on after this point. As for my big fear for the ending: thankfully the [...]
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