Ai Yori Aoshi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki
and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha
's Young Animal
. It is a love story between two characters who haven't seen each other in years but were once childhood friends.
Ai Yori Aoshi was directed by Masami Shimoda and animated by J.C.Staff
. The series was made into an anime
in 2002, with a 2003 sequel, , set two years later. There are 37 episodes total, counting an alternate-continuity Christmas special. The anime was released in North America
by Geneon
, and the manga was released in English
by Tokyopop
. Four visual novels were also released for the PlayStation 2
, and for Windows 98
.
after his father retired. His mother, Kumi Honjō, and his father never married, making life difficult for both him and his mother. Kaoru's father died when he was five years old. Since then, Yūji's grandfather, Gen'ichiro Hanabishi, took Kaoru under his wing and began educating him for the eventual succession. Yet Kaoru never felt at home in the Hanabishi family and left to live alone in self-imposed exile after his mother died. Day by day he felt alone, thinking that he was living life with no reason pushing him on.
There was, however, a person who loved Kaoru so much that she had to do whatever was necessary to be with him.
Her name is Aoi Sakuraba. Aoi is the only daughter of the owner of the Sakuraba Kimono (Dry Goods in the manga) Store (later renamed to Sakuraba Department Store). Kaoru's family and Aoi's family had accepted for Kaoru to marry Aoi, but after Kaoru walked out, the marriage was canceled. Both families had a friendly relationship and Aoi had been in love with Kaoru from the start, which Kaoru was unaware of. The Sakuraba family had already been searching for someone suitable, but Aoi was unwilling to marry someone else and walked out, chasing Kaoru.
Both were freed from their families' affairs, but did not know how to make their living. Miyabi Kagurazaki, who had been looking out for Aoi, offered the two a way. Aoi and Miyabi would live together in a grand western style summer house owned by the Sakuraba family and Kaoru would live in a house for servants next to it. This would prevent a scandal, much like the one that had made Kaoru's life difficult, as the two would be living separately. But soon, Kaoru's friends, who just happen to be attractive females, took residence in the house, and it quickly became a dormitory. Very soon, Aoi became a landlady of the dormitory.
The first season of the anime ends when Aoi's father decides to arrange her marriage with another man, but she refuses, and is confined. She manages to escape with the help of Miyabi and Aoi spends a day together with Kaoru. Rather than doing what Miyabi expects and eloping, they confront her father the next day and manage to get her father to accept their relationship. Kaoru's best point in his argument with Aoi's father is the fact that, after having lost his family and enduring the pain of that loss, he does not wish to see the same thing happen to Aoi. Her father grudgingly accepts Aoi's choice in order to maintain his relationship with his daughter. In contrast, the manga does not have Kaoru going to meet Aoi's father until the final storyline. Instead, it goes into the plot of Kaoru coming to terms with his painful past by confronting the Hanabishis. The final storyline of the manga involves Karou's half brother attempting to gain control of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu by marrying Aoi.
A best effort to map the story elements of the anime to the manga shows that the anime covers between one and two years in the lives of the characters, while the manga covers 4 years of their life.
, the manga was originally serialized in 1998 in Hakusensha
's Young Animal
magazine. The first volume was published and released in Japan by Hakusensha on May 28, 1999, with 17 volumes the last was released on December 20, 2005. In English the series was released by Tokyopop
. Book one was released in January 2004 with the last book being released in October 2007.
The series has also been licensed in Europe (Non English Releases), Asia, and Middle America
. In Europe, the series was licensed in French by Pika Édition
, in German by EMA, and in Spanish by Norma Editorial
. For Asia the series was licenced in Chinese by Jonesky
, in Korean by Daiwon CI, and in Russian by Sakura Press
. In North America the series has been published in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid
.
Besides having many similarities with the two anime series, the manga expands on topics such as Kaoru's younger brother and Miyabi's past.
and directed by Masami Shimoda. Broadcasted on Fuji TV, it premiered on April 4, 2002 and aired weekly until its conclusion on September 25, 2002 spanning twenty-four episodes. Most of the music for the series was composed by Toshio Masuda
. Three pieces of theme music
were used in the anime series. performed by Yoko Ishida
is the opening theme. performed by The Indigo
is the ending theme used for all the episodes except one; "I'll Be Home" performed by Satsuki Yukino
is the ending theme for eighteenth episode. In Japan, it was released across eight Region 2 DVD compilation volumes. Geneon Entertainment also licensed the series for English-language dubbed release.
J.C. Staff produced a second anime television series titled , directed by Masami Shimoda. Broadcasted on independent UHF stations
, it premiered on October 2003 and ran weekly until its conclusion on December 28, 2003 spanning twelve episodes. The second season of anime adaptation uses three pieces of theme music. performed by Yoko Ishida is the opening theme. "I Do!" is the first ending theme performed by The Indigo
. "Presence" performed by The Indigo
is the second ending theme. The series was released across three Region 2 DVD compilations in Japan. Geneon also licensed the series for English-language dubbed release.
A sixteen minute special known as "Episode 00", "Beautiful Snow", or "Enishi Christmas Special" was also made. It includes all of the main characters, but it treats them as having never having met before (save Kaoru and Tina) and is a very fantasy-based episode. The episode appears to be set at Christmas a year or two before the first episode of Ai Yori Aoshi. The special was dubbed in English and on the First Enishi DVD release.
At Anime Expo
2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment
announce that they have rescued both Ai Yori Aoshi and Enishi along with other former Geneon
releases and will be re-released in 2011.
video game based on the series in 2003, and was released in English for Windows PCs by Hirameki International. That game was re-released in 2005 by SUCCESS Corporation with bonus footage and mini-games.
J.C.Staff published 2 games on Windows 98, which were separated into 2 titles based on seasons. Each title comes with voice and screen saver collection. During production the project was codenamed "EVE".
As for reviews the manga has been described as "fun to read" and a "good solid romance story". Adam Beck of Advanced media Network anime pointed out however that some volumes lack dialogue but a good dialogue translation was done by tokyopop.
The first anime season had mixed reviews from people.
It has also been described however as a "split personality" anime as half of it wants to be a serious, dramatic romance with a dash of comedy and the other half wants wants to be a One Guy/Lots of Girls slapstick harem show. Despite that the artwork has been labeled as "stunning" with its artwork and the theme music got a good review.
Kou Fumizuki
is a Japanese manga artist. Fumizuki's most famous work to date is Ai Yori Aoshi, a 17-volume work which has been turned into an anime series. His current work is Umi no Misaki, serialized in Young Animal Magazine starting in the fifth issue of 2007....
and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
's Young Animal
Young Animal
is a magazine in Japan that features seinen manga and scantily clad women. It is published by Hakusensha and issued on the second and fourth Friday of each month in saddle-stapled B5 format, selling for 310 yen...
. It is a love story between two characters who haven't seen each other in years but were once childhood friends.
Ai Yori Aoshi was directed by Masami Shimoda and animated by J.C.Staff
J.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...
. The series was made into an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
in 2002, with a 2003 sequel, , set two years later. There are 37 episodes total, counting an alternate-continuity Christmas special. The anime was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
, and the manga was released in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
. Four visual novels were also released for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and for Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
.
Plot
Kaoru Hanabishi appears to be an average university student, but in reality, he's the eldest son of Yūji Hanabishi, the head of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu, and was set to take over the zaibatsuZaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
after his father retired. His mother, Kumi Honjō, and his father never married, making life difficult for both him and his mother. Kaoru's father died when he was five years old. Since then, Yūji's grandfather, Gen'ichiro Hanabishi, took Kaoru under his wing and began educating him for the eventual succession. Yet Kaoru never felt at home in the Hanabishi family and left to live alone in self-imposed exile after his mother died. Day by day he felt alone, thinking that he was living life with no reason pushing him on.
There was, however, a person who loved Kaoru so much that she had to do whatever was necessary to be with him.
Her name is Aoi Sakuraba. Aoi is the only daughter of the owner of the Sakuraba Kimono (Dry Goods in the manga) Store (later renamed to Sakuraba Department Store). Kaoru's family and Aoi's family had accepted for Kaoru to marry Aoi, but after Kaoru walked out, the marriage was canceled. Both families had a friendly relationship and Aoi had been in love with Kaoru from the start, which Kaoru was unaware of. The Sakuraba family had already been searching for someone suitable, but Aoi was unwilling to marry someone else and walked out, chasing Kaoru.
Both were freed from their families' affairs, but did not know how to make their living. Miyabi Kagurazaki, who had been looking out for Aoi, offered the two a way. Aoi and Miyabi would live together in a grand western style summer house owned by the Sakuraba family and Kaoru would live in a house for servants next to it. This would prevent a scandal, much like the one that had made Kaoru's life difficult, as the two would be living separately. But soon, Kaoru's friends, who just happen to be attractive females, took residence in the house, and it quickly became a dormitory. Very soon, Aoi became a landlady of the dormitory.
The first season of the anime ends when Aoi's father decides to arrange her marriage with another man, but she refuses, and is confined. She manages to escape with the help of Miyabi and Aoi spends a day together with Kaoru. Rather than doing what Miyabi expects and eloping, they confront her father the next day and manage to get her father to accept their relationship. Kaoru's best point in his argument with Aoi's father is the fact that, after having lost his family and enduring the pain of that loss, he does not wish to see the same thing happen to Aoi. Her father grudgingly accepts Aoi's choice in order to maintain his relationship with his daughter. In contrast, the manga does not have Kaoru going to meet Aoi's father until the final storyline. Instead, it goes into the plot of Kaoru coming to terms with his painful past by confronting the Hanabishis. The final storyline of the manga involves Karou's half brother attempting to gain control of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu by marrying Aoi.
A best effort to map the story elements of the anime to the manga shows that the anime covers between one and two years in the lives of the characters, while the manga covers 4 years of their life.
Manga
Written and illustrated by Kou FumizukiKou Fumizuki
is a Japanese manga artist. Fumizuki's most famous work to date is Ai Yori Aoshi, a 17-volume work which has been turned into an anime series. His current work is Umi no Misaki, serialized in Young Animal Magazine starting in the fifth issue of 2007....
, the manga was originally serialized in 1998 in Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
's Young Animal
Young Animal
is a magazine in Japan that features seinen manga and scantily clad women. It is published by Hakusensha and issued on the second and fourth Friday of each month in saddle-stapled B5 format, selling for 310 yen...
magazine. The first volume was published and released in Japan by Hakusensha on May 28, 1999, with 17 volumes the last was released on December 20, 2005. In English the series was released by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
. Book one was released in January 2004 with the last book being released in October 2007.
The series has also been licensed in Europe (Non English Releases), Asia, and Middle America
Middle America (Americas)
Middle America is a region in the mid-latitudes of the Americas. In southern North America, it usually comprises Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the West Indies. The scope of the term may vary...
. In Europe, the series was licensed in French by Pika Édition
Pika Édition
Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007.-Distribution:...
, in German by EMA, and in Spanish by Norma Editorial
Norma Editorial
Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Founded in 1977 by Rafael Martínez, it publishes both original Spanish comics , Spanish translations of Japanese manga as well as Spanish translations of American or European comics and...
. For Asia the series was licenced in Chinese by Jonesky
Jonesky
Jonesky Limited is a Hong Kong publisher of domestic Chinese manhua and translated, imported comics from Japan. Several of their titles have been translated and released in English...
, in Korean by Daiwon CI, and in Russian by Sakura Press
Sakura Press
Sakura Press is a Russian licensor and publisher of manga with headquarter in Moscow. The company was established in 2002. It is headed by general director Sergei Kharlamov. According to their official website, it is the first Russian company who started to publish manga . The first two volumes of...
. In North America the series has been published in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid
Grupo Editorial Vid
Grupo Editorial Vid is a Mexican comic, manga and books publisher. It was founded in the early 1940s as Editorial Argumentos ....
.
Besides having many similarities with the two anime series, the manga expands on topics such as Kaoru's younger brother and Miyabi's past.
Anime
An anime adaptation of the manga was produced by J.C.StaffJ.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...
and directed by Masami Shimoda. Broadcasted on Fuji TV, it premiered on April 4, 2002 and aired weekly until its conclusion on September 25, 2002 spanning twenty-four episodes. Most of the music for the series was composed by Toshio Masuda
Toshio Masuda
is a Japanese film director. He developed a reputation as a consistent box office hit-maker. Over the course of five decades, 16 of his films made the yearly top ten lists at the Japanese box office—a second place record in the industry. Between 1958 and 1968 he directed 52 films for the Nikkatsu...
. Three pieces of theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
were used in the anime series. performed by Yoko Ishida
Yoko Ishida
is a Japanese singer, employed by Hyper Voice. She is known for having performed theme songs for anime shows such as Prétear, Ai Yori Aoshi and the Ah! My Goddess TV series, as well as for having sung for the Para Para Max CD series....
is the opening theme. performed by The Indigo
The Indigo
The Indigo is a Japanese band originally composed of on vocals, on composition and arrangement, and on bass. They were first formed in 1998 and released their debut Maxi single Blue on May 24, 2000. This was followed by their 2nd Maxi Single on August 30, 2000, and their first full album Blue...
is the ending theme used for all the episodes except one; "I'll Be Home" performed by Satsuki Yukino
Satsuki Yukino
Satsuki Yukino , real name Yuki Inoue , is a popular Japanese voice actress from Ōtsu, Shiga. Yukino is also a singer as part of the Hinata Girls...
is the ending theme for eighteenth episode. In Japan, it was released across eight Region 2 DVD compilation volumes. Geneon Entertainment also licensed the series for English-language dubbed release.
J.C. Staff produced a second anime television series titled , directed by Masami Shimoda. Broadcasted on independent UHF stations
Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
The , is a group of Japan's reception fee-free commercial terrestrial television stations which are not members of the major national networks that has flagship in Tokyo and Osaka....
, it premiered on October 2003 and ran weekly until its conclusion on December 28, 2003 spanning twelve episodes. The second season of anime adaptation uses three pieces of theme music. performed by Yoko Ishida is the opening theme. "I Do!" is the first ending theme performed by The Indigo
The Indigo
The Indigo is a Japanese band originally composed of on vocals, on composition and arrangement, and on bass. They were first formed in 1998 and released their debut Maxi single Blue on May 24, 2000. This was followed by their 2nd Maxi Single on August 30, 2000, and their first full album Blue...
. "Presence" performed by The Indigo
The Indigo
The Indigo is a Japanese band originally composed of on vocals, on composition and arrangement, and on bass. They were first formed in 1998 and released their debut Maxi single Blue on May 24, 2000. This was followed by their 2nd Maxi Single on August 30, 2000, and their first full album Blue...
is the second ending theme. The series was released across three Region 2 DVD compilations in Japan. Geneon also licensed the series for English-language dubbed release.
A sixteen minute special known as "Episode 00", "Beautiful Snow", or "Enishi Christmas Special" was also made. It includes all of the main characters, but it treats them as having never having met before (save Kaoru and Tina) and is a very fantasy-based episode. The episode appears to be set at Christmas a year or two before the first episode of Ai Yori Aoshi. The special was dubbed in English and on the First Enishi DVD release.
At Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
announce that they have rescued both Ai Yori Aoshi and Enishi along with other former Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
releases and will be re-released in 2011.
Video games
KID Corp. published a PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game based on the series in 2003, and was released in English for Windows PCs by Hirameki International. That game was re-released in 2005 by SUCCESS Corporation with bonus footage and mini-games.
J.C.Staff published 2 games on Windows 98, which were separated into 2 titles based on seasons. Each title comes with voice and screen saver collection. During production the project was codenamed "EVE".
Reception
Ai Yori Aoshi did well with its English manga release, with book one ranking #45 on the top 50 Manga's sold of that month. With an estimated 3,329 books sold, the series peaked at #18 of 100 with Volume 6 but soon fell out of the top 100 list for the other releases. The last volume ended at #66 out of 100 on the sales list.As for reviews the manga has been described as "fun to read" and a "good solid romance story". Adam Beck of Advanced media Network anime pointed out however that some volumes lack dialogue but a good dialogue translation was done by tokyopop.
The first anime season had mixed reviews from people.
It has also been described however as a "split personality" anime as half of it wants to be a serious, dramatic romance with a dash of comedy and the other half wants wants to be a One Guy/Lots of Girls slapstick harem show. Despite that the artwork has been labeled as "stunning" with its artwork and the theme music got a good review.