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Hatsukoi Limited (TV).


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Hentai_JP



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 605
Location: Toronto, ON
PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2009 2:29 pm Reply with quote
Hatsukoi Limited (TV) is one of the new series that has started to air this April. Since I like the romance and comedy genre I checked this one out.



In my opinion Hatsukoi Limited is rather good, and judging from first few episodes it has just about perfect mix of romance and comedy. "You always fall for the guy who's not even close to your type" seems to be one of the main themes in Hatsukoi. While that idea has been done before in different manga and anime series, Hatsukoi manages to show it fairly well for it's short air time(meaning: brief character development).

I believe Hatsukoi Limited is pretty good in romantic comedy department. Light atmosphere, not very complicated plot and good humor makes it easy to watch. Oh and don't forget all the cute girls!

Bottom line: should be enjoyable for fans of the these genres. I like it. Just don't expect struggle for world domination, explosive non-stop action or layers of complicated feelings from main characters.
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Sidhardha



Joined: 24 Dec 2008
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2009 2:38 pm Reply with quote
Hatsukoi Limited is done by author of "Ichigo 100%", wich casts another light on the perception of the show - wich is its in first place eechi-funservice titles, and only then everything else.
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bwcbwc



Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 59
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2009 6:10 pm Reply with quote
This isn't a high-concept show, but it seems to be avoiding a lot of the stereotypical romantic plots you see in anime and actually driving plots based on the characters. There's still the girl with the brother complex, but that seems to be the biggest stereotype in the series. The ensemble cast allows for a lot of long-term intertwining plot lines that hold your interest across episodes, more like the plot lines for a drama than a light comedy. But the tone of the series is definitely comedic.

The fanservice has gone down since the first few episodes too, so at the very least they're making it justifiable by the plot.

The lack of comments here makes me think the series is being under-appreciated. That's a shame, because it's definitely not your typical school-life comedy. Toradora was funnier overall, but this show has had some episodes that made me laugh just as loud, while having more realistic characters and plot.
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kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 1:29 pm Reply with quote
Finally caught up with this show (up through episode 8). I really don't get it; normally I wouldn't touch this type of ecchi show with a ten foot pole. I dropped both Macross Frontier and Basquash for being too ecchi. Yet I continue to be completely caught up with this show, even though it's more fanservicey than those two.

What I love: the characters. The stories. The mixed up, twisted knots of love stories intertwined between two schools. It's a very cute show with good, interesting characters and the trials of middle and high school romances (all while keeping a sense of humor). There are successful romances, failures, embarrassments, one-sided crushes, brother-sister complexes... it's all, in my opinion, well done and a lot of fun. The fanservice does occasionally get in the way of a more serious moment (e.g.: a panty shot during a sincerely apologetic bow), but I am honestly surprised my interest is still strong and that I lasted this long with this type of show.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:52 pm Reply with quote
I recently caught up with this series as well, and I have no complaints about the romance, comedy or fanservice that Hatsukoi Limited offers up. Unlike Kyokun, I normally do like this kind of series, but I was disappointed with the author's previous work, Strawberry 100%. HL avoids the lame harem setup (Junpei Manaka wasn't cool or compelling at all) by replacing it with a complicated web of relationships. As a result of the more gender-balanced cast, HL doesn't suffer from the "1 lame guy who gets all the girls for no reason" charactor, nor does it have those two guys who only exist to make the lead look less pathetic by comparison.

My alternate title for this series is "Backgrounds Limited," but we all know the real focus is on the girls. And damn, as far as 2-D "I don't have to feel guilty about them being underage because they're fictional" females go, these girls are hawt. Especially Kei Enomoto (+ her cute tsundere relationship with Kusuda) and Misaki "O Lolli?" Yamamoto. Aside from the strategic pantyshots, this show does a good job with putting alluring outfits on these girls whenever they're out of school uniform. I'm glad I didn't start the series when it first aired, because the wait between eps would've been killer. Too bad there's only 4 more to go, and apparently the manga didn't finish its full run either.

So, is Hatsukoi Limited (not sure why they can't call it "First Love Limited") a great anime, or a luminary in the romantic comedy field? No, not really, but for what it is, it's pretty good.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:34 pm Reply with quote
I'm glad somebody started this thread. I'm caught up with HL and I'm liking it very much. My only complaint is that because it is such an ensemble piece with numerous different pairings, and because each episode tends to concentrate on one pairing, if you happen not to care about a particular couple, you are sort of SOL for that eppie. My example would be the tennis jockette and her wimpy boyfriend. Nothing personal, but I just don't care about them.

On the other hand, I'm captivated every time "Looks are the most important thing about boys" Girl and "kappo face" Guy are onscreen together.

Quote:
HL doesn't suffer from the "1 lame guy who gets all the girls for no reason" charactor


Thank the Gods. That is my number one anime pet peeve, I believe.
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Ramadahl



Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 325
Location: MK, UK
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:19 am Reply with quote
Like Kyokun, this isn't normally my type of show, but I'm actually rather enjoying it at the moment. I suspect the main reason is the large number of characters - I often find that in romace-comedy series with fewer characters the constant toing-and-froing when the end result is already obvious gets stale quickly, whereas in this case not only can each relationship progress relatively rapidly, it's also far from guaranteed that everyone'll get a happy ending.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:09 pm Reply with quote
So I just finished watching episode 9: drat, another pairing I didn't care about. Oh, the story was touching enough, I guess, but there are so many other couples I am more invested in and there's only three episodes left, apparently. I checked out the preview for next week and it looks like it is going to be about my favourite duo: Superficial Girl and Ugly Guy. Awright!
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kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:20 pm Reply with quote
And there's still two mystery girls that are not accounted for (I haven't watched ep. 9 yet). The tall one with the black ponytails and glasses, and a shorter, short black-haired girl.

Enomoto and Kusuda are also one of my most interesting pairs (loved the Christmas episode), and I kinda wish Arihara and Misao Zaitsu would get together, because Misao is hilarious and much more interesting than his younger brother Mamoru.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:33 pm Reply with quote
kyokun703 wrote:
And there's still two mystery girls that are not accounted for (I haven't watched ep. 9 yet). The tall one with the black ponytails and glasses, and a shorter, short black-haired girl.

Enomoto and Kusuda are also one of my most interesting pairs (loved the Christmas episode), and I kinda wish Arihara and Misao Zaitsu would get together, because Misao is hilarious and much more interesting than his younger brother Mamoru.


I believe the shorter, short black-haired girl is Chikura and she, indeed, gets her time in the spotlight in episode 9. As for the Misao - Arihara match, I couldn't agree with you more! I'm pulling for the big lug, but I have a feeling it's not in the cards. I'd love to be proven wrong.
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kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:43 pm Reply with quote
Nah, it's not Chikura, it's someone else.



It's the second girl from the left, standing under Meguru. And the other girl I was talking about is the second girl from the right.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:05 pm Reply with quote
Ah, I see. The girl you were talking about is one of the high-school girls. If I had to guess, she and Pigtails will be up to bat in episodes 11 & 12 (since next week seems to be about Superficial Girl - Ugly Boy). That's assuming they aren't the Star Trek equivalent of expendable crew members, of course.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:07 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I get the feeling we're not going to get truly final resolutions on any of these couples. But hell if I'm not going to enjoy this
panty-adorned roller coaster ride until it screeches to a halt and the attendant tells me to move on to another show.

So in episode 9, was I the only person who got these vibes from Nao Chikura's admired senpai?

Seriously, I couldn't help but think, "Gee, it's so nice of him to take time out of writing names in his Death Note to help Nao with her painting" Laughing Cool Laughing

Although Nao wasn't really on my favorites radar before, she was pretty charming here. Kudos to Sogabe for not being a shameless opportunist.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:31 am Reply with quote
I haven't seen Death Note yet, so I'm afraid the reference is lost on me! As for Nao, there was nothing wrong with her depiction, but I find myself having the same reaction in any situation where we find out a male character is interested in a female character who is in turn interested in somebody else: unless male #1 is a d-bag, I inevitably have negative feelings towards the female character. Doubtlessly, I'm projecting like mad, having in high school been on the wrong end of some unrequited crushes, but I can't help it.

Why can't all female anime characters only be interested in male characters that *I* approve of??? Wink

Although to be fair to Death Note senpai, he seemed like a perfectly lovely guy.
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Miranox



Joined: 13 May 2009
Posts: 247
Location: Montreal, Canada
PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:17 pm Reply with quote
Ramadahl wrote:
Like Kyokun, this isn't normally my type of show, but I'm actually rather enjoying it at the moment. I suspect the main reason is the large number of characters - I often find that in romace-comedy series with fewer characters the constant toing-and-froing when the end result is already obvious gets stale quickly, whereas in this case not only can each relationship progress relatively rapidly, it's also far from guaranteed that everyone'll get a happy ending.


Agreed. This is the first time I've come to like a series of this type. Hatsukoi Limited stands out from the rest. Although some of the girls fall in love for odd reasons, the show never became boring, cheezy or melodramatic. I think in episode 8 one of the characters said that "you don't need a reason to fall in love", so I'll stick to that philosophy for now. Some of the characters also displayed a kind of maturity that I've yet to see in other series. Even if you're not a fan of romance, there's a very good chance you'll like Hatsukoi Limited.
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