Forum - View topicREVIEW: To Heart DVD 1
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daedelus
 Posts: 743 Location: Texas City, TX (ajd: 6/11/05) |
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Yikes! This show just got raked over the coals! I havn't seen this yet, so I can't dispute the review.
This show is in my "plan to get someday" que. Even though I do enjoy action, violence, blood and the like, I also enjoy shows on the other end of the spectrum as well. For instance, I enjoyed Piano for exactly what it was; a simple slice-o-life show. I'm confident I'll enjoy this one as well. |
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Swissman
Posts: 768 Location: Switzerland |
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Those rough watercolor backgrounds are very much a trademark of art director Shichiro Kobayashi. Surprisingly, main staff and animation studio is the same as that of Berserk and Figure 17. Even if To Heart belongs to a completely different genre, one can see the similarities in the animation and art department between the three series. Actually, the only thing I remember of this anime having some merit is its artistry and music. Personally, I'd give both of them a B+ and a B respectively. Besides some beautiful background artwork, actual animation is a notch above average tv animation thanks to its fluidness while maintaining a clean look of the rather detailed character designs and shade gradients, and the music by Kaoru Wada (Mermaid Scar, Gunnm, Princess Tutu), which is played by a real mini-band (as often opposed to synthesizers), isn't really bad either if you like slow "healing" string, guitar and oboe ballads, but in adition to the plot it can be very siruppy at times, I admit. I agree with the rest of this review. The first couple of episodes aren't really a must-have. I remember having been bored enough not to check out the later episodes despite the nice artwork/animation and music. |
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CaptainAvatar
 Posts: 381 Location: Saint Louis, MO |
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Ah, A show close to my heart that doesn't get enough credit! I played piano as a kid, so I relate to it more than others. Unfortunately, I gave it up! (playing the piano, that is!) As for To Heart, if this was it, I would agree, but I believe there is obviously more to come. Besides, its kind of nice to have a show that doesn't follow the frenetic pace of so much anime these days. This shows appeal to me so far is definitely the classic (pre-digital) art style, and this is where Right Stuf deserves serious kudos for the work they put into cleaning up this show. Upon a second viewing, I personally found it more to my liking, but this show definitely isn't for everybody. |
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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To Heart gets beat up once again by ANN! What a shame, too....I really enjoyed this show, even if I can see the validity of a lot of the complaints. As snl67 stated, it's nice to have a romance show that doesn't follow the harem conventions, doesn't follow the frenetic pace of a Love Hina, and doesn't have all the over-the-top contrivances that so many romantic comedies have. There's no "high concept" here, it's just a very pleasant, very nostalgic look back at the pleasant side of high school. I really enjoyed this show, and can't wait to see the rest of the series.
And has been said several times, kudos to Right Stuf for the digitally retouched visuals! |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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When did we "beat up" this show in the past? |
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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the comic party series really made me want to see this just to know what the fuss is about. i really want to see it because i really like restored animation. plus studying older techniques...plus it might just be up my alley in terms of comfort anime that i could just lay back and numb out the world too like genshiken or haruhi.
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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jgreen is probably referring to the 3/26/07 Shelf Life in which the first volume of To Heart received a "Perishable" rating. EDIT: Upon rereading Bamboo's comments in regards to nothing happening, Carlo apparently feels the same way based on his review. His view is just more in-depth is all. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Right, right, I forgot about that. To Heart is pretty boring, though. |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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While I personally disagree with both of these reviews of the series, they both seem to be presupposing that conflict = good anime, they don't really seem inherently biased against either the series or its fans. (Although Bamboo does seem to jab fans a little, but her reviews often have a teasing nature to them.) I do wonder about the ratings though for English dub and sub. Maybe my opinion of a C rank is lower than the reviewers, but it seems odd to praise most of the performances and then give it a C. I would have thought B or B- for dub.
I'm not saying either reviewer should have neglected to mention that it was boring to them or that some anime fans would find it boring, but placing that feeling in context is best, which I think Bamboo did a good job of. *Edited to remove extra apostrophes. Last edited by Richard J. on Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jgreen
Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Yeah, that's what I meant. And I didn't mean it as a slight to ANN or that it's bias of the whole site or anything, just that it bums me out to see a show that I personally like get bad reviews by two different authors. "Beat up" was just a bit of sarcastic overstatement for effect.
Yeah, and I can't really counter the argument that nothing happens because, well, it's kind of true. But I think that's part of the series' charm whereas Bamboo and Carlo see it as a failure. Diff'rent strokes fer diff'rent folks and all that. EDIT to add a response to Richard J....
Well, the way I understand the review ratings, those ratings aren't a review of the dub itself, but a rating of the overall viewing experience in both sub and dub form. So even if the dub *IS* good, it can only elevate a mediocre series so far. Also, it should be noted that a "C" isn't a bad ranking, it's an "exactly average" rating.
I loved the Lord of the Rings movies, but Randall's summary of them in Clerks 2 still slays me. 
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Jedi General
Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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Yeah, I did notice that she was expecting more out of the series, which is why she ended up not liking it all that much. I haven't seen either series, but I would like to at least give them a shot. I like romance series, and I also like good slice of life series from time to time. Based on that To Heart and Piano both look quite promising.
Exactly. Like I already said, I'll be checking To Heart (and Piano) out in the near future. I'm not going to let the poor reviews cloud by judgment and miss out on a couple of series that I'm probably bound to enjoy based upon my tastes. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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What do you mean? The LOTR films are my favorite films of all time 
I must say that I was really looking forward to To Heart when I found out that Naohiko Takahashi (Berserk, Figure 17) was directing. I was disappointed when I watched the first DVD. I will agree that the backgrounds are typical of his side kick Kobayashi. I usually like his non conventional choice for music, and love The Alfee's Figure 17 OST as well as the Beserk (I believe another traditionally non anime musician who has recently been used as Satoshi Kon's main composer) OST. I just couldn't get into To Heart's sparse score. I hope to see more from this team since I never know what to expect next, and as I mentioned on other posts I admire an artists versatility. I also like how the quiet girl had a smaller font in the subs. |
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Jariten
Company Representative
 Posts: 179 Location: Here and there |
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While it isn't the best anime I've ever seen, I enjoyed To Heart simply because the male lead is not the bumbling, greasy, excuse-me-while-I-peek-into-the-ladies-room guy that seems to appear in most of the other anime in the genre. Sure, Hiroyuki is an empty shell, but he reminds me of a lot of male students his age: apathetic with flashes of an occasional personality. Still, the slow-moving pseudo-plot is enough to keep most viewers away. If you are considering a look at this show, be sure to check out Boys Be... as well - similar themes, but far more engaging characters.
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jgreen
Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Agreed! I still only have the first disc of Boys Be..., but I like it a lot. Much better than what I've read of the manga.... (but then, the same could be said about To Heart, too). |
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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