ANN Yoshiaki Iwasaki page
My average ranking:
| Director Pantheon: Yoshiaki Iwasaki▲▼ | Rating▲▼ |
| Kowloon Generic Romance (TV) | Excellent |
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| Love Hina (TV) | So-so |
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Harem anime that hasn't aged well despite being something of an archetype for the genre. Not only is the visual style unfashionable now, but what may have been novel in 2000 is cliche today. Keitaro was designed so that the average young adult male could relate to him but his very blandness ensures that the series also remains firmly average in its creativity. The female characters are more interesting but lack the skylarking lunacy of the earlier Tenchi Muyo franchise's women, although it must be said that Love Hina generates more laughs per episode. As often happens in anime romance aimed at a male audience, the principal female character, Naru, is smarter and more capable than the male at the centre of the harem and therefore her romantic inclinations are not only largely incomprehensible but any development in the relationship must be accompanied by a dimunation of her character. My own opinion is that Mutsumi, the ditzy alternative love interest from Keitaro's childhood, or the moe Shinobu would have been more appropriate as his girlfriend, if much less interesting as plot fuel. The three smart, assertive women of the harem - Naru, the foxy (naturally) but indolent Kitsune and the occasionally scene-stealing kendo girl Motoko - lead the way with Keitaro feeding our sympathy with his clownish ways. |
| Love Hina Spring Special - I Wish Your Dream | Weak |
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Good natured follow-up to the series but lacks the vigorous cheekiness of the best parts of the original. The dull Shinobu gets too large a role and my favourite, Motoko, too little. Even with its seemingly random plot it's more fun than the dreary Christmas Special. |
| Love Hina X'mas Special - Silent Eve | Weak |
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This surprisingly dull special completely lacks the wit of the original series. Even worse, my favourite character - Motoko the kendo girl - sleepwalks her way through except for one token moment on a train. |
| Ōkami-san & Her Seven Companions (TV) | Decent |
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| Sky Girls (OAV) | So-so |
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| Sky Girls (TV) | Good |
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