Forum - View topicBuried Treasure - Video Girl Ai
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michizure
Posts: 177 |
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One of my favorite stories of all time has to be Cyrano de Bergerac: the lover who considers himself unworthy, who wins the love of his life for another man; the woman who falls in love with not just the pretty face of her infatuation but the mind behind it, and so loses her love twice over. It's such a powerful but tragic romance that I wondered, when I was first getting into anime, whether the story had ever been adapted to that medium. It seemed a perfect fit, but I never seemed to find it and no one I asked had any suggestions.
Then one day I was watching Video Girl Ai -- I picked up the tape at a used book store on a whim, because it looked fun -- and I realized: this is it! More than it -- there are two overlapping Cyrano-esque love stories in Ai. First, Moteuchi sacrifices his love for Moemi because she loves Takahashi; then, Ai sacrifices her love for Moteuchi because he loves Moemi. Ai, in particular, is Cyrano: always loving, always feeling unworthy of being loved in return (because she is just a video girl; because she is "broken"), pushing her love into the arms of another. The limited playback time on Ai's tape lends a special poignancy to the story (much like Mahoro's countdown). The ending is different than Rostand's, but no less affecting. By the final credits, I was completely enthralled. I found myself thinking (no spoiler, really), "Was this all just a video?" until the irony of that thought brought me all the way back to reality. I don't know that I've ever seen another anime version of Cyrano, but I don't mind. Ai fills that role magnificently. My only regret is that so far I just can't bring myself to buy Video Girl Ai on DVD; eventually, no doubt, my tape will wear out. Until then, it goes on my shelf next to Depardieu and Ferrer, Roxanne and Electric Dreams -- a classic retelling of a classic tale. |
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superdeformed
 Posts: 88 Location: New Orleans, LA |
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I remember when I first saw Ai about 10 years ago at either a con or in California from a worn out 4th or 5th gen fansub copy. I kinda miss the graininess of old VHS fansubs.
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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Have you seen Princess Tutu? There's absolutely no way to explain it without spoiling the show, but I think it could certainly be something that would appeal to you in a way. Kodocha also does an interesting take on that theme, with characters like Naozumi. I think that's part of the problem with that particular story is that most shows may do a small "arc" on it, but don't use it as the central plot of the show. Fushigi Yuugi also runs that story as a subplot throughout, with Hotohori re: Tamahome, so it definitely surfaces from time to time in various Shoujo works. |
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Somewhere in my closet is an old mini-poster of Ai, pulled from the pages of Animerica Extra back when the VHS came out. It was one of those shows I was slightly familiar with (from the manga's run in AE) anf would have bought if I'd ever seen a copy for sale. I've long convinced myself it was OK I never tracked it down becuase it probably wasn't very good- and now you've gone and ruined that for me. Thanks a lot.
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smoochy
 Posts: 367 Location: Texas |
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I got into Video Girl Ai when fansubs were going around, and I fell in love. A great review for a great, underappreciated classic.
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NGE1113
 Posts: 1081 Location: Alexandria, VA. |
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Ah, Video Girl Ai... This review sorta came out of left field for me; never thought I'd see this reviewed again (and might I say, a very well-written review, too). I remember this show well. I picked it one month when I had a bit of extra cash, something of a blind buy, and found that it contrasted well with, and provided some reprieve from, my then-heavy shounen concentration. Had a unexpectedly good time watching this show.
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Iwatch2muchanime
 Posts: 1291 |
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Video GIrl Ai is a buried treasure? Wow.........I didn't know that. I love Video Girl Ai, it was very good the first time I saw it a few years ago, then I went back and watched it again mid-way last year at my local anime store and thought it was even better.
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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I found the R1 dvd:
http://www.emerchandise.com/product/DVVNN0001/s.xhxw0Z9G It looks legit, but I'd never heard of that site until now, let alone ordered from them. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15366 |
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I never got the Oh! My Goddess hate, because Keiichi isn't a wimp like most males in harem shows, and the girls can take care of themselves. I can see why people would not like Tenchi, though, since the girls are ugly, and the lead's a dullard.
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kazenoyume
Posts: 425 |
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ITA on Ranma. Whether you're a fan or not, the series is a classic and certainly has lasting appeal. It's a very brave statement to imply it as the kind of series that will just fade away, since that's obviously proven not the case. That being said, I do agree that the anime version is juvenile and repetitive. At many points I had trouble even watching it, but the original series, not at all. Ah my Goddess is also a classic and has proven its lasting appeal. And it's worth noting that many of the manga/anime that made AMG feel so 'cliche' came out way after it. I won't vouch for Tenchi, as I do think it's boring and it doesn't seem to have garnered the same kind of lasting appeal. The latter two titles are still gaining many new fans. VGAI was one of the first anime I ever watched. When I got into anime I mostly stuck to OVAs because of time/budget. |
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KocaKoala
Posts: 15 |
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Heh, Ranma 1/2 and AMG are two of my favorite animes. When I was little all I had for non-mainstream anime exposure were the first 4 episodes of Ranma and I watched them over and over religiously without getting bored.
As for Video Girl Ai, I know I've heard this title many times through my anime searching, the title itself never grabbed my attention. But when I saw this article was about it, it certainly grabbed my attention as I've never stopped hearing the title pop up from year to year. I suppose now you've finally given me the modivation to find and watch this. |
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roujin
 Posts: 139 |
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I've always kind of dismissed this show because it appeared to be kind of shallow and not worth of my time. This article has radically changed my mind. In fact, it seems like Video Girl Ai is right up my alley since I, for one, like shows that are kind of bittersweet in nature.
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ParaParaJMo
 Posts: 333 Location: Gilbert, AZ, USA |
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What I also loved about VGAi was you really felt the emotion of the characters. You could really relate to all of them in some way. Yota is just the classic example of how nice guys finish last. Takashi is also another example of this because he really intended on rejecting Moemi so Yota could hook up with her and then Yota because he likes Moemi ends up wanting to help her end up with Takashi and then he is rewarded with his own video girl. I wonder how many people can be as self less as Yota in this day in age. Have we ever met anybody like him?
I also know they did a live action version of Video Girl Ai. Kaori Sakagami, a former singer from the early 90s played Ai. Not familiar with the rest of the cast though. I tried to buy it in Japan but the guy said it was for rent only. |
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videomaster21XX
 Posts: 23 |
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Wow, I never actually thought one of the shows mentioned in the Buried Treasure colum would actually be something I already owned. (Well there is 'one' movie I keep hoping will pop up, but that aside)
I've owned Video Girl Ai for years now on DVD, having bought it's only copy at my local mall oh so long ago. I can't remember where I heard about it, but I knew enough about it to know that I wanted to see it, and for the entire thing being on only one DVD was too great to pass up. I sadly haven't seen it for at least four to five years now, but despite that I know I'll NEVER give up my copy. |
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subaru
Posts: 120 Location: Australia |
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once again, wonderful review! justin!
The Buried Treasure is my favourite section! Keep up the good work. Have you seen those tv anime series which were based on classic stories such as Daddy Long Leg, The Sound of Music..... etc, etc? They were wonderful too. |
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