YakuChiki KO’d!

Tokimeki Memorial continues to impress, though it seems to be going under the radar this season as I don’t see much mention of it, let alone other people blogging it. Summing up the content and style of this show, it would best be described as the love child of SHUFFLE! and Sukuran. Aoba is a slightly wimpier version of Rin (just as much a player though) and the randomness of the actual plot reminds me of Sukuran’s earlier days, minus the referenced puns.

Episode 2 and 3 began the harem competition. Aoba is clearly interested in Amamiya, but seems to have attracted the attention of Tsukasa and Yayoi. So let the battle royale begin!

The first half of ep 2 was a seemingly pointless mini-arc about the four major sports club heads trying to get Aoba to join their clubs. They challenge him to contests in their respective sports only to get beaten by some odd twist of fate every single time.

The real fun begins next morning when Tsukasa bumps into Aoba, in a blatant Kanon rip-off manner, and then proceeds to scold him as he repeatedly apologizes. Suddenly Tsukasa has a eureka moment and decides that her running face first in Aoba was destiny, and instantly declares him her boyfriend…much to the shock, then horror, then anger, then hate of the Tsukasa fanclub.

And so with her newly acquired boyfriend and no previous experience, Tsukasa asks her friend, Ayame, what couples usually do. Ayame lists off the typical, shoujo manga guide to relationships, list (talking on the phone, going on dates, sms/e-mail, homemade bentou, etc). Tsukasa loves the homemade bentou idea and decides to give it a shot…unfortunately she can’t cook and ends up almost killing Aoba and poor YakuChiki.

But not willing to admit defeat, Tsukasa goes to the home ec club and seeks guidance in making a proper bentou. After much practice she completes bentou ver 2.0 which is thoroughly enjoyed by Aoba. Victory!

But wait…what of Aoba’s opinion on Tsukasa’s sudden decision that they are dating? At first he is confused and unwilling due to the fact the two barely know each other and the death threats that pour in from her fanclub. But as the two get acquainted with each other and the death threats become less and less frequent he seems to develop a little crush on her.

However, this wouldn’t be much of a harem if the competition was over by ep 3. Aoba meets Yayoi, the dolphin lover from the library in ep 1, while taking shelter from the rain. The two talk for a bit until Yayoi is caught addressing Aoba by his name when they hadn’t introduced each themselves yet, she runs off in a panic, leaving Aoba with her name and that she is in the swimming club.

And of course Amamiya isn’t to be forgotten, still enchanting Aoba and the rest of the male student body. With Tsukasa as Aoba’s self proclaimed girlfriend, Yayoi showing obvious signs of affection and Amamiya being a lingering presence in his mind, the stage is set for some great drama.

Thoughts

This and OtomeKoi are running neck and neck for my favourite show after Kanon and Death Note. Although it has “generic harem” written all over it, it really isn’t. The slight differences and eccentricities from each girl coupled with the randomness of the plot makes it interesting enough that it doesn’t feel like a rehash of its 20 predecessors.

The three female leads seem to be fairly archetypal so far, each fitting into a number of your typical bishoujo types. Amamiya representing the “ojou-sama” type character as well as being the favoured school idol. Tsukasa seems to be the typical energetic tomboy, but deviates from the norm by her aggressive dating strategy. Last, but definitely not least is Yayoi, who looks to be the shy but loyal bishoujo. Personally, I’m rooting for either Yayoi or Tsukasa ftw.

Plot is holding up well, relationship development is going at a nice pace. And the show maintains a more upbeat tone through the random events and the episodic appearances of the YakuChiki.

Animation, sound and voice acting remains consistent, but aren’t spectacular by any means. There also seems to be a continuity error as I’m no longer seeing the _____-mimi headbands, though that might just be me not paying enough attention.

So far Tokimeki is proving to be an exceptional show that seems to be getting little attention, I don’t know why YoakeYori’s popularity is outdoing this clearly superior show. Probably the influence of Feena, FFF ftw XD.

Silly Tsukasa, you’re not Ayu

Quickest tsuntsun -> deredere evar

Emo facial distortion? Or bentou induced trip out? You decide