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Imagine, if you will, an end to conflict, a world of peace, a universe where seldom a cross word is exchanged, much less an utterance of aggression. Truly, this would be a wonderful place to live - but watching it for 26 episodes? My, does it ever drag.
Da Capo crawls unapologetically from the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of harem anime. In this school, a generic male lead is pursued by a series of improbably acquiescent girls, who differ from one anime to the next solely by virtue of having their hairstyles and personality hooks randomly reassigned. As a rule, the next step is to introduce a novel setting, to plot an interesting story or perhaps to thread the characters into a comedic tapestry. Unhappily, Da Capo doesn't seem to have read that far into the instructions booklet and dismisses every one of these suggestions, instead including... nothing.
Going back to my first paragraph, this series fails principally because it is entirely free of any kind of friction. There is no adverse force to challenge the characters; there is no conflict between the characters themselves; there's not even a personality clash worthy of note. It just feels like one ceaseless bombardment of fake smiles, like an eternity spent in Starbucks. Supposedly, more than one of the girls is attracted to the unpardonably prosaic character of Junnichi Asakura, yet - aside from a handful of trivial scuffles between the two primary love interests - none of them seem to care enough to do something about it. In fact, Junnichi could have saved everyone a lot of time by just drawing up a rota and leaving it at that.
At only two points in the series does Da Capo threaten to excite in any way, shape or form, and these embers of drama are abruptly extinguished. What seem to be a dark ploy and compelling character shift turn out to be an accident and a misunderstanding, and the series returns to its irenic, monotony. Perhaps conscious of the mass-boredom being left in their wake, the later episodes finish early to be augmented by a five-minute "side episode". It is a small mercy, however, as these comprise a few sequences of unfunny nothingness and dull arthouse surrealism, two moments of mild and stylish intrigue and then one final burst of soul-destroying pointlessness. As was the case with the body of the show, a single good idea is diluted with blandness, and then struck down before it dares to captivate the viewer.
The animation is passable, but far from spectacular. The lighting is done well, and nothing is truly awry. However, while some of the up-close animation is pleasing, there is no outstanding attention to detail. Indeed, there is nothing at all that is striking or memorable, aside from some face-distorting conceits which are as unfunny as they are overused. Certainly there is nothing in the animation which compensated me adequately for the way in which the story numbed my mind.
The soundtrack is actively annoying. Each "funny" scene flaunts one of a selection of irritating, whimsical ditties as though they are some kind of license to amuse. Instead, they make the scene's failure to gratify all the more obvious and maddening. As for the main themes, whoever wrote the opening and ending tunes somehow managed to marry generic with irritating, giving rise to the pair of cacophonous lovechildren which bookend each sorry episode.
Most of the voices are tolerable but, predictably, those that remain in the consciousness are the truly annoying ones. It's not enough that Moe Mizukoshi falls asleep every few seconds; apparently her spaced-out nature must also be emphasised vocally, by stretching out every blasted sentence to the point where fingernails on a blackboard would be blessed relief. Although she is the worst offender, other characters also manage to do this. They repeatedly use their voices to reflect their superficial personalities and drive them home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Uninspiring. Unoriginal. Uncommonly nauseating. These are just some of the "un-" adjectives which describe the majority of the show's cast. In a romance anime - or a romance anything, for that matter - it's pivotal that the characters be interesting and worthy of sympathy. In Da Capo's case, half of them invoke feelings of idle hatred, whilst the other half incite nothing but indifference.
What little plot is offered depends quite heavily on the viewer's emotional involvement with the protagonists. You need to care about each individual in order to care about their insignificant backstories and minor plights. It's hardly a surprise that this involvement scuppered by the fact that there is no reason to care. Those last few words may sound somewhat nihilistic but those are the depths that watching this meritless dross has brought me to.
In truth, there are no real redeeming features to this anime. It is simple, it is unadventurous, it is dull, and it is a black hole of humour so dense that not even light jokes can escape its pitiless pull. More than anything, though, it is entirely devoid of any element which might rouse emotions or engender the slightest hint of a confrontation. To put it simply, Da Capo digs its own grave, without anything so controversial as a whispered complaint. It then lies there, staring up with a grotesque plastic smile upon which I am only too happy to shovel dirt until the sun bakes my flesh dry.
On an island where cherry blossoms bloom all year-round, love seems to always be in the air. It is in this magical atmosphere that Asakura Junnichi lives, and when he dreams he travels to the dreams of others, rather than have any of his own. In everyday high-school life, he is accompanied by his adopted sister, Nemu, and an eclectic group of friends including a j-pop idol-in-the-making and a girl they knew from their childhood. Promises, and magic, and love -- Junnichi seems to dream about every girl he knows, but which girl dreams of him...?
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When it comes to anime, I tend to be a fan of comedy, shoujo, romance or anything else that will put a smile on my face. However, I'll review pretty much anything. Whether you like or dislike my reviews, I'm always glad to receive feedback, and I'm always happy to get into intelligent discussions.
Neon1988
I also feel that this review is too biased. I respect every opinion towards a series but when coming to an official review, I reckon that some more objectivity is needed.
Da Capo was an enjoyable anime to watch and I had a blast with its pure comedian scenes. The drama part might not have been the strongest I have encountered in an anime, still I get the feeling that a rating of 2.5 is way too low and misconception may take place regarding its value. Perhaps Gakorak's rating is approaching the show from a less subjective point of view. I would personally rate this lightsome drama anime with 6,5 - 7 out of 10.
Liquidator
this review is actually a joke isn't it?
I just watched Da Capo today and I am fascinated.
This review somehow spoils the awesomeness of the anime, and if people read it, they mostly won't watch it, that's really disappointing.
Gakorak
That personal review was ment in no way to completly disrespect the reviewer, in contrary, this reviewer has done a great job on other anime reviews. Keep up the good work!
Gakorak
Keep in mind this review seems incredibly biased and refuses to mention anything good about the show. If you're going to review anime keep in mind your basicly manipulating your readers to believe what you see. So, if you're going to right a review such as this, please, for the love of god, remember that each anime is different. Not every anime you're going to watch is going to make you want to jump out of your seat.
Having said that... I enjoyed watching this show. I don't put it up for recommendation for new anime watchers simply because it's not a compelling story, however, it does make you watch it. For the experience anime viewer you might already understand that a lot of anime shows are all about making the viewer feel what the writers want you to feel, and this show does a pretty good job doing that. You'll fall in love with some of the cast unexpectedly and you'll get plenty of chances to see each characters personallity.
The story itslf circles around a pair of siblings and their Forbidden Love! And that's not all! Theres more to it! But it's all irrelevant to the story line! For those who enjoy realism, is it realistic for every event happening in a show to always be about the same story? It's my opinion that's not and Da Capo seems to realize this as well. Thankfully, the series doesn't make this idea the basis of the show as it is still mostly about the siblings but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of things to look out for in the cast members.
Did I mention there's magic?! Yea, magic. How they handled the idea of magic in the Da Capo world is what I enjoyed the most and hope to see more of.
If you enjoyed Shuffle! you'll enjoy this.
I never planned on commenting to any review I've read on this site but this review was unjustified. I hope my amateur review full of grammar mistakes and mispelled words will help the readers getter a more positive review for this show.
story: 6/10 Not overly compelling but keeps things interesting as any good show does. The story itself wasn't probably thought out all the way as their were a few scenes that I wish I could chop off and re-edit. However, any show that can inspire feeling while watching must have som form of success.
animation: 6.5/10 Sakura is beautifully drawn in my opinion. Actually, there were a few characters that were very well drawn. To make a romantic story romantic you need beautiful things. This is where anime beats out other types of shows. Da Capo might have some rough edges when it came down to a few backgrounds and some of the movement was sketchy to me but it was still great. Only out of my inexperienced in completly understanding animation quality do I not put a higher rating on this. In my mind I see this as an 8.
sound: 4/10 They could of done better, some of the music in the plot didn't fit the emotions they were tring to relay and the theme songs weren't anything special at all. Having said that they also don't take away anything from the show and the voice actors did a great job trying to make their characters feel like individuals. I espcially liked Moe Mizukoshi and how her voice was done. (This isn't an attack on the reviewers judgement on this paticular character but a different opinion)
characters: 6/10 If you've seen one couple going through forbidden love you've seen them all. Even though the main characters in the story aren't anything special... the side cast is another matter. Though typical at first they don't stay that way. Well, for the most part they don't. As any good show needs a twist that you don't expect, you'll find that this show has them prepared for not only the main characters!
overall: 6/10 I enjoyed this and continued on to watch the remaining Da Capo's I could fine. Though it's not a work of perfection it's still enjoyable. As I said earlier I don't recommend this for new watchers. But for those who are like me and have seen months worth of anime and can watch 60+ episodes in one sit in you might enjoy this.
Last Note: One of the side cast has become one of my all time favorite anime characters.
can plz lean how to write a review plz, your one lacks a lot, it seem you lack the ability to connect to characters, like real anime watch can, you also you don’t know what Empathy is , because if you did you would of been able to feel the romance or the drama in Da Capo , you as a reviewer, you suck firstly when writing a review, you need to look at the animes good points as well as it bad points, don’t just look at it bad points because you didn’t like it, secondly , why did u write a review on a anime you hated, are u dumb? Now because you did write about how much you hated Da Capo, I will now write a short review on your favorite anime, Azumanga Daioh, I would watch paint dry then finish Azumanga Daioh, it lacks story, all the characters are retarded, it only good point is it is done by J.C Staff, see my review is just like your pointed out all the bad thing and gave it one good point, now here is warning one day, the people of this sites, will get sick of Chii and her band of heartless reviews like you, you will be removed from power, and real reviewers will take your spot,