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Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~ Review

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Rating:

When sophomore student Aoba Riku transferred to Tsumugi High, he only wanted to live peaceful school days. Apparently that wouldn’t be the case as he comes across weird administrators and teachers, unusual school policies and overenthusiastic student council and club leaders right from the start. Thankfully, Riku’s new classmates are somewhat normal, and even the much-loved Amamiya Sayuri is in her class! Life at Tsumugi is only beginning though, as he will surely have to deal with homework, crushes, contests, events and all sorts of trouble ahead!

A high school male student moves into a new school. At the said school, there are a handful of lovely girls who have chance encounters with the new guy and eventually fall in love with him. Does this sound like one of your dating games? Well it should, because Tokimeki Memorial is inspired by the dating simulation game with the same name, following a similar plot of relationship developments. Of course given the limitations of the animated series’ medium, however, any otherwise possible interaction or opportunity with the female characters is left to the viewer’s imagination.

It’s your usual “boy meets girl” story, only there are three of them girls here.

Right off the bat the writers waste no time in introducing our bachelor (Aoba Riku) at the very beginning to the eligible and lovely ladies (Amamiya Sayuri, Yayoi Mina and Kasuga Tsukasa in the picture above, going clockwise). Some classic lady personalities are in place with the class representative and school idol, Sayuri, the reserved swimmer, Mina, and the energetic volleyball nut, Tsukasa. This limit on the number of girls and those contrasts in their characters fit in nicely with the series, and it is interesting to find out how the three compare in their direct interactions with the lead and with each other as well.

The serious parts on relationships are definitely worth appreciating, more so in contrast to the somewhat frequent takes on comedy. The series, however, follows the usual route of introducing the characters, presenting some slice-of-life events or special occasions to add flavor to the relationships (lather, rinse, repeat), before eventually seriously building up tension between Riku and the girls towards a resolution. Though Riku explicitly makes a choice at the end - and an expected one at that - one may have a feeling of inadequate closure.

The Four Great Sportsmen attest to the school’s quirky athletic tradition.

Having friends is good, but when you hang around with guys like some of these you just know you went wrong somewhere.

Aside from the romantic and dramatic elements in this harem story, there are also a few healthy doses of comedy and, albeit to be expected, some rather excessively gratuitous touches of fanservice. Thanks to the myriad of side characters ranging from the lead’s classmates to the campus’ eccentric teachers and administrators, there is a lot of room for humor. Other coincidental comical kicks also add to this; knowing that Miyano Mamoru voices the lead Riku, for example, would humor those who realize the occasional references to Death Note (Miyano voiced Yagami Light, after all.). With the show’s share of the ridiculous, moreover, one can’t help but laugh at some point anyway.

One would have to admit that the show deserves some credit for its good technical efforts. Site backgrounds were done well, character designs were good in both serious and funny segments, the color tones were appropriate for the different moods, and special visual effects from sunlight glimmer to water reflections were great. Indeed the art and animation can be quite appealing that viewers may even find themselves attracted to the characters. The auditory support, meanwhile, complements the visual elements with its nice theme songs and adequate effect accompaniments and musical cues.

Did I mention there’s also a bad-ass chick?

Boy: “Please let these days go on forever…” Girls: “God, why did I have to fall in love with this kind of guy?”

Going by the dating simulation formula this anime translation deserves a good overall score, though shows of this genre are perhaps best left in the more interactive media. The varied cast of characters provide a decent foundation for a colorful story, though quirks in humor can get repetitive or strained. A wonderful showing of visuals and sounds, however, builds up the good story and helps make the characters come to life. While Tokimeki Memorial may arguably not be as very memorable as it could be, you can be assured it’s an entertaining piece of work.