Anime Aishiteruze Baby

[r2vq]

Mecha. Sexy girls wearing less cloth than what's on a belt. Super powers and evil creatures. The undead. Years into the future. The end of the world. Super giant boobs. The Japanese Mafia. And finally, obsene pointless nudity.

These are things you wont find in Aishiteruze Baby. ^^ This wonderfully cute and quiet anime that stays away from the mainstream spotlight generally concerns the tidings of a young highschooler and a child that he's been sought to take care of.

The animation of the series is Manga-styled and the music seems minimal, but the story is such a charming and affectionate piece that you just want to melt. The pacing of the story is relaxed and gives you time to enjoy the sheer cuteness of the children.

The voice actors are either superb seiyuu or superb seiyuu at the age of five!

This new series is a great wonder and surprise and I'd like to know what others think of it, and mostly who else watches it! I made this thread so that anybody who would like to talk about ANY aspect of this show can do so. ^^

-ArV

[Dagger]

Haha, that's an awesome opening post. ^_^

I agree with you on every count. Aishiteruze Baby is turning out to be one of the best shows I've [i]ever[/i] seen, and I don't say that lightly. All of the characters' personalities are so natural, so endearing and believeable that I wouldn't care if its plot involved a martial arts tournament or (heaven forbid) busty aliens.

Kippei is likeable not only because he has a heart of gold, but also because of his many imperfections. I can't possibly over-emphasize how well Aishiteruze Baby's script captures different kinds of personalities and relationships; the members of its cast (both young and old) feel like real people. That is truly an accomplishment.

Watching the series is such a pleasure--particularly after seeing This Ugly and Beautiful World, a show whose characters are incredibly.... well, fake. Their interactions feel forced and fail to stir my sympathy, whereas Aishiteruze Baby plays with my emotions even more effectively than Fruits Basket.

As you said, the voice acting in this anime only adds to its appeal. I particularly like the seiyuus who play Kippei, Kokoro, Kippei's sister and, of course, Yuzuyu.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

I think Kippei and his relationship with Tokunaga are the keys to this series. Yuuzuru is cute and so on but I don't think that is such a hard thing to pull off. More importantly, this series has someplace to go with Kippei, which sets it above earlier shows using a similar "baby" or "kid" gimmick (Mama wa Shougaku Yonnensei, Aka-chan to Boku, Da! Da! Da!).

[r2vq]

Ah, arrigatou. I did my best, and yet I can't stop singing praises for this series. ^^

So I move on towards...
Kippei is definately a main character, and the relationship between Kippei and Yuzuyu-chan was easy to the point of predictable.

So definately the surprise from this series seems to revolve around the female classmate, Kokoro. This can be noted by her attitude of being different from the other girls as well as her knowing things about Kippei that the other girls don't know. The ED also seems to flash her face.

This would exokain the great seiyuu behind her face Dagger-dono. ^^ If she were to be a main character she would have to have one ne? I'm not sure if I like her character as of yet, but I'm quite sure that the writers for the series would be able make her as likable and believable as I found Kippei once they give her more screen time. :)

Kippei: Onee-chan? (On thinking his sister turned into a 5 year old) XD Beats "hajimemashiite" any day.

-ArV

[Dagger]

Dude? [spoiler]freaky stalker girl.[/spoiler] O_o I?m not sure whether I like this turn of events; it could be either funny or just plain strange, depending on how the director handles future episodes. Of course, the ending of episode 3 is very amusing, mostly because of its the pseudo-eerie background music.

Aishiteruze Baby does an amazing job of making you become emotionally involved in even the most minor, inconsequential conflicts. I nearly started cheering when [spoiler]the mean girl developed an instant crush on Kippei. That was the perfect way to get her just desserts. ^_~[/spoiler]

Thankfully, Kippei?s good looks and willingness to blow girls off for Yuzu?s sake continue to keep this from degenerating into an unrealistic harem anime. Male characters are rarely likeable, genuine [i]and[/i] incredibly attractive, but he?s definitely all three.

I?m pleased by the fact that Kokoro?s feelings are made evident through body language rather than bold declarations of love or (as happens surprisingly often in anime) her beating him up every other second. The scene in which [spoiler]she meets Yuzu[/spoiler] is so sweet and, though initially clichéd, quite different from what most shows would lead your to expect. Normally, Kippei would be the one who would come and [spoiler]rescue Yuzu[/spoiler]; it?s nice to see a girl play the hero for once. ^_^

Yep, Aishiteruze Baby has surpassed my expectations. I?m really anticipating episode 4.

~Dagger~

[JazzLady22]

Perhaps I should post when I'm not a melted puddle of fangirl ^__^ But I just have to ramble about this great show!

This could have been an incredibly cliched show. Just add corny music, gratuitous flashback scenes of Yuzuyu's mother, and lots of characters unexpectedly bursting into tears. But it was not cliched at all. Hallelujah!

It's possibly one of the cutest shows I've ever seen, with a whole lot of character development in just this episode! I was surprised at how much Kippei matured in just that episode, and in a believable way, too! The last part where Yuzuyu climbed into bed with him was absolutely adorable.

Well, the second and third episodes are in the process of downloading. When I'm on the same page as you, and when I've materialized again, I'd be happy to discuss it with you!

[densuke]

I found episode 4 of this series to be a bit unsettling. Not only is there a very disturbed character acting in the shadows (and I hope the show is not going to go into the motivations of people like that - it wouldn't suit this particular show) but I also feel after watching the family's behavior around Yuzuyu that they lack sense or compassion or both.

The whole setup of assigning Kippei responsibility for Yuzuyu lacks something. Kippei obviously doesn't know enough about children to do a proper job of it. It's one thing to have him take on some of the tasks like bring the girl to school but the rest of the family seems to be washing their hands of the entire matter.

Kippei was begging for advice in episode 4 from his sister, who seems rather selfish. She doesn't seem to know anything about children, which indicates that she didn't see fit to have anything to do with Kippei when he was younger.

Also, noone in the family has been shown to touch or even speak to Yuzuyu in any way, except the sister in episode 4. I can't consider such aloof behavior as mentally healthy. It's no wonder Yuzuyu is susceptible to suggestions from strangers.

I hope these attitudes and behaviors will be addressed in future episodes.

[Dagger]

[quote name='densuke']Also, noone in the family has been shown to touch or even speak to Yuzuyu in any way, except the sister in episode 4. I can't consider such aloof behavior as mentally healthy.[/quote]

I think your interpretation of the situation is rather extreme. After all, the other family members are minor characters at best, and they rarely even interact with Kippei. The red-haired boy (whose name I can't recall) has a conversation with Yuzu in one of the earlier episodes, and although he's usually pretty quiet and withdrawn, he never ignores her. At one point, he takes her hand and helps her out when she has to go to the bathroom.

The scene you mentioned isn't the first part in which Kippei's sister touches or talks to Yuzu. I agree that the family is basically dumping her on Kippei, but the story would be less powerful if Yuzu didn't rely on him as much. I doubt they're bad people; they simply lead busy lives and thus are somewhat negligent. This shows more in Kippei's conduct--his rampant womanizing, to be specific--than in their treatment of Yuzuyu. His parents either don't mind that kind of behavior, or else have given up on trying to change him.


[quote]She doesn't seem to know anything about children, which indicates that she didn't see fit to have anything to do with Kippei when he was younger.[/quote]

To me it looks as though Kippei and his sister currently have an excellent relationship. In my mind, that precludes any kind of past neglect or aloofness on her part.

However, I could definitely do without the [spoiler]Freaky Stalker Girl.[/spoiler] I feel as though she just doesn't fit in with the rest of the cast; I'd be happier if she acted more like a member of the Yuki Sohma fanclub (from Fruits Basket).

~Dagger~