"Ai yori aoshi" (2002) TV series

Director:

Masami Shimoda

Writers:

Kou Fumizuki (comic)
Kenichi Kanemaki (series written by)

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Do you remember your first love?

Plot:

A naive, traditional girl from the country goes to the city to find the boy she was engaged to as a young girl, and the two childhood friends fall in love.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Hope | Childhood Sweetheart | Anime | Surrealism

Cast

Tony Pope	...	Fish Vendor / ... (24 episodes, 2002)
Karen Strassman	...	Bus Intercom / ... (24 episodes, 2002)

Also Known As:

Bluer Than Indigo (USA)
Bluer Than Indigo: Fate (USA)

Runtime:

USA:120 min (24 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Aoao Kikaku

Trivia:

Taeko Minazuki's personal name (Taeko) means "delicate child", reflecting her clumsy personality. Mayu Miyuki's personal name (Mayu) means "cocoon", a reference to her family owning a silk company. Cocoons from silkworms are used to make silk.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Ai yori aoshi 'enishi'" (2003)

sweet romantic-comedy about old-fashioned kimono-wearing girl

I understand Pioneer is going to be releasing the English-language version soon so I will give you a sneak peek based on the subtitled version I've seen.

Polite, traditional Japanese girl Aoi has come to the big city looking for her childhood sweetheart Kaoru with the intention of marrying him. Being naive she has run away from home without even knowing that the boy would accept her. As it turns out she is the daughter of a wealthy family the Sakurabas and he is from another wealthy family the Hanabishis. Kaoru ran away during his teens because the Hanabishis ostracized his mother and tried to erase her from the family history when she died. Since Aoi loves Kaoru with all her heart everything will turn out ok right? Wrong! Since Aoi is willing to give up everything to be with Kaoru the family governess Miyabi sets up a house for them to live in on condition that the two of them not cause a scandal by sleeping together. Their cover story is that Aoi is the owner of the building, Miyabi is the building superintendant and Kaoru is a tenant. Soon we are introduced to the rest of the large cast of characters who are there to provide the comedy. I've seen the first nine episodes (Destiny, Supper, Separation, Live-in, Friend, Housework, Mysterious Demon, Fondness, One Night) and it looks promising. Since this show depends on the cuteness of Aoi I think you will like the Japanese-language version best.