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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | Devil Doll | # |
[Score: 84% = Buy-. Other recommended Romance/Fantasy Drama animes: Video Girl Ai, Kanon, Clannad (TV), Chobits, Shuffle!]
This series is less episodic than its prequel, and the parallel focus on the potential relation between Hiroyuki and Akari as well as on the robot maids (both of which influence each other quite a bit) works quite well for me. Sadly certain flashback scenes of events from the first series (such as Hiroyuki's first contact with Multi) have been rewritten incompatibly here which I consider quite irritating (causing a downgrade for Series Story). One special feature of this series is the combination of SciFi and Fantasy elements, something that may require a certain taste by the audience. This combination works quite well in this series because the SciFi parts are mandatory for the story while the Fantasy parts are more like add-ons, not exactly comical relief but definitely less serious than the rest (and using a fantasy element to locate the missing character during episode 12, even more so as being performed by one character I like very much and who has been underused throughout the series, was a true highlight for me). As all main Characters are in their final year at school now, the scenario is getting more serious: Everyone makes plans about their future, slice-of-life is being replaced by coming-of-age. I like the way all characters from the first season get significant development and grow more mature over time (even though some changes of attitude are surprising, if only in a positive way), basically by Hiroyuki having been a catalyst for them to grow; Kotone's development is the only one that confused me, I didn't really get what she was up to when she made her decision. There are a few additional characters during the robot arc but they serve as story devices (Yuusuke, for example, making Hiroyuki aware of some equivalence of events between the past and the present) and don't need too much depth compared to the leads. Like AstroNerdBoy said, several of these characters can't just do anything in certain situations, and some of the dialogs may not be that literary ("Akari! - "Hiroyuki-chan!") but people are at a loss of words in certain situations as some problems can't just be solved in an instant (which has to be accepted by humans as well as androids). But even so, these characters don't give up and do their best working towards a solution, combining a number of very special skills (such as Serika and Serio, to name only two characters that will become important when you'll least expect it). The Music of this sequel is way better than the one or the original series, with much better vocals for both songs (the OP is a sure candidate for my personal "Best of" collection) and a number of nice tunes, sometimes refreshing, sometimes slightly melancholic, all very suitable to the story. I particularly like how the OP song starts playing again right at the climax point close to the end of every episode, emphasizing the emotions of this moment very well. Then again, the Art disappointed me, with the faces looking oddly shaped now (angular chins & cheeks) and several hair colors having been changed since the prequel - I didn't even recognize Kotone-chan at all during the first episode as she looks like Tomosaka Suzuka now. And the Animation of the "extreme fighting" parts, with stills and super slow motion, is a bit boring as well... thus the better music only compensates for other technical deficits, which is a pity considering that this sequel has been produced 5 years after the first season. All in all a serious school romance with harem and SciFi elements and without any unnecessary overhead (no slapstick, fanservice or filler episodes), and as such worth a "Buy" from me; I like this series better than its prequel for being more emotional, more focused and more grown-up. Last updated Friday, July 04 2008. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | AstroNerdBoy | # |
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To Heart: Remember My Memories is more of the same that we saw in To Heart, but that's not a bad thing. The entire cast from the original series returns for more little adventures. As before, Hiroyuki is the male lead and works with the various female cast members as they all progress in their lives. However, there are two main plot-threads for this tale. The first is how the android Multi-chan has to learn to deal with her various emotions and feelings for Hiroyuki. Even though she is only an android, she is very perceptive of how Akari is feeling when Multi takes up so much of Hiroyuki's time and thoughts. It is through Multi that Hiroyuki makes a decision on how to spend his future. The second plot thread revolves around Hiroyuki's relationship with Akari. Akari has stood in Hiroyuki's shadow (as seen in the 1st series) but now that high school is drawing to an end and it is time to go on with the 2nd phase of their lives, Akari finds herself in a possision she's not used to. She's been in love with Hiroyuki for years, but there's a strong chance that his dream will take him away from her. So what does she do? I enjoyed exploring this part of Akari's character because I felt she grew without becoming something different. Because all of the cast returned, there really are too many characters. So one whatever little story is done with a sub-character, they don't have anything to do. The writers did come up with a way for them all to come together in the final episode, but again they have little to do. Sadly, some of the characters end up being all but forgotten, unlike the previous series where they were a bit more memorable. Finally, the pacing in this, like its predecessor, is extremely slow. It didn't bother me as much in the first series because it was new and the characters were new. However, for the sequel, it was more harmful because we already know the characters. I kept wanting to fast-forward just to speed things up. Too much of the dialog was stuff like, "Multi...", "Multi-chan!", "Hiroyuki-chan", "Akari-san!", "Akari!", etc. Too often, Hiroyuki's character would just have the same emotions and the same types of things to say in troubled situations. That's boring and an unfortunate weakness of this anime. Bottom line: worth renting ONLY if you saw To Heart.Last updated Sunday, October 30 2005. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| To Heart~Remember My Memories~ Official Site | http://www.toheart-r.net/ |
| The official Japanese website. | |
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