Anime: Asu no Yoichi!

At first I thought OMG another Fumoffu is on the way! A swordsman who has lived his entire life secluded in the mountains (no experience in the real world) comes out and moves in with a family of girls.

Sadly, this series falls terribly short of my expectations. Yoichi is no Sosuke. To be fair, I'll write as if I wasn't originally comparing with the great Fumoffu.

The series focuses on a swordsman with nearly invincible skills who continues his training with the Ibuki family who own a dojo of the same sword style.

The series is pretty much a typical ecchi-type harem with a small amount of action. The story is loose and the main plot-line is a bit on the weak side. Overall, it's just an average watch.

Animation:
The animation is average with current standards and coloring. Sadly, the series falls into the category of everyone wearing the same thing for the majority of the series. Yoichi's hands/head always lands in an ecchi spot, which gets really annoying after a while. Fight scenes are fairly well done but pales in comparison to other current shows such as Kurokami.

Sound:
The OP and the ED are fair, but not enough to make me want the soundtrack. The BGM is fair but not really that memorable as well. VAs are fine as usual. No terribly annoying voices in this one. Overall, pretty fair sound to match a pretty fair animation.

Music: 3/5, VA: 4/5.

Story:
Yoichi's father decides that his son is now strong enough to go to the city and face new trials in life. While at first, Yoichi seems to truly lack a sense of street smarts, this is not emphasized for the majority of the series, and thus a potentially wonderful source of humor is wasted.

Every single episode in the middle of the series follows the same pattern: introduce some characters, add some background details about the Ibuki girls, and then have a battle where Yoichi wins with ease. Kind of similar to the old time Sailor Moon style but leaves the series feeling flat.

The early part of the show have brief foreshadows to the final arc which is decent in depth but likewise atrocious in execution. Having watched the first 9-10 episodes, practically anyone would be able to guess the linear progression in the final few episodes.

Sadly, the potential humor in a guy unaccustomed to modern culture is wasted on a bunch of panty shots and breast grabs.

Character:
The character interactions and relations in Yoichi are fairly interesting, but development is very slow and many secondary characters appear and disappear almost at random.

Yoichi himself is an innocent and brutally strong warrior who can easily take on groups of strong opponents. In fact, (other than his inability to swim) he pretty much beats all his opponents with one or two of his attacks.

The Ibukis like Yoichi after a while and some of them develop deeper feelings for him. However, these are overshadowed by massive amounts of fan-service and ecchi-grabs which undermines the possibility of any further development.

Value:
If you're looking for a Fumoffu, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a good action show, you will be disappointed. If you're looking for a good romance, you will be ROYALLY disappointed.

Asu no Yoichi is a fairly average show with an overemphasis on fan service. If you watch it, I recommend that you do so with low expectations. There are some humorous scenes but overall it just doesn't stand out.

This is my first written review. Im trying to just do them for series that dont have that many reviews, or ones i found really interesting. I use the 10 point scale just as that, an actual 10 point scale with 5 being average/mediocre
scale is as follows:

10:Masterpiece, amazing! 9:excelent 8: very good 7: good 6: fair 5: average 4: bad/sub par 3: very bad 2: horrible 1: unwatchable, dear god, why??

Asu ho Yoichi is a short 12 episode TV series that, as i understand it, is based on a much longer running manga. I have never read the manga but i hear its significantly better than the anime adaption. I sure hope so because Asu no Yoichi! is a mediocre series at best.

The basic premise is a 17 year old boy who's spent his life training as a swordsman in the mountains has learned all his father can teach him. His dad boots him out and sends him down to the city to live with a dojo offshoot that they have good relations with. However, the dojo happens to be inhabited by 4 sisters, let the hilarity ensue!.. or maybe not so much.

Plot/Story: Weakest part of the show
The premise is actually a little amusing. They could have done a lot with it. I was expecting on them to really play up how hes completely out of his element in the city, and to an extent they do. In the first episode at least. Then from then on its like he fits right in somehow. The entire plot can be summed up as follows: Yoichi Karasuma falls down a lot and lands in compromising situations with the various female leads. Repeat ad nauseum then add some lame nonsensical villain who sends pathetic bad guys of the week who do absolutely nothing. Finish it all up with Yoiichi face planting into some woman's boobs again and getting beat up by the main female lead: Ibuki Ikaruga. and your done. Thats pretty much every episode over and over again until the last few episodes where the villain finally does something and you find his pathetic motivations. The plot is easily the weakest part of this show. The excessive use of Yoichi tripping and falling into compromising situations is way overdone. Hes a super martial artist, why does he keep doing that? Its made more annoying by how Ibuki always beats the crap outa him for it. The ending is stupid,and the final arc with the villain is just lame. I give it a 3

Characters: Ok design but no development
Some of the characters are actually kind of interesting. The problem is the least interesting one: the eldest sister Ibuki, gets the most screen time and is the obvious focus. There isn't much to her really. She takes care of the family, has big boobs, and beats the hell outa Yoichi all the time. Her character design is also the most uninteresting and bland. Thats about it. She has 3 younger sisters, Ayame, Chihaya, and Kagome. Ayame is by far the most interesting character. She has some serious baggage always being runner up to her big sister Ibuki and the few times they touch on that its very interesting. There are some touching scenes where shes realizing shes in love with Yoichi and winds up stumbling over herself trying to express and understand her feelings. Of course these dont last long because we need to have Yoichi fall into someones chest and get beat up by Ibuki. The next sister is Chihaya. Shes also pretty interesting. Shes a workaholic who draws Doujishin to make money for the family. Theres an episode focused on her that shows her motivations and it was one of my favorites in the series. Shes not really in the running for Yoichis affections. The final sister is the youngest. Kagome is basically the typical little sister character. Cute, cooks, cleans, ect. Not that much to her really other than one beach episode that focuses on an amusing aspect of her.

There are also some other minor characters but they dont really do much. I cant even remember their names i had to look them up. Theres a bully named Washizu that has a crush on Ibuki . he winds up joining the dojo to get closer to her and is rather annoying. Pretty much any time hes on screen hes either vowing to kill Yoichi, or going into SD mode fawning over writing a love note to Ibuki. He has a friend that does pretty much nothing and they have a nonsensical gag about him shrinking throughout the show to the point where hes a child at the end. It makes no sense, maybe its something from the manga. Finally there are 2 ninja chicks that try to take down Yoichi near the start then become regulars. Although they quickly go get a job at a ramen store and disappear for almost the rest of the series except to show up during the beach episode so you can see the hot one in a swim suit, and at the very end. Their names are Angela, and Tsubasa. Angelas a tall, hot silver haired assasin, and Tsubasa is a petite strong girl who has a crush on Washizu. Theres a semi amusing joke about Tsubasas ultimate power only being usable when shes at the peak of embarrassment so Angela trained her to fight in a dominatrix leather strap outfit. I wont even get into the main villain. His reasoning makes no sense and the last few episodes with him are the shows lowpoint. I give this a 3 as well

Animation: sub par
This is a problem with the series. The character designs are actually fairly attractive. All the women look good and unique except for Ibuki. The problem is that it uses WAY excessive SD. To the point where its obvious theyre just doing it to save animation time and not for gags. Also, the characters aren't very detailed. Theres a part on the beach where they comment on how ripped Yoichi is from his training and he is drawn quite cut. Then for the rest of the episode he just has a regular looking non shaded body. Finally, the biggest problem is the fight scenes. They're pathetic. Yoichi uses several different sword techiniques but every single one has the same animation: Black screen, camera pan back, draw sword, random wind lines, enemy falls down. Thats it. Its pathetic. No matter what he says the move is its the same animation, it makes no sense and looks awful. . I give this a 4

Voice acting/Music: mediocre. Not horrible not great
No real complaints here but its nothing special. The voice actors are competent, but Washizus fawning scenes with Ibuki are VERY annoying. I think theyre designed to be that way though. The music durring the series isn't memorable at all, and the OP is forgettable and doesn't' really pull you in. The ED however is decently done. Overall very average, hence a 5

Enjoyment: semi-watchable
Well this is probably the most important thing about a show isnt it? I didn't completely hate it but i wasn't very fond of it either. It doesn't really go anywhere with the characters or Plot, and the fact that the main female lead is so bland irritated me. I really wanted them to focus more on Ayame. The excessive SD, and gratuitous ecchi falls really grated on me by the end. The main villain was one of the worst ive seen in a long time and the ending was weak as hell. Id give the overall enjoyment of the series a sub par 4

Final word/Recommended?
Asu no Yoichi is a below average series any way you look at it. You may get a few laughs of it but overall its a pretty big disappointment. I get the feeling the creators realized they didn't have enough episodes to work with the source material so they just said screw it. It relys way too heavily on compromising situation falls, but doesn't really have much ecchiness in it to pull in fans that only care about that. If you have nothing better to do and can bear with excessive ecchi prat falls and the absence of any character development or plot then give it a watch, otherwise probably skip it.

*please leave feedback with what you thought worked and what didn't, reviewers cant learn and improve without it*

*Edit* gotten a few comments back already, thank you, please keep them coming. I got some praise and some constructive criticism. One was that my overal scores seemed a bit low. Note that i view the 10 point scale a bit differently than most you will not see many 8-10's unless the show is quite good. 5 is an AVERAGE show. I hit the animation a bit harsh because of the very poor quality of the fight scenes and moves used in the show as mentioned in the review. Also as i said this is a sub par show. In the end the enjoyments kinda the most important thing and it was ranked bad/below average. Its certainly still watchable but like i said only give it a look if youve got nothing better to see

Big boobed character - check.
Tsundere character - check.
Nerdy glasses girl - check.
Loli with big boobs - check.
Male lead that doesn't move on any of the girls - check.

Hmm, it has everything that can make a great comedy, what can go wrong?

Unfortunately, many things.

Animation - It is nice, but nothing all that memorable
The animation was decent, there weren't that many flaws. At least I wouldn't be able to point them out to you. The character models are nice and those that have read the manga, will be pleased to see them animated. Things are simple, nothing to distracting to take your attention away from the story. However, those that have read the manga, you will notice something missing. As Gambit said, can't quite put your finger on it, but something is missing.

Sound - It was alright
The OP/ED combo was nice, I didn't skip it every time it started, which is usually something that I do, but I didn't go listen to it repeatedly on youtube or download the mp3. As for the background music... well, I don't really remember it. Sorry.

The voice actors didn't seem to fit, imo. I pictured Yoichi sounding more like Kenshin, but that is just me. I've heard people saying they were pleased with the voice acting. However, I can't help but be slightly disappointed I didn't get my way!

Story - What story
Maybe that is what was missing that I couldn't put my finger on. The story. In the manga things unfold nicely and in a series of events that make sense. New people show up, Yoichi talks (or beats) some sense into them and they become allies (sounds like DBZ!?). However in the anime, things don't go that smoothly. Things are told in a different order, which personally I found that stressing. I loved the manga... I loved Ayame... but not so much the anime. You'd have to see both mediums to understand what I mean.

Anyway, as Gambit said, people get introduced, developed and then disappear. Hopefully there would be a second season where they can make their return, or get more attention. Angie and Tsubame come to mind.

Character - Incredible shrinking man
Hmm, most of the characters are here from the manga, even some that weren't! There is some fair development, much more than the average 12 ep series contains. Which caused it to feel rushed, which imo would only anger people. I suppose the people that have the power thought it was a good thing to do...

Value + Enjoyment - I didn't
Well, being a fan of the manga, and with this horrible port, imo, I rated it pretty poorly [5.5]. I had a temp vote of 8, I thought I was going to love it, but being so short and quite a few volumes of the manga released, you'd think that there was plenty to follow and animate, but they changed the order of things. I felt cheated after watching this. If you are going to watch this, do not read the manga first. Read it second, because if you read the manga first, you will only be disappointed.

A fairly fun series, despite its formula having been used over and over already.

Asu no Yoichi builds on the well-known formula where the good-natured, but clumsy and clueless about personal relationships, main protagonist ends up in a house full of girls. Where the main female lead also has a fairly trigger-happy attitude. Does that ring a bell somewhere? Love Hina perhaps?

Granted, there isn't much you can do wrong if you follow the original pattern. So despite the show never going bad, there is also nothing which makes the series to rise above the mediocre level. In that aspect, the show does a lot better than many other shows in this genre and ends up being a fairly enjoyable show.

Animation: Not the main priority.

There is nothing wrong with the animation level, although I'm not the one who could point out where the flaws are. I did, however, notice that there is a fairly low level of detail, but that may simply be my imagination. It felt like it was lacking something, somewhere, but I never managed to put my finger on it.

Character designs are nice; there is a fair bit of pantsu-showing available, although not on a level to make this a grand-scale ecchi series. It does have more fanservice though.

Sound: Nice voice actors.

I didn't think there was much to say about the music, because most of the time the BGM is fairly unnoticeable. The OP and ED were –imho- pretty much okay, but they were nothing outstanding either.

The voice actors were doing a good job though; especially the voice actor who played Wa-san fit very well, but most other voice actors also fit very well. I could point out specific examples, but that would be giving away much of the series and I prefer that the watcher experiences that by him/herself.

Story: It's a comedy, there is not much of a story to start with, but they do involve a lot.

The show starts off with a fairly simply idea, but they do manage to involve much more than necessary. While one could easily imagine the show sticking to the 4 girls and a guy in one house, there are several sidekicks which get introduced in the series. Sometimes this is a good thing as the character actually adds something to the series, but oftentimes the character doesn't do anything worthwhile and ends up being a filler-character after its initial episode-focus.

The result is that there are many sidesteps for the series, which is both refreshing – as the series keeps its pace without getting the same jokes over and over – but also gives you an idea they wanted to do too much with it and thought up ideas on the spot. Seeing how the series is based on a manga from 2006 (and still ongoing with 10 volumes when I write this), it is perfectly possible that those characters will get a bigger role in the series. However, that isn't visible in the anime, giving the series a chaotic feeling where characters sometimes get cast away just because they don't need to feature for the next 3 volumes – which is roughly the span of the entire anime.

The addition of the characters does, however, open new subplots and a broad underlying plot. That by itself is a pretty impressive idea, not to mention that it actually seems to work.

Characters: Pretty standard characters.

There isn't much to say about the characters, unfortunately. While they are all fairly well designed, they do have some depth as there are several times where the creators focus on personal relationships between each other. Other times the creators focus on the personalities and their personal problems. Usually this amount of depth is being used in 26-episode series, but the makers managed to put it all into a 12-episode series. This gives the show a feeling that the show moves forward pretty fast. Unfortunately, it also means that there is so much that many characters get that development and are then cast aside to make place for a new character to get that development.

If they ever make a sequel to the show, the series might be a lot more enjoyable because they can do more with the characters other than introduce a new one and find a relation with one of the already existing characters.

Value & Enjoyment: It's still a fair bit of fun.

Despite the criticism, this series is a fairly fun watch, especially since they make good use of its original formula and broaden it with several side-characters to involve some plot into it. The comedy is a hit-or-miss though and I must admit I have seen better in this genre – just as much as I have seen much, much worse.
Therefore, it isn't as bad as I make it sound in this review, as I still believe it gets a 70-80% enjoyment out of series in this genre. It's just that it is hard to write a good review about a comedy which has nothing outstanding.

Upon the question “Is the show worth buying?” I have to refrain from answering. While I have an opinion about this in most cases, it is usually down to your sense of humor whether you like a comedy or not. While this show doesn't go out of its way to find the most silly, hilarious or ecchi kind of scenes, it is still a nice watch. And that's exactly the point: it has never managed to rise to a high level.
So while it's fun to watch it because you can download it, or watch it on tv, it's not worth the money to actually buy it. But like I said, with comedies it's always a hit-or-miss and perhaps you consider this the funniest show in a very long time.