Anime: Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

When I saw the "Dusk Maiden" for the first time I was literally enchanted by this anime. Before that no other anime affected me as much as "Tasogare Otome". Years later I've re-watched the "Dusk Maiden" to refresh my impression. And again was enchanted by Yuuko's story. So I decided to renew my old review.

It's really an unexpected pleasure to accidentally stumble upon such an anime. In times when you consider Hollywood to be almost unbearable to watch, an art-house unbearable to watch in principle, and anime is tightly walled up within the framework of its target audience, genre clichés, conventions and quotations. Don't get me wrong, in the “Dusk Maiden” there are plenty of mentioned shortcomings - there is extremely inappropriate "fan service", a "school" (however, it is present only nominally), a hint on a "harem", a nondescript “ordinary Japanese schoolboy”, an emotional swings, stylistics, reminiscent of a mixture of Bakemonogatari with Another, fillers that salvage a sagging plot, and much more, including hints of the snotty-grotesque melodramatic denouement beloved by teenage audiences, prone to all sorts of extremes, and lacking taste and restraint, which I expected with indifferent disdain. Neither the creators of the anime, nor, especially, the author of the original manga, who works in the field of ecchi and hentai, either before or after the “Dusk Maiden”, created anything worthy of attention, while the “Dusk Maiden” herself did not foreshadow anything special. In general, I believed that I’m watching another dud, that I had “deconstructed” it and that I knew everything about it. But the “Dusk Maiden” contained something much more and, as it should be (more on this below), she tricked me. I would venture to suggest that both the mangaka and the creators of the anime themselves did not understand what and how they created. Here a real work of art appeared, poetry, as Socrates defined it in the Apology: “In short, almost all those present here could better explain what the poets themselves have composed... they do not compose with wisdom, but thanks to some innate ability, in a state of inspiration, like soothsayers and soothsayers inspired by God: after all, the latter say a lot of beautiful things, but do not know anything about what they are talking about. The same state, it seemed to me, is experienced by poets." Apparently, the stars were so aligned that such mystical inspiration gripped both mangaka and anime artists when they were creating the “Dusk Maiden”. What makes a truly worthwhile work of art different is that the artist borrows certain patterns from reality without even realizing their meaning.

So happened with the “Dusk Maiden” - behind all the superficial husk of anime clichés, something unexpectedly worthwhile was revealed. Firstly, it should be noted that the music is very good here (and I mean it) and the Bakemonogatari style mentioned above is used sparingly and tastefully. Secondly, there is an unexpected mixture of genres, combining comedy with drama, mysticism, horror, psychology, detective and romance (and, unfortunately, with inappropriate erotica). Thirdly, a bright and unique main character Yuuko who does not fit into any anime clichés. Moreover, the dark red tones of the autumn maple, referencing Momijigari's play, with its seducing demon in the form of a beautiful maiden and the warrior killing her, while creating the “right” mood, actually mislead the viewer about the nature of Yuuko and the development of the plot. Color solutions in the spirit of Momijigari gave Yuuko ambivalence, the image of a femme fatale, which probably happened entirely by accident, since the manga had not yet been completed at the time the anime was created and Yuuko’s nature was not clear to the creators of the anime.

At the same time, Yuuko’s nature is revealed in the very first episode of the anime. In general, the verbs "to deceive", "to mischief", "to tease" are the best suited for Yuuko, who, although is a spirit, but is not an oni-demon from Momijigari neither a succuba, but a trickster - a mischievous kitsune, a beauty who seduces young man in order to marry him and to be faithful, but not to destroy him. The heroine's looks and behavior, her love to mischievous tricks and jokes, are hints to her archetypal nature. And the way she teases and seduces Teiichi are also parts of the kitsune's trickster game. In this light, the elements of "ecchi" can be seen not as a "fan service", but as a reference to an mythological archetype. Actually, a reference to this archetype immediately, from the first episode, makes an audience to sympathize with making funny faces Yuuko's spirit, whose story has not yet been revealed, but whose character is already “vaguely familiar” to us. The mystical and comical first episode, which plays on the mischievous nature of the main character in her interactions with other characters, sets the tone for the entire anime. And knowledge of Japanese mythology should suggest that romantic relationships between young men and kitsune spirits do not always end tragically.

In addition to the charming trickster protagonist, the anime has a young man (Teiichi) who helps her find integrity through reconciliation with herself. Unfortunately, shackled by genre clichés, this character is shown as an unremarkable “ordinary Japanese schoolboy”, so that every real “ordinary Japanese schoolboy” viewer can imagine himself in Teiichi’s place. However, for the development of the main character, for Yuuko to find herself, he plays a significant role in the plot. Teiichi shows Yuuko that no matter how painful the experience and bitter memories are, no matter how unpleasant some feelings are, without them she will not become a full-fledged person, she will not be able to truly love and enjoy life. Here you can see the fashionable Manichaean psychological mantra about “accepting the dark side of yourself,” or you can look deeper and understand what is shown as Yuuko overcoming her pain and fears with the help of the strength gained through the love and support of a loved one. In this, the “Dusk Maiden” is revealed as a psychological drama, or as another archetypal idea - love conquers fear.

Yuuko, as already noted, embodies the Jungian archetype of the Trickster, breaking up into two personalities - the conscious “ego” and, in fact, the trickster - his unconscious “shadow”, into which Yuuko “puts” everything that she is trying to forget. Thus, she displaces unpleasant experiences and her negative traits and experiences from the conscious (ego) into the unconscious (shadow). Integration of the “shadow” is too painful a procedure to decide on and to endure on your own. However, Yuuko’s misfortune pushed her to take this step, and it was the “savior” that Teiichi became for Yuuko who was called upon to help her take this step. As Carl Jung put it when speaking about the trickster archetype, the longing for a savior can only arise out of misfortune - in other words, the awareness and inevitable integration of the shadow creates such a painful situation that no one but the savior can unravel the tangled tangle of fate. However, Teiichi is Yuuko's savior not only because he helps her accept her "shadow", but also because he helps her find a new meaning (Logos), a new life through his love. Here the "Dusk Maiden" leaves Asian mysticism for Christian mysticism. Teiichi, having reconciled Yuuko with herself and “untied” her from the purgatory in which she had existed all this time, like Jesus Christ, gives his love to Yuuko and through it he gives a new life to the heroine who accepts the new meaning of her existence (Logos). It is unlikely that such a meaning was controlled by the authors (manga and anime), but such a reading is all the more interesting from the point of view of hermeneutics and theological symbolism, which claims that the story of the Logos (Christ) is the archetype of all stories, since He, as the Creator of the world, ordering chaos, laid into it a certain logic that manifests itself in all aspects of existence and in all stories.

Of course, the main advantage of the "Dusk Maiden" is the enchanting and lovely Yuuko. That’s why, by the way, the “harem” in the "Dusk Maiden" is very nominal - the main character of the anime is Yuuko, not Teiichi. She clearly demonstrates to everyone her “exclusive rights” to Teiichi. The latter also, from the very beginning, indicates his affection for Yuuko, not reacting to the advances of other female characters, except when Yuuko herself pushes him away, fighting her own “shadow”. But what makes Yuuko so unique and attractive? It is no secret that one of the modern tropes of popular Western culture and ideology is the so-called "inversion of roles", where a "strong, independent woman" is stronger, smarter, more just and overall more masculine than men. Women are now main protagonists of movies, animation, games and other forms of popular culture where they fill masculine "roles". Yuuko, on the other hand, is also a main character of the story, which is deep and interesting, extremely fascinating for me, though as a man I do not identify myself with the main character. But unlike other modern heroines, Yuuko is a very feminine character, with recognizable roots in mythology and in deep, supranational cultural layers – she is beautiful and mysterious, alluringly playful and innocent, mischievous and practical, virulent and tender. As Tolkien puts it in Galadriel's example: "beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning!" That’s why Yuuko’s story is so fascinating - it’s not an ideology, but real art, where the creators acted as mediums, intermediaries between the viewer and a story, i.e. certain objective meanings that artists “capture” and that “order reality” into a “narrative,” properly structure reality and evoke feelings of participation and empathy in the viewer. This quality of “capturing objective meanings” is absent in ideological narratives. Everything what dominant ideology does by filling in the masculine roles with women, is stripping women of their femininity, since the ultimate idea of such ideology is that women should get rid of their womanhood and act as men. It suggests that "the best women are men." Women are thus proclaimed not "Others" to men, but their inferior copies, ridiculous imitators who don't have their own worth, as they only gain worth as impersonators of men. The situation is different with Yuuko, who does not try to copy male behavior, enjoying her own self-worth as a charming young woman and therefore becoming an incredibly attractive and vibrant personality.

As for the two minor female characters, they are not that interesting, although they are unique. One is the opposite of the main character - her prejudiced relative Kirie, whose dubious femininity is played out in every possible way in the anime and contrasted with the emphasized femininity of Yuuko. Possessing a rather harsh character and constantly jealous of Yuuko's exquisite figure and her relationship with Teiichi, in difficult moments it is Kirie who gives Teiichi sound advice and encourages him to fight for Yuuko. The second girl is a kind of kawaii mascot - the absolutely stupid, enthusiastically stupid Momoe, introduced into the plot for the sake of comedy and another contrast with the virtues of the main character. If Kirie doesn’t even try to “fight” for Teiichi, realizing her inability to compete with Yuuko, but becoming a friend for Teiichi, Momoe, due to her limitations and mascotism, simply serves as a comedic element in the romantic story.

In addition to the mythological, cultural and psychological strata, I would also note completely not explicit one - philosophical, and (as was mentioned before) even theological. For pagan cultures in which Logos with Christian rational inquisitiveness has not blazed out all of the weeds of vulgar mysticism with its deification of stones, insects, rivers and with other ancient superstitions, ghosts are something "inanimate", "disappearing", and inferior. On the one hand, for such a “magical” consciousness of a pagan, everything is mystical, but on the other, everything mystical is unreal, unless it manifests itself by the demand for sacrifices. Almost everyone has learned through popular, even Western, culture, which has absorbed some pagan ideas, that the “dead” are supposed to disappear, go into the world of the dead and dissolve in memory. As a last resort, “go into the light”, into some world of spirits. The Japanese take this to the extreme, in which the spiritual world is so unreal that it disappears from memory along with the spirits. However, this is not at all the case in Christianity, where Lazarus lived quite normally after being raised from the dead, not to mention Jesus. Where all the faithful, in fact, are promised eternal life after death - real, not “herbivorous-spiritual”, but one in comparison with which the present carnal life is hardly life at all, if not just a pale, inferior shadow of existence. For a Christian, some kind of radical skeptic-rationalist, like the convinced Catholic Rene Descartes, things are devoid of mysticism and spirits, superstition is vain, but the real spiritual world is “more real than reality.” In the philosophy of antiquity, Christianity is echoed by Plato with his “cave”, where the physical world is only an imperfect shadow of the real, ideal world. Not so in Japanese culture, where spiritual world is the shadow.

Therefore, all the more surprising is the ending, which turned out to be very life-affirming, like the Dusk Maiden Yuuko herself - although a spirit, but a very rational girl who does not believe in pagan fatalism and in Asian mysticism with all sorts of “curses” and “monsters” (which are often ridiculed by Yuuko in the anime). Yuuko repeatedly makes references to Jung's analytical psychology, commenting on and ridiculing school superstitions about "monsters" and "curses", demystifying them. What's actually funny is that the only character in the anime who was actually haunted by a ghost was Yuuko, and that ghost was herself. The ending generally turned out to be Tolkien-esque eucatastrophic (a term introduced by Tolkien, as opposed to “catastrophe,” meaning an unexpected happy turn of the plot, similar to the coming of the Savior). For Yuuko, as was already mentioned, the Savior archetype is embodied by Teiichi. Not only because he helps Yuuko to accept her shadow, but also because Teiichi helps her to find new meaning, a new life, thanks to his love. Thanks to Teiichi, takes place a kind of “resurrection” of Yuuko.

Moreover, Yuuko's eucatastrophic "resurrection" not only demystifies Asian fatalism, but also produces another important demystification - the exposure of what René Girard called "Satan casts out Satan" or "mimetic violence." This refers to the ritual of pagan sacrifice of Yuuko as a “scapegoat” by the villagers to save them from some evil (plague). When vigilantes (this applies to any group) choose a victim to rid the community of troubles, this victim is dehumanized (by attributing unusual traits to the victim). Moreover, dehumanization occurs in two ways. First, in order to get rid of the feeling of guilt, the victim is recognized as “responsible” for the troubles or as “necessary” for restoring peace in the community - i.e. the victim is deprived of her human status, turning into a “criminal” or into a “tool”. After the victim has been lynched and “peace” comes, the “deification” of the victim may also occur – vigilantes may say that with victim’s death she brought benefit to others, “turned away evil.” Deification implies attributing certain supernatural abilities to the victim, which also dehumanizes her, since from a “guilty” “subhuman” she is transformed into a “superhuman” (thus the unfortunate victim is denied normal, human status). This is how the legend of the “vengeful spirit Yuuko” arises, attributing certain mystical, witch-like abilities to the innocent girl. All these are psychological mechanisms for vigilantes to overcome feelings of guilt. In this regard, Yuuko's "normalization" (by becoming whole) and "resurrection" expose the hypocrisy of the scapegoat mechanism and prevent the vigilantes from gaining the upper hand. Firstly, from the world of the “supernatural”, where the community tried to send her, from the “evil shadow”, Yuuko returns as a completely human, innocent girl, which she is, demonstrating the evil and injustice of the collective violence committed against her. Secondly, she “comes to life”, not allowing the collective practices of sacrifice, the cult of death, to prevail over life, to send her life into oblivion. Thus, Yuuko is rehabilitated and her tormentors are convicted. The scapegoat mechanism is broken.

"Sentimentality is a mask of cruelty." It seems to me that the viewer who gets sentimental pleasure from the fatalism of gratuitous bad endings is somewhat similar to the crowd who gets pleasure from sacrifice. The sentimentalism of such a viewer illustrates well the theory of mimetic violence, which involves collective sacrifice in the name of imaginary “good causes.” Formally, such a viewer feels sorry for the heroine, but in reality revels in sadistic sentimental bestiality, because deep down in the soul this viewer does not, and will never want to, put himself or herself in the place of the victim, and therefore does not truly sympathize with her, being an accomplice in the “sacrifice” of the main characters in the name of a selfish catharsis. That is why the unambiguous “happy ending” moves the “Dusk Maiden” from the category of another spoiled snotty melodrama, pandering to bad taste, superficial sentiments and cruelty of part of the public (like Yuuko’s vigilantes), into something much more.

In general, if you pay attention to the symbolism and cultural layers of the “Dusk Maiden”, discarding all the superficial tinsel like anime cliches (which are mere conventions here - after all, no “schools”, “harems” or other nonsense affect the plot – they are only titles and hints), then complete with good direction, vivid art style and wonderful music, as well as a fascinating (since archetypal) story, this anime, although not without its shortcomings, is one of the few exceptions that makes anime an art.

It started off as an anime that didn't really hold my attention; it was sexy, dark, beautiful, and it ended with me completely enthralled.

The characters were quite interesting, but at times they felt like plot devices. That would be my only complaint. For such a short anime, you would expect that there wouldn't be any filler, and you would be wrong.

The music is beautiful, the art is beautiful, the characters are enthralling and it's amazing to watch them progress and change into something beautiful. Yuuko's struggle against her darkness, and her relationship with her sister were both beautiful and moving. I could have gone for a little more gore, but this anime had the right balance of darkness, ecchi and character development.

There are no massive changes to the characters, so this anime feels closer to a series of real life events, which makes me think that something similar, though less fantasy-like happened in real life. Symbolically speaking, I've known people who have don't feel like they belong anywhere, especially those who have gone to war, or have lost one or both of their parents. It has a similar feeling to that. I can't recommend this anyone to anyone, despite being one of the best anime I've ever seen, because I think that you have to find this anime for yourself, and take it in for your own reasons.

Amnesia is an ghost story about a guy named Teiichi who is haunted, willingly, by a girl named Yuuko. It's a very focused story with a bit of mystery and romance that, while not chain-dependent, still makes for a satisfying experience. In terms of experience, it feels something between Another and Ano Hana; you get the not-so-evil ghost but with an actual ghost-appropriate atmosphere. Overall, this was one of the better watches in its season and one I'd recommend for the balanced atmosphere.

Animation:
I really liked the animation characteristics of this series. The coloring effects in particular were nicely done; the overall foreground coloring is a bit under saturated but they balance this with very colorful lighting effects and a very magenta/purple/blue-heavy palette for the background. It creates a wonderful balance that gives the series just enough of a dark atmosphere without you freaking out about what's behind you. The animation is also characterized by artistic sequences (think Bakamonogatari, Ef, etc.) that were used to great effect.

Character styling is well done (relatives actually look alike!) and I'm amazed by the breadth of outfits a ghost can have. There isn't a strong focus on action though there is a bit of ecchi, both intentionally by Yuuko and (mostly) accidentally by Teiichi. This does feel a bit more mature than Ano Hana though nowhere near Yosuga status (would be weird with the ghost thing and all...).

Sound:
This is the first series in a long time in which I actively sought out both the OP and ED for my collection. The OP is a fitting, moderately dark yet progressive song by the incredibly young and talented Konomi Suzuki. The ED is a calming yet mysteriously dark piece with a very good melody. The BGM is above average as well with a good mix of calming, saddening, and tense instrumental pieces, with the insert song Requiem being the most memorable highlight (used to amazing effect in the last episode).

VAs were also very good in the series. Though Yuuko's VA doesn't have a very long track record, I think she did a great job voicing Yuuko and Kage-Yuuko. I also continue to be amazed by Eri Kitamura's wide voice range.

Story:
This is a very simple yet well-executed story. Basically, after accidentally discovering Yuuko while wandering lost in his maze of a school, Teiichi ends up forming a Paranormal Investigations Club, ironically with ghost Yuuko as the president. Yuuko is a kind ghost with amnesia, she can't remember anything about her past. Thus, throughout the first part of the show, the club solves paranormal mysteries in the hope of finding out facts about her past (even though some members can't see Yuuko). While it seems random at the time, all of the mysteries do eventually build up to finding out about Yuuko's past. What happens once Yuuko discovers her past? There is enough foreshadowing to guess early on but you'll have to watch to find out. The story does build to a final, grand climax and ends on a very satisfying note (though this will depend on your expectations of ghosts).

Character:
I agree with the other reviewers in that this is probably the weakest category for this show, especially in comparison to Ano Hana. Most of the characters other than Yuuko don't really have enough exposition- in fact, Okonogi serves only as comic relief for the show. However, I appreciate the series sticking to a few core characters (though at times I wonder if it really is a school, as many scenes show empty courtyards and hallways).

Development is pretty limited to Teiichi and Yuuko, with most of the development happening very late in the series. The development is complemented by a bit of romance as well as a pretty interesting character-relation graph that materializes also towards the end of the show. Yuuko's personality is a plus, but it doesn't quite balance out the other elements.

Value:
This was an enjoyable watch for me. The balance between Yuuko's light yet seductive personality and the appropriately-dark atmosphere really work to create a very unique feel. Add in the well thought through story and you have a winner. As compared to Ano Hana, this work has superior atmosphere and a much more mature-acting ghost, though the overall characters are not nearly as well developed, especially considering how few of them there are.

This is a pretty easy watch- not that many characters to remember, and no complicated plot to keep track of. I'd recommend giving this series a shot; especially the first episode with its particularly interesting way of introducing the characters and setting.

Another example of a show that gives anime a bad name and is hardly an indicator of how good the medium can be. Other than that it is once again proven how low the quality of anime has been the past 5 years if something shitty like that is considered by the fandom as one of the most entertaining shows of the year it came out.
- Animated by Silver Link, a minor studio whose only full works so far have been the equally shitty Baka to Test and C3. These guys pour a lot of cash into making their animations bizarre and vivid but otherwise don’t give a damn about plot or character depth.
- Directed by Oonuma Shin, a guy who produced the rather good Pani Poni Dash and Ef a Tale of Memories/Melodies. Too bad he transferred to them afterwards and trashed his career.

So what is this shitty show about? Fan service bullshit; that’s what it is. It is not an over the top nudity and underwear in your face but it still caters to those wastes of meat that have nothing better to do than watching such crappy fan pleasing nonsense. The premise is about your typical high school dork meeting with a slutty female ghost who has amnesia. Along with other two aloof girls he forms a club (the only thing students can do in schools to deal with whatever happens apparently) in order to solve supernatural mysteries in their school with the ulterior motive being to find out the ghost’s real identity, as well as a way to help her move along.

The premise is hardly uncommon and looking a few years back you can easily find lots of anime with almost identical themes. Some famous examples are Ano Hi Mita, Another, Bakemonogatari, Ghost Hound, Ghost Hunt, Ghost Stories, and Hundred Stories. But it is still interesting and they could have made lots of wonderful side stories and taking a look into several moral messages and metaphysical aspects … if they gave a frakk. Unfortunately the whole thing plays out as retarded as it gets.

It is just a typical ecchi comedy to the most part, with zero plot continuity, lots of fan service and dumb humor, before it heads for a rushed dramatic ending that is not even an ending but rather more fan catering bullshit for wastes of meat. Just to get an idea of how terrible it is just look at the character roster. There are only four characters in the whole damn show and their characterization is shitty.
- Most of the focus in given on the slutty female ghost and I don’t mean its personality. You are mostly watching this show for this whore making the lead boy horny for not much of a reason. She is nothing more but an otaku’s wet dream: An eternally young and sexy fictional waifu.
- The lead boy is not any better, he is as blunt as harem leads can get. He is the empty vessel for all wastes of meat to identify with. You know what I mean; being the center of attention even when you have absolutely no talent or redeeming qualities.
- And the other two girls in the club don’t even matter to the plot; they are just a tsundere and a happy-go-lucky dumbass coming along for the lulz just for the lead boy to be talking to somebody else other than the walls in that empty school of theirs.

Now the truth is they do not remain as unchanged cardboards all the way, as the blunt boy eventually falls in love with the slutty ghost, the slutty ghost’s past is revealed, and there is a simple love polygon formed at some point. Not that it matters much in the longrun but it’s better than an absolute zero. Yeah, sounds like I am grabbing at straws, doesn’t it? There are some idiots out there praising the whole thing as being a triumph of the romantic genre while in reality, that couldn't be farther from the truth. The whole romance fuss happens only because:
- blunt boy was curious to find out about her past and eventually felt pity for figuring out what happened to her. Plus being constantly seduced by a huge pair of breasts that never requires from you paying for sustaining it, has that effect.
- slut ghost liked how he was kind. Plus there is no other dick in the whole goddamn show, so she may as well be blatantly throwing herself at the only one available.
Not much of a reason, right? Do the math and PRESTO there is no romance in here. Depth? Love? What the frakk are those and why would you expect them in a shitty show like this one?

Sadly the ending is totally crap and renders all the above crams of characterization useless. It only tries to cater to the wastes of meat audience instead of offering a sad but solid closure to the whole mess. They try to make it appear like a most ideal relationship just formed but in practice all you get is a dude who will waste his whole life being a virgin inside a school, loving nothing but hot air. Would you like that? I sure wouldn’t but then again I am not thinking like a waste of meat who wishes to spend his life in that shit.

The only good thing in it is the artwork, which is up to the head on cinematics and visual effects that attempt to offer an eerie atmosphere to the show. It makes it trippy to watch but they could have used all the money to animate a quality title to look like that instead of this shitty title that will be forgotten in a few weeks.

A most unimpressive show I would recommend only to the worst kind of anime fans. The rest of you, keep the frakk away from this shit.

Some shows are not honest about their true nature.
They lie, cheat, steal and sell themselves short in a bid to attract more audience. Distinguishing these shows from the rest means forcing yourself to watch stuff which you don't particularily enjoy. But in the end, it is rewarded.

Tasogare Otome is one of these shows. It starts off masquerading as ecchi / harem / student club anime and then develops into an exellent love story.

Enjoyment

This show takes a while to get into. As said above, it starts (and continues for a few episodes) as yet another mindless ecchi / harem / student club anime. The only reason i forced myself to gobble these episodes up is because i really had nothing better to do on that particular day.

Imagine my surprise when i noticed that all the subtle developments in earlier ecchi-filled episodes are suddenly coming together to form one of the best romance stories in recent memory. The latter half had me going from tears to laughter and back on more than one occasion. It simply is just that good.

I can't give this show a perfect 10, because, face it, initial arcs are almost exclusively about a hot girl throwing herself into the arms of an apparently underserving lucky lose... ahem... protagonist. But, heck, it fully deserves at least an 8.

Presentation (Video and Audio)

Let me just say that i hate ecchi. I hate it so much that when i see a show that only has ecchi going for it, i drop it immediately. Unless i'm depressed and just want to see some gainaxing to cheer me up, but that really wasn't the case here :P

How is that relevant to audio and video categories, you ask? Well, this is the part that the show really had going for it! The sheer love put into all the sounds and visuals and, for the lack of better term, camera work of this show, was the thing that made me sit through all the mindless initial parts. I just couldn't believe that this perfect of a presentation work could be wasted on yet another stupid harem.

So, what's so awesome?
In plain terms, every scene has a very exact emotion it needs to convey and uses just the right tools to get the point across. Every scene transition uses just the right special effect work to get you from one mood to another (and back, if necessary, this series does love to play emotion yo-yo).
Sure, the sounds are crisp. Sure, the voice acting is good. Sure, the picture is both pretty and stylish. But this show goes beyond these basics and gives you true immersion.

Well, as soon as you are willing to let it. Which can be hard in the initial parts with all the naked flesh, but like i said, you just need to tough that bit through. And, honestly, you can't fault audio and visual work for writer choices :(

You know, it's been a while since i felt any show deserved a 10/10 in Audio and Video. In fact, i'm struggling to name a single show which impressed me with it's presentation as much as this one since Bakemonogatari. I certainly feel comfortable giving these marks here.

Story

The story is solid. Even as the show delves into light-headed sexual indulgence of early episodes, it still succeeds in making exactly zero wasted plot movements. Heck, even the light-headed sexual indulgence itself becomes a plot point later on.

Being a fairly classic love story at it's core, this anime's plot is far from unpredictable, but still succeeds at being very touching and smart in it's handling of various related issues. The "mystery of the episode" approach that is employed until the last few episodes also serves great in it's mixed role of both providing meaningful action to scenes at hand and being a stealth plotdevice for the main storyline. The balance of serious and comedy is a bit off early on, but really gets into the right spot in the second, more serious, half of the show. In fact, at some point i was genuinely glad to see a comedy relief character barge into a scene and felt that it really made the story better. How many comic reliefs you know that can manage that?

All in all, very respectable story work.

The only two things i can fault these show for storywise are these:
- being stuck in the ecchi for a few more episodes than strictly necessary. I could do with some additional exploration of support cast instead of yet another scene of protagonist getting all shy at the sight of (admittedly attractive) main heroine's cleavage
- on a few occasions characters overreact to emotions so much, it strains suspension of disbelief. Wouldn't be so bad, if it didn't affect at least one key plot point (which i won't divulge here for the sake of not being spoliery).

Thus 8/10

Character

Character work is probably the weakest part of this show. For starters, none of the characters is really unique. The show doesn't even really try to put any sort of spin on the character stereotypes. Granted, the story doesn't require having wholly original characters, and may, in fact, work better using more run-of-the-mill types. But, still the characters themselves start out quite flat. Combined with extreme light-headedness of opening arcs, this is probably the largest source of low ratings for this show.

Not only are these characters weak from the onset, but they also don't get a whole lot of development. While the story does achieve it's highest points at the moments where characters surpass their limits and become better human beings (or ghosts, as the case may be), these moments seem to only be reserved for the main story arc and only for the main duo. Don't expect supporting cast and one-shot characters to get any sort of development treatment. Also don't expect the main protagonists show any growth until the drama demands it.

Heck, one of the main plot points is actually about a character resisting it's own development.

So, all in all, character work was below what i generally like. But at least it didn't hurt the story and got the job done when it counted. 6/10 in this category.

Value

Significant ecchi segment detracts from the value of this show in my eyes. Lack of character development as well. The same story could have been told in half as many episodes or possibly on a single full length movie.
That being said, it still ends up being one of the better romance and personal drama stories around. So i'm comfortable giving it a 6 here.