Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Hatsukoi Limited


"Have you ever fell in love?"

That's the first line of this series. It made me cringed. "Oh god, not another shoujo anime please!" I said.

However, despite that dreaded feelings, I continued watching the rest of the first episode and by the time the ED song was playing, I was hooked, thank goodness.

Hatsukoi Limited (literally means First Love Limited) is a story about a bunch of teenage school girls/boys who are exploring and learning about love. Sounds rather generic, isn't it? Well it is not. Let me explain.

Hatsukoi Limited is a well executed romance anime. It involved a complex love web. The complexities of those loves, paired with the personalities of the characters are what make watching Hatsukoi Limited such an enjoyable ride despite it being only of 12 episodes. Even though the comedy in Hatsukoi Limited was derived from the combination of it's characters, slapstick and timing, I didn't think any of my brain cells died. Everything is done seamlessly and things never get stupid for the sake of comedy which was one of the reason I take pleasure in completing it.

Hatsukoi Limited does not begin and end each story lines within one or two episodes. It moves and develops those stories throughout the 12 episodes. Like I said it kind of complicated with such a large casts but this anime managed to pull this one by introducing them and addresses them slowly and flawlessly without the needs to stress it out.

To captured the various aspects of a first love, this anime needs a large cast. Don't fret though because it is impossible to get confused. The overall plots will adapt you to each of the major characters' development. You'll love watching them grow and mature throughout the series. I was surprised to find myself rooting for Kei-chan and Kusuda-kun and thought Yamamoto-san and Arihara-kun made such a good-looking couple. The characters are extremely likable (even I liked characters that I usually hate). They are also easy to relate to because none of them seems too fictious or fantasy-like. I'm sure once upon a time we have all been through such similar situation.

They are all sorts of love. The typical unrequited love to brother/sister complex that borderline incest. Although I won't consider Hatsukoi Limited as ecchi, there are still some fan service moments for the guys. So you perverted out there can enjoy this one too! As for the girls, don't worry. You will have no problem enduring those moments because it didn't feel overly forced.

The OP and the ED are catchy but nothing special. As for the voice of each characters, they fit perfectly.

Since this anime was done by J.C. Staff, a well-known animation studio, it was to be expected that the quality of the animation was quite high and there was never a point where I spotted any inconsistencies with the character designs. They did an amazing job with the adaptation leaving me wanting more and completely satisfied. It also makes me all giggly and girly, which I definitely am not!

I'll end this review with it's famous catch phrase: "Are you in love right now?"



Graphics 8/10
Sound 8/10
Storyline 9/10
Characters 9/10
Overall 9/10

12 comments:

Phossil said...

well executed romance anime?? I thing in this case I shoould give it a try...

www.animoe.net

kluxorious said...

yes. when i finished watching it, I find myself wanting to have a romantic relationship.

which kinda sad in reality *chuckles* XD

Unknown said...

HL was surprisingly good. It consistently delivered despite the different focus in each episode. Probably the best anime that I watched last season.

kluxorious said...

It is the only anime I managed to complete last season. everything else is torture except for a few others like east of eden and basquash.

marmar04 said...

I thought this anime was super cute! Just what I'd expect from the same studio that did KimiKiss.

Andrei said...

The only anime remotely in this genre that i tried to watch was Nana. I got stuck on episode 5, lol. I wanna watch a romance or slice of life anime, but i want it with grown-ups! Everytime I see the regular school teens makes me wanna puke. Adults! Full grown women with shapes! Where are they? 0.o My wife will beat me if she sees this.

kluxorious said...

now that you've said it, it was indeed hard to find a good romance/slice of life anime that doesn't have high-schoolers as the main casts.

*thinks hard*

- Honey & Clover
- Kara no Kyoukai
- White Album
- Emma?

Sapphire Pyro said...

I didn't like the romance in this =_=

I couldn't stand this show >_>;;;

kluxorious said...

there was barely any romance in it though. It was more like... a bud of a flower. None of the relationship are fully developed to even called it a romance.

but the theme is definitely romance-isque.

Sapphire Pyro said...

Ah, that's what I meant. I wasn't sure of the term for it so I just used "romance" ^^; ehehe

I honestly haven't watched/read this. SO I guess I had prejudged it. But the synopsis, spoilers, and screenshots made me vomit so much. I don't think I could handle the actual thing >_>;;;;

*hides from violent fans of the show*

I can't help it! I see those girls as a shame to womanhood! *avoids rotten tomatoes*

kluxorious said...

you haven't watch/read it and is already condemned the show? *looks at pyro sceptically*

well, if you have seen Kimi Kiss and like that, maybe you would like this one too. If you hate it, maybe you should avoid it like a plague.

But that would be such a waste for a good romance comedy that hard to come by these days.

Sapphire Pyro said...

I rarely prejudge a show, but just seeing the pics make me eyes bleed and the synopsis already gave me headaches x_x

I didn't like kimikiss for the same reason >_>

so yeah, these types are just not my thing I guess. wahehe