Da Capo II – bluemist anime blog

Da Capo II: Maya Sawai

She’s not my favorite character in this game, but I like Maya because she actually reminds me of one of my ____ in real life. Unnecessary tidbit aside though, let me just say that Maya is almost the same as many other iinchos (class representatives) in the anime or bishoujo world. She is a tsundere meganekko. Well she’s not exactly as snobbish or strict as an iincho usually is, but she still has the spunk and the strong character. Like any strong character though, there are some vulnerabilities inside, so let me show you what she has in store for us.
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Tragedy, Hope

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Knowing about the true story of Sakura in anime form was unprecedented for me. Even if I had already [skimmed the surface->dc2-da-capo], I guess the tale can still be told effectively in another way. The most important part of the experience though, is that I can relate somewhat to the character. Yes, Yoshino Sakura’s trials, tribulations and tragedies reflect my own set of current real-life problems. As a result, my heart breaks yet again for this fictional character, and in part, this fictional character gave me a source of reference, reflection and inspiration of myself.
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Da Capo II: Da Capo

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Da Capo II: Yume Asakura

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Da Capo II: Otome Asakura

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Da Capo II: Episode 4

This is some sidestory on some Da Capo II fandisk I didn’t play. In any case, Yoshiyuki X Koko is getting even more stronger, I may think they would pursue this all the way to the end. But no way, I shall never be swayed. I predict Koko is still getting the axe, although I hope not. Childhood friends don’t get any love in many other anime except this one, and I’m really happy to see their relationship blooming. Darn, the producers of this anime may be too cruel because at this point it’s total heartbreak if they cut off Koko in the next few episodes. I cross my fingers on what will happen next.

As a fanservice athletic meet episode though, this one FAILS. Again, the crazily inconsistent animation at fault, but yet again Koko is almost always well-animated. A little hurrah though goes to Anzu, she is a bit more prominent (and funny) here. The female Suginami starting to show her dark humor side. Awesome. Nanaka is too dere-dere for my tastes. This is NOT how a school idol acts. Minatsu gets relegated by the side, as well as Otome. Yume is not stepping up either, she’s just Dark Nemu all the way. Hmmm, but at least Sakura returns a bit, and she looks more kakkoi.

All in all this episode is zzz. Fanservice filler.

Da Capo II: Episode 3

This episode is supposed to be about Nanaka… but no, it’s still about Koko. Millions of Shirakawa fans scream in anguish unison.

This is a point where Yoshiyuki is admirable though. Rather than being an oh so generic male lead who can’t decide which girl to pick, Yoshiyuki “sticks to one girl” (for now). He isn’t easily swayed in romance, whether it be the annoying but cute robot or the legendary school idol of the century, or even his two cute sisters. I guess the “boyfriend failure” dialogue of Anzu did stick to him, and so he decided to know more about Koko by joining the band. If only this kind of situation persisted, we will really see Yoshiyuki X Koko all the way to the end of the series. Unfortunately, anime is not that forgiving to innocent lovers, especially with a dating-game based anime at that.

The animation quality is really annoying. They don’t animate the girls good enough. The worst victim is still Yume, my poor Yume. Minatsu is second-worst, and Otome and Nanaka’s isn’t as consistent either. Surprisingly, Koko is the best-drawn girl in the series so far, which is more of a solid hurrah for her growing fans. No really, I think her fandom is growing by this episode, because girl bass guitar players look cooler than stereotypical singing school idols. And yes I’m trying to instigate the Nanaka vs. Koko war. School idols are so 2003 (or 2002), girl band members are the wave of the future!

Seriously though, Da Capo II aside from the animation quality is getting better in terms of story. It sticks to the original game faithfully and at the same time gives me a cloud of uncertainty by establishing more of the Koko relationship. I’m betting 2 episodes MAX before she gets baked… and then there will be cake. Delicious and moist.

Da Capo II: Episode 2

[Minatsu->da-capo-2-minatsu-amakase] the tsundere robot. Surprisingly, this episode is quite faithful to her actual canon story. Having recently finished her scenario, I was quite happy so see this annoying brat animated.

Yume’s character design is really dropping. I don’t like her face, she really looks so Nemu now. Otome is oh so out of the loop… and Nanaka is NOWHERE. Is Anzu really relegated to being a side-character? Say it ain’t so!

I think Wataru’s reaction to Yoshiyuki X Koko is a wonderful sign of things to come. I’m eagerly awaiting the now-eventual Wataru-Koko-Yoshiyuki-Nanaka love quadrangle. Very exciting stuff!

YAY for banana jokes? This is the first sign of fanservice in this anime, and as a non-fanservice fan, I hope it will be the last.

Please keep in mind the opening sequence of this anime. WHY the heck is Minatsu the “last” girl in the OP? This is something really fishy. What’s more, she is looking at the sakura tree in the sequence… something which I didn’t even encounter in my playthrough of the game. Don’t they dare cut off the true Otome-Yume-Da Capo stories unless they announce a second season or some other sequel… otherwise this will just be [To Heart 2->toheart2-anime-review] all over again. And my bold prediction will be for Yume, but that is my Yui Horie bias talking.

But this episode was rather good, except the sappy Koko-Yoshiyuki scenes. Yoshiyuki here is a wuss for not taking their relationship any further. I mean… “holding hands”? they are freaking childhood friends, that’s something rather easy to get over and done with right? It’s a wonderful intro to Minatsu though, considering that she probably has the least fans. She’s not (To Heart) Multi level, but at least tsundere+robot=rare… right?

Da Capo II: Minatsu Amakase

Robot classmate Minatsu borrows her robotics almost exactly from Da Capo Generation One’s Miharu Amakase, down to the hole in her back which is used for some sort of system maintenance. On the attitude part though, I could say that Minatsu is quite different from Miharu. Miharu is an energetically positive girl full of happiness, while Minatsu is an energetically tsundere girl full of angst. Her character follows the basic cookie-cutter meaning of the term actually. But as the story progresses, she will deal with a very positive emotional transformation. Nevertheless, she is a very fun girl, whatever her moods may be.

Disclaimer: Lacking Japanese will mean lack of story details. I expect that there will be a LOT of errors in the way I understood some events, because I rely only on the spoken dialogue. To the Japanese-literate game players who may have found this page, please do help me in case I have mistaken in understanding some parts of the story. Please do post a comment or contact me.
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Da Capo II: Episode 1

Summary:
– Why only 13 episodes?
– Gah, more Engrish from yozuca*
– Anzu didn’t get any OP lovin.
– Why is Minatsu a prominent figure in the OP? She was in the last scene.
– Yui Horie should have played Nanaka, the new eternal goddess of Da Capo II.
– They are not following the game from the get-go.
– Hooray for Koko fans!
– Another good song by CooRie.

I’m looking at the voice cast, and it seems like a strange mix-up. Only Sakura (yay Yukarin!) and Suginami reprised their role, and Yui Horie as Yume is a miscast for me.

And Yume looks like Nemu in this anime. This can’t be! Yume in-game is much cuter!

The worst part of it all this is that I “feel” [DCSS->da-capo-second-season] vibes. That’s not a good thing. Its deviation from the original game though is quite interesting, it will keep me guessing. Maybe we would have a reverse-play or mix of Koko and Nanaka’s stories? How would they handle the other girls now that they’ve made a surprising Yoshiyuki-Koko connection? The 13-episode limit still worries me, and Minatsu’s prominence seems out of place. Da Capo II lives up to its name, a “da capo”, back to the start again folks.

We deserve to know the true stories in the game, and so I will “try” to play the game once again to finish Minatsu, Otome, Yume, and Da Capo (Sakura) scenarios. I hope Da Capo II doesn’t turn crappy because when it does I will lose interest. In any case, if you haven’t already, please do read up on three of those characters on this project page:

http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/dc2/

All-in-all, this is a somewhat average start. I’ll be keeping eye on this still though.

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This is a [Summer of Bishoujo 3->summer-of-bishoujo] feature