To Heart ~Remember my Memories~
I love the [To Heart->] anime. I love that anime so much, that I really wished nothing will get wrong about the new series which is called To Heart ~Remember my Memories~.
Alas, I was wrong.
Being an anime-only fan of To Heart, I can already expect that I may not deserve to say bad things about To Heart ~Remember my Memories~ (hereby named as To Heart R for clarity), clearly because I haven’t even played the entire game nor understood it fully. For the bishoujo game players, To Heart R is a big treat. They get to see the new stories that happen after the original game. To Heart R is not a direct sequel of To Heart, and because of this, I am trying hard to separate them.
Technically, it’s an absolute shame. The art and animation levels are more of a stock market from the first 2/3 of this series. Sometimes good, sometimes horrible. I know that the producers of this anime are trying to make an accurate art rendition of To Heart using the original game’s character designs, and that’s fine with me. However, the massive and radical differences of the designs between each episode really make me sick. The same character in ep. 1 may not ever look the same in other episodes. Thankfully, the latter part of the series have gotten it right, which makes you wonder why they didn’t do it that way from the first time through. Yup, even before Mahou Sensei Negima, anime like To Heart R is already suffering from varying sakuga levels.
The story is, for me, something up for debate. On one hand, it was nice that they had a full forward story approach, as opposed to the filler-ish nature of the first series. On the other hand, one can argue that the series has been too focused on Multi. Multi’s plotlines run deep through every single episode of To Heart R, in that you may think they are really leaving Akari behind, despite her being the main girl. For fans of the iconic HMX-12 robot, To Heart R is a dream come true. For non-fans of Multi, To Heart R became too unfair to the other characters.
The biggest complaint I had with To Heart R is of one character itself, and that’s Hiroyuki. This is really the biggest disappointment that made me want to ask if his attitude is really that way in the original game. To Heart R’s Hiroyuki is the most insensitive, indecisive, and inconsistent bishoujo male lead I’ve ever seen. It’s an extreme reverse to To Heart’s Hiroyuki, the bored but kind male lead. There is a reason for the girls to love Hiroyuki of the original To Heart, because he is really kind and helpful to all of them. To Heart R’s Hiroyuki, yea sure he’s kind too, but I really can’t see it that way. For one, his “cruelty level” to a person is proportional to how close the person is to him. It means that he is somewhat mean to Masashi and Shiho, and to the worst extent, he is really mean to Akari. He is also hot-headed, and shouts a lot, especially when things don’t go his way. He is impolite to the elders he talks to throughout this series.
I really wonder how the To Heart R Hiroyuki made 3 girls in love with him. Yes folks, 3 people confessed to him in this series, as opposed to 0 in the first. And I really hate how he handled their broken hearts. We all know Akari is the main girl, and Hiroyuki is destined to be with Akari. But those 2 other poor girls got the no answer while Hiroyuki is still confused about his priorities, and Akari is being jealous. Therefore, the 2 busted girls didn’t have the chance to to make themselves worthy of Hiroyuki’s affection at all.
I want to say something good this time about To Heart R. Well, the OP and ED are really good. The OP reminds me of classic bishoujo game music, while the ED is a new rendition of a popular To Heart song. There are also multiple cameos of characters from the new bishoujo game To Heart 2, which I liked very much. The voice cast is almost the same as the first series, which is one of the best ingredient of this anime. Back in 1999, many of those seiyuu are already relatively popular. In 2004, the same seiyuu cast made To Heart R one of the most spectacular lineup of voice talents in recent history. I never thought I could see [Yui Horie->horie-yui] and Ayako Kawasumi together in an anime again.
I really want to say many more things about To Heart R, but you may be bored about this absolutely biased rant. Sorry that I am biased towards the original To Heart anime, but that’s my true and honest opinion. To Heart R is actually an ok anime, but because of so many reasons, I can’t find myself to liking it.
This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature
In my opinion, this anime is not bad, but for the fans of the original series (As you or me) this is a very bad fool, OK, they rescue a part of the original designs of leaf (exept in opposite of KSS, THR Works don’t respect that all girls have rounded faces and details like that), the draw quality (Unlikely for me) is very low (Except for Akari-chan, she always look great).
The trama is not a continuation exactly to the anime or the game, details like Multi no return after the test in the school (In the game she returned after she fails the test, in the anime, also, she is invited to the christmas party of Shiho)
One of the most resqueliable things on this anime for mi is the cameos an conection with other characters of other games from Leaf/Aquaplus, like Mizuho Aihara, Yuuzuke Nagase and Kanako Oota from Shizuku (Feel has the appareance of Kanako before she was mad and cut their own Face) or the Himeyuri Twins from To Heart 2 as you mentioned; other thing is that the Story was more dramatic (How bad, there is no all Happy more) and implict Technical Details of Multi.
Really I was espected so much for this anime, and since i was a big Otaku from To Heart, this not make me very Happy, but is good, shortly surprass my aprobation level.
I agree with you man. The only good side about this to heart is that it’s more dramtic than the first BUT im so annoyed on how hiro keeps on shouting multi and stuff. Jeez he acts like an obsessed kid here.
Yeah it is a major disappointment for me too but I thought that the story was better though, because it actually showed developement of Hiro and Akari.
Although I was happy about this, I was quite pissed that Hiroyuki started carring about Multi more than Akari. I mean honestly, Multi was only there for a month or so and for some reason he cant forget her but the memories of Akari and Akari herself, he could easily forget in a split second. To be honest with you guys and although this is a bit of a spoiler to some of you guys though I doubt you actually care but I thought Akari should have accepted Masashi’s feelings. I mean I feel sorry for the guy. Besides the 5 min screen time he has in the show, his feelings were true. And he was always there for her. Problem is Akari(much like Harima Kenji for those who watch School Rumble) only see one person as there true love and has eyes only for that person. Pretty Stupid I know but this is a trait for most people.
After Masashi’s confession to Akari I thought finally some other guy confessed to Akari and not another girl confessing to the jerk-wad Hiroyuki. (I used to think he was quite cool but that ended after To Heart- the original).
Especially when Shio showed the Picture of Masashi changing after practice to Akari and the whole scene about Akari being mistaken for Masashi’s girlfriend and Masashi denying it and stating that she was only a child hood friend for the sake of Hiroyuki (the kind person Masashi is), I thought that Masashi should end up with Akari instead of Hiroyuki.
Too bad though although I already knew Akari was ment for Hiroyuki.
I really thought that if there was some sort of twist and Akari would be ending up with Masashi instead, and then dumping Hiroyuki’s butt when he finally confesses and telling him to go date the Maid Robot that he cared sooo much about instead of her.
Then Akari and Masashi would live happily ever after as well as the other friends, While Hiroyuki thinking as well as regreting that he shouldnt have done what he did and should have returned Akari’s feelings instead of being all lovu-lovu with the robot who keeps on getting viruses and getting shut down.And seeing Masashi and Akari as well as the others enjoying their succesful lives unlike him researching how to bring his junk of a robot (Multi) back to life for only a couple of days until it short circuits and blanks out, deleting every memory of him again like last time. And Finally saying that” I shouldn’t have been a whiny complexed idiot who only cared for a robot that wasnt ment to live for a long time.”
If that was the ending I would have been so happy and I would be like TO HEART REMEMBER MY MEMORIES KICKS MAJOR A$$!!!!
Also It’d be nice if the ending credits would be the wedding of Akari and Masashi!!!
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Dont get me wrong people I DID love Hiroyuki and Akari being together in TO HEART not TO HEART-R.
Like I said before I loved Hiro and Akari in To heart not in To heart-R.
In To heart-R I would rather Akari and Masashi be together.
Masashi’s alot better than Hiroyuki in To heart-R.
At least he was always there for Akari and Hiroyuki just abondoned
Akari until the last episodes where he finds that Multi was gonna shut down so he changed right away so he wouldnt be alone and used Akari.
Damn that guy…. I hate him soo much
GO MASASHI-CHAN!!!!!
To me Akari and Masashi is the major couple of To heart-R not Hiroyuki!
I’ll always remember you Masashi T-T….