Video Girl Ai - 6: Ai - Ai - Ai

Title:Video Girl Ai
Episode:6: Ai - Ai - Ai
Synopsis
This is a complete narration of the episode and contains SPOILERS! So be sure you really want to read this...





Merry Christmas all around, but Youta has no eyes for anything, running through the streets in search of Ai. When the night falls, he finally tries using his membership card to make the Gokuraku shop appear ... but in vain.

The Gokuraku shop is floating through the air above some strange and unknown landscape. Ai is questioned by Rolex (the one who did her programming) with a cold voice what her task was: She just had to cheer Youta up, but surely not fall in love with him and act jealously! As a result, Rolex withdraws Ai's assignment to Youta and leaves what has to be done to the shopkeeper.

In the Gokuraku shop, Ai asks the old man to return her to Youta secretly. But he explains that during her examination her tape was played in fast forward mode, so Youta must have forgotten about her already, as a week has passed in his world. Ai insists to let her know what the boy was doing right now ... and to their surprise, Youta is still walking the streets and asking everyone about the girl of a video cassette he shows them! Now Ai begs the shopkeeper to make her become a human girl ... right when the tape's playing time is over, and the cover of the video cassette in Youta's hands turns blank.

When Youta opens the door to his room, lightnings flash from his VCR and Ai's image is floating through the air ... Ai tells him she was recalled because she fell in love with him, and they only could talk for the last time now. Before they can touch each other, Ai is dragged into the VCR's screen - and with a desperate, headlong jump Youta follows her ... when he awakes, he faces a huge pendulum clock without pointers, and images of his life with Ai pass him by: Her first appearance, the evening of two dinners, the day of their date, Ai noticing another good trait of him, Youta crying on Takashi's birthday ... suddenly, the clock stops.

Youta is lying on the ground in the street, and Takashi asks him if he's alright. But Youta soon learns that he is in the video world where he followed Ai to. Then far away he sees Ai being tied to a cross with cables ... the shopkeeper asks what Rolex is up to - who replies he wants to find out what this strange thing named "love" that seems to have brought Youta here is able to do ... Takashi tells Youta that Moemi was here as well but they were separated. Youta complains why Takashi didn't protect Moemi better; Takashi replies that this will be Youta's task from now on, and asks how he could love Ai anyway: Moemi can support him the same way, and she would stay with him forever! So he must decide now, and cannot see either of them before that ... "Takashi" vanishes, and Youta falls into an abyss when the floor opens under his feet ...

Youta awakes in some pastel shaded landscape. Moemi is happy that she found him, having looked for him everywhere. Youta wonders: Has his heart decided already? Moemi asks him to return to their world together, and that she loves Youta - but he refuses: He has some unfinished business here. Moemi starts to undress, but he still rejects her ... "Moemi" vanishes, and the ground below Youta dissolves ...

Youta finds himself lying nearby the crucified Ai whose image he had seen before. Ai can't believe he came for her ... before he can do anything, the rock with Ai and the cross rises into the air, and a long glass staircase appears. Rolex now shows his face, but Youta runs up the staircase to protect Ai. The steps splinter under his feet, glass pieces cut through his hands and feet ... "this staircase is your love for Ai", Rolex tells him, trying to discourage the boy. Severely wounded, Youta struggles on, unable to give up ...

When Youta finally reaches the top of the staircase against all odds, Ai tells him he can leave her now in peace - she learned to believe in love and this is all that matters for her. But her tears dissolve the cables that bound her to the cross ... finally, both can hold each other - and Rolex lets them go: The pendulum clock has started to tick again!

When the show is already over, we see the four friends reunited at last, running through the streets joyfully. And in Youta's room, the VCR is running ...
Comments
Devil Doll (2003-07-29):

Although Ai and Moemi are both barely dressed and Ai is even nude in one scene, this is irrelevant in my eyes. But you shouldn't watch the scene with Youta on the staircase if you can't stand to see wounds bleeding and the boy suffering ... this is the "epic" episode of this OVA, and everything turns to fantasy and symbolism now - we are far away from "Ah! My Goddess" now and much closer to "Evangelion", in every respect.

The ending calls for a continuation of this series (what about Ai's playing time now, for instance?), and there are 10 more mangas that would provide lots of great storyline. But as the end of this episode is a slightly changed ending of Manga 3, the continuation at this point might be really difficult: In the Manga, Rolex did not simply let Ai go at this point ... which caused events that won't be possible otherwise. So ...

BTW: The staircase scene seems to be quite common in this genre - there is one very similar thing in a certain Silent Mobius episode ...

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