To Heart 2 Dungeon Travellers

Title:To Heart 2 Dungeon Travellers
ToHeart2ダンジョントラベラーズ
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Original Concept - Aquaplus
A two-part fantasy RPG parody special release of the To Heart 2 franchise, with the already known characters being part of a fantasy RPG setting this time.

Episode 1: All characters from ToHeart 2 have been transferred to a parallel world where they are fantasy heroes in a dungeon realm. The have cleared many levels already, and now wondering who's the "last boss" they have to face. But when Sasara tries to wake up Takaaki-kun the next morning she finds his bed empty, except for a sheet of paper.

Episode 2: Finally having found the last boss, she's completely changed her character and doesn't care about returning to the real world but rather eats lots of cake. All information the heroes can get from her is that they need "that black and shiny thing"...


[edit] The ↗ToHeart franchise:

To Heart (original TV series): To Heart 2 (same setting, later in time):
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 8 7 5 7 5 6 Devil Doll [series:2504#752]
[Score: 60% = "Watch"; similar parody: School Days: Magical Heart Kokoro-chan.]

Probably the most unnecessary anime release I watched in ten years, but I was smiling a number of times nonetheless.
A parody of the dungeon RPG genre, with all the To Heart 2 girls playing a role (and these are quite a few now). A number of mild jokes are counterbalanced by a high degree of ecchiness (very untypical for this franchise as the other episodes are extremely tame), most notably in the final section of episode 1 with nude skin of all characters plus some boobs fondling; the second episode even goes beyond that with more nudity and a tentacle slime monster...

With almost no plausible story, observing the characters in this unlikely environment is the main element here: Some are acting exactly like in their "real world" while others enjoy the adventure to the fullest and live out some or their secret dreams. Of course you need to know the characters from the original series to be able to get this part. My favorite characters of this release are Sasara (very much in character) in the first and Ilfa (completely out of character) in the second episode. Maarjan, the character I disliked most in the other OVAs, got a surprisingly decent role here which helped a lot; Yocchi and Charu (who only had a cameo in the series but got their own arc in the game) are present here as full characters for the first time. The technical aspects are much like in the other releases of this franchise, albeit I considered the music quite okay here, thus rating this OVA slightly higher than the series.

What's more to expect? A lot of RPG parody, with leveling up, finding traps, searching items, walking through oh so rectangular dungeon corridors, talking like evil characters do, and some meta jokes (the display of Ilfa's level was very nice). If you played a few RPGs you might try watching this OVA for this part alone, even without knowing the characters.

All in all, one of the weaker parts of the franchise because the shy romantic character relations are the core of the story there and hardly play a role in this spin-off. Being a completionist I don't regret having watched this one; still, School Days: Magical Heart Kokoro-chan was a lot funnier for me despite being quite similar, mostly because its original series offered more material to make fun of.

Last updated Wednesday, August 15 2012. Created Sunday, April 08 2012.

Other Sites
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Official Website (japanese) http://aquaplus.jp/th2dtv/

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