Da Capo

Title:Da Capo
D.C.~Da Capo~
D.C.~ダ・カーポ~
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - FEEL
Animation - Zexcs
NOGAWA Sakura
TAKAGI Reiko
TAMURA Yukari
Asakura Jun'ichi lives alone with his step-sister Nemu, as their parents are working overseas. Having been brought together by the marriage of their parents, they are happy at having grown up together, and are very close and supportive of each other, so close that perhaps they might have deeper feelings for one another. Being of the same age, they look forward to starting their third year in high school, but there is a breeze of magic in the air that seems to hold a promise of new friends and adventure.

In a magical town where the cherry blossom trees bloom unnaturally all year around, Junnichi stirs uneasily each night, lost in the images of other people's dreams. While Ju'nichi complains that that he is unhappy at being a minor mage, only able to perform the simple magic trick of creating a sweet rice ball or two, there are other special students who become entangled in his life. Yoshino Sakura, the daughter of a magician and a childhood friend reappears after a six-year absence to show her joy at being reunited with Jun'ichi by clinging to his arm, calling him her onii-chan, much to Nemu's concern. The academy's school idol, Shirakawa Kotori, who is rumored to have an ability to understand other people's feelings or thoughts, becomes a friend of Junnichi and Nemu. The strange sisters Mizukoshi Moe and Mako, succeed in drawing Jun'ichi into their lives with disastrous results. And Jun'ichi somehow finds himself looking after Miharu-chan, a robot who is attending their school and Sagiswa Yoriko-chan, a cat-eared foundling, who ends up staying at their house in exchange for her doing maid-service. But while Jun'ichi might complain about not having any magic skills and about many other things, there appears to be a greater magic at work in his favor.

Most of the episodes have 15 minutes of anime followed by a 5-10 minute 'Side Story' which uses the same characters but in a different setting, or a (live action) pop-music-short.
26 TV eps (~25 min)

[edit] The ↗Da Capo franchise:

First generation: Second generation (53 years later): Third generation (???):
Episode Details 
1, 2
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 8 7 5 8 6 7 Devil Doll [series:894#752]
[Score: 65% = Watch]

Let's start with the Miharu issue: "Look, Jun'ichi: Yesterday your sister's best friend fell from a tree and lies in a coma now. What a great opportunity to secretly replace her by an android who greets her classmates "good evening" every morning and emits black clouds of smoke through her ears but hey - nobody will notice the difference anyway... except for you, boy, and you're responsible for taking care of her now... no, we won't give you her user manual, it would be too bothersome to carry it around with you." Hey... shouldn't an accident including a coma be tragic instead of silly-funny? The credibility of this show is destroyed right from the start. I won't mind the characters to develop feelings for a robot (we've seen that in To Heart ~Remember My Memories~ handled much better though) but what about the real girl whom nobody ever considers missing!?

Then there's the inconsistent way of dealing with supernatural phenomena which are permanently considered a blow-off but their origin is never actually questioned by anyone (such as the girl with cat-ears whom no one considers unnatural). And the main harem contenders are the stepsister and the first-grade cousin of the lead boy of which the cousin permanently criticizes the sister for incestuous behavior while she's actually a close blood relative (the daughter of his aunt) whereas the stepsister (from parents remarrying) isn't blood related at all. Talk about credible romance.

Most of this series is as boring as To Heart 2 (which at least provides a few sympathetic characters but a few unnerving ones as well). No sooner than with the purchase of the ring (episode 17) the show begins to get more interesting but given that huge standoff situation the resolution can't be that great in the end (more so as Sakura drags this show on forever by not knowing what she actually wants). The main problem is that all characters' motivation depends too much on their own magical abilities or the effects on them by others applying magic. So the four most important characters remain "inhuman" and their decisions incomprehensible because of this.

And with both characters and story being sub-par, this story can't get a "Rent" rating from me.

Last updated Monday, November 30 2009. Created Sunday, July 05 2009.
Rent 8 7 7 7 8 8 Dreamer [series:894#2279]
After reading so much about this series, including from other anime sites, I decided to give it a shot to see what all the fuss was about. At first, it was just a normal harem... but......

Art, Animation & Character Designs
The art was one of the first things I noticed. Especially the opening scene with all the sakura trees. The colors were rich and vibrant. The animation didn't quite seem smooth. At times, there would be some quick frames.... which would mean the frame rate was dropped. Actually, to be more fair, animation was more choppy than I'm letting on. It really is noticeable in a lot of the episodes. The character designs weren't my favorite Although they weren't bad, designs seemed a bit below par and at times really noticeable.

Music
The OP wasn't too bad really. It was your typical semi-upbeat female vocals... which more times than not would sound "cute", however, here it wasn't as such, thus was bearable. Actually, the ED was pretty much the same. The rest of the music wasn't even noticeable.

Series and Episode Story
This series was just average. It's your typical harem with a handful of ecchi scenes, humorous moments and silly antics. None of the characters stood out for me with the exception of the Akita sisters and their various hotpots... which by the way are yuuuummy eating! However, it wasn't until the last couple of episodes that really made this anime stand out. A poweful plot twist and sudden shocker of an event made this anime a "watch" to a "rent". Without saying what exactly happens, it makes this a worthy watch.

Overall, it was an average anime turned good..... for only one reason, the ending.

Last updated Friday, April 17 2009. Created Friday, April 17 2009.
Buy 7 7 8 4 9 8 Xenoknight [series:894#2967]
HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - Most Powerful Multi-Season

What a SHOCKER! The phrase, "good things come to those who wait." couldn't be more correct with this anime. As painful as it may be, this anime is still just above average (though it pains me to say it, i won't deny it). The entire anime up to ep. 17 was sub-par with only a few laughs here and some fanservice there, though i can never call it ecchi because the scences could be counted with one hand. You will get a small fix but thats about it when it comes to fanservice. After a certain point, you will no longer see this as a weak comedy/fanservice anime and start to build a unique respect for it.

The side stories are not all useless. Most were thrash as i skipped every few seconds to see if anything would happen, but some (maybe like 3) held some merits as to being funny or just to better understand one of the characters. Its up to the viewer to decide, but as for me, 90% got on my nerves.

Like i said, you'll have to stomach the first 16 episodes but once you hit #17 things start to escalate EXPONENTIALLY. The ok beginning and weak middle parts aren't fair to the amazing ending episodes. Everything comes to light one after another as you start to put the pieces together because they give you enough time to figure it all out (you can always pause it to come to grips with the shockers as you come across them anyway).

As for the hidden 6th harem girl in the window Forbin mentions (though the anime clearly states 7 in one of the recap episodes, total of two recaps), she was there the whole time as a "silent watcher" if you will. Right under the main lead's nose, though he's right about the screen time. The girl in the window didn't get much, but if you can just imagine her as she represents someone else, you'll be fine.

Though only a handful of animes can even try to be compared to the MASTERPIECE that was Kanon (2006), I can see the resemblence, as the final episodes shows the main lead helping/solving any troubles that happened after a certain event in the anime. To me it seems as if he is solidifying the very reasons why all the girls like him in the first place. When i remind myself that there is a sequel with the cast returning with some new girls as well, i get exited to see how their feelings for him have matured. It just sets the bar even higher for the next season.

I'm pretty hyped up for "just above average" I know, but the ending was very satisfying with no holes that would keep you in the dark, unlike endings of "countless" other anime titles.

Beautiful anime, enough said. Can't wait for season two.

Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world!

Never forget Xenosaga.

Last updated Wednesday, February 04 2009. Created Thursday, August 21 2008.
Rent Forbin [series:894#1573]
Drama : Low (For Now)
Comedy : Med
Action : None
SciFi : Low
Ecchi : Med

As the 2nd season stared, I decided to watch the first. It's not as funny as Ichigo, but from what I understand, there is a serious drama arc that is about to unfold. Episode 12 and the 'fake' date was very funny.
This is a harem with a true ending. It's not a tear jerker but it's very good how it ended and how the normally USELESS harem boy actually takes responsibility for who he picks. While I did like it and the last 4 episodes were very sad, it was MUCH better than Kanon but nowhere near as good as KGNE.
Why isn't it a buy? Them DAMN side stories. They are USELESS!!!! (They feature the girls without the boy and some stupid cat). They break up the flow of the story and just confuse the hell out of it. They should've been independent stories of their own. Example: The 2 main harem girls are having it out (To the point where they aren't SPEAKING to each other) but the side story starts up and there they are, eating ice cream next to each other. What a flow break.

For some reason they NEVER explained the 6th girl of the harem (The one in the window). They show her in the first 3 episodes, then DITCH her, then show her again in the 24th episode. Total screen time? 45 seconds. Why even bother.

Last updated Sunday, July 17 2005. Created Wednesday, July 13 2005.
Watch Jan-Chan [series:894#967]
A cute little series with a good story line that draws very heavily from the Da Cappo Dating Sim game. But I don't play such games and the series comes across as being a bit too saccharine for my taste.

The titles of the different episodes are as follows?.


1 - Return To The Beginning
2 - The Flip Side of Nemu Explodes
3 - They are Bananas
4 - Canary Under the Cherry Tree
5 - Because I`m a Maid...
6 - Let`s Go to the Ocean!
7 - Welcome to the Mizukoshi House!
8 - Utamaru`s Spring
9 - Mysterious Poet
10 - I Want You to Listen to It
11 - Let`s Go Outside!
12 - We`re Only Pretending To Be A Couple
13 - Sakura`s Chest * A riot !?
14 - Shopping Puppy Style
15- Summary
16 - The Incomplete Mage
17 - A Feeling That Will Never Reach You
18 - A Secret For Only Those Two
19 - The Time When I`m Happy
20 - Brushing Feelings
21 - Sakura`s Decision
22 - Wonderful Memo.ries
23 - An Honest Confession
24 - The Door into Memo.ries
25 - Breaking Hearts
26 - Final Episode

Last updated Monday, September 22 2008. Created Wednesday, November 10 2004.

Other Sites
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Da Capo Series Web Site http://www.hatsunejima.com/

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