Diamond Daydreams Volume 1: Atsuko / Karin - Planet Exile
- Planet Exile
- Pedro Rodriguez
- 02/09/06
- click here
"...definitely a buy..."
"...once in a while an anime comes along that not only steps out of the boundaries, it charters new waters. Diamond Daydreams (DDD) is such an example of how diverse the world of anime can be.
"
"If Lifetime...ever decided to air anime, Diamond Daydreams would be it."
Girls, Robots, Samurais, Guns, and... Girls. It doesn't matter what side of the fence people stand on, when it comes to anime these are usually the first things that come to mind when bringing it up. While there's no doubt anime is primarily aimed towards a specific audience, once in a while an anime comes along that not only steps out of the boundaries, it charters new waters. Diamond Daydreams (DDD) is such an example of how diverse the world of anime can be.
The series is broken down into twelve episodes that follow the lives of six different women. The first is a woman featured is a twenty year old named Atsuko Akanegi. Born and raised in the fishing town of Hakodate, she spends her days making deliveries for her family's store. While the people in her neighborhood would consider her up beat and carefree, her days are filled with issues including her family business slowly sinking into debt to her somewhat pushy fiance from an arranged marriage. Then one day she injures her foot while making a delivery. Trying to figure out how to finish her rounds a regular customer named Joji Kurata walks in and offers to help. Already on good terms with him, the opportunity gives her a chance to bond with someone when she can't find anyone else to bond with.
The next story is about a fifteen year old girl named Karin Shiraishi. Suffering from the same illness her late father had, she has been in and out of the hospital for the last two years. She years to go beyond the hospital grounds, but fearful of the surgery, Karin turned it down flat. Shortly going into the story, a new resident doctor joins the hospital staff. His name is Dr. Amakasu, and he has a tendency to pester, and tease her into getting better. Her only means of escape is a blog about her dreams that she posts on the net. Also around this time, a receives a fan that e-mails her various pictures from around Hokkaido. Could there be a connection between the new doctor, and this fan?
If Lifetime or We ever decided to air anime, Diamond Daydreams would be it. No joke. Mind you male shojo fans will have no problem enjoying this, but it is just so perfectly aimed towards women. While there is a noticeable age difference between the leading women and the men that play opposite of them, the relationships are done with a lot of class. Furthermore it should be noted the show is not so much about romance as it is about those times in life that make us who we are. Originally this was a dating sim written by Ohji Hiroi (Sorcerer Hunters), in which the overall ending was based on the main character's actions. In the case of the anime the male character has been written out, thus each of the six girls soles their issues without him. Overall the stories are rather well structured, and without hiccups.
The animation is alright, and adds little touches to make the location authentic. For example, the eye catches include landmarks around Hokkaido. The disc jockey looks awfully similar to Najica (Najica Blitz Tactics). However for the record DDD character designs were done by Michinori Chiba, whereas the character designs for Najica Blitz Tactics were done by Noriyasu Yamauchi.
There are also a great abundance of extras featured in this volume. Included in the extras are a Hokkaido travelogue, which featuring nifty information about the cities in volume one, an interview with Director Bob Shirahata, and a 'Radio Show' called DDD Time. first hosted by Eriko Ishihara (Atsuko) then by Ao Takahashi (Karin).Despite removing the main character from the series it has managed to land on its feet as it shifted a target audience (at least over here). Judging by the previews for the next volume, the show is going to start steering away from romance. It doesn't look like the show will be losing steam any time soon either. This is definitely a buy for shojo fans that are looking for a change in pace from the usual magical girl, or bishonen driven anime.
Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 (Archive on Thursday, March 09, 2006)