Tonagura means ecchi. No, it doesn't, actually (what does it mean? O.o). However, watching the first few episodes of the anime certainly gave me that impression. It's not that the anime treads the thin borders of hentai-dom like...say...Amaenaideyo!!, but it's more the way it portrays the perversions that are part and parcel of an anime genre classified as "romance, ecchi, comedy and school life".KazukiWhat comes to mind when you see an anime with those genres? Yup. Yes, and affirmative. Whatever you were thinking, it's probably here. A short synopsis is in order. Tonagura! centers around Arisaka Kazuki, who has been waiting to 10 years or so to once again meet the young boy Yuuji, whom she had a crush with a long time ago. Well, perhaps more than a crush. Yuuji and his sister Marie used to come over and play all the time with Kazuki and her own sister, Hatsune. Alas, the day Yuuji and his family moves back to the very house they left 10 years ago (real estate must suck in Japan), he turns out to be more than a little disappointing.Instead of meeting the Prince Charming she had envisioned all along, Kazuki finds that he's 100% Japanese pervert. =) That's just about the gist of it. More often than not, I find myself thinking of Love Hina. This is in most parts due to the massive abuse Yuuji receives from both his sister, Marie, and Kazuki herself. (Why does every anime in this mould contain a weird-loli character like Marie?) Anyway, Marie has taken it upon herself to 'eliminate' Yuuji with her air rifle everytime he goes all ecchi and perverted. Which is rather often. Kazuki punches him, kicks him and sends him flying across the room. Naru-punch anyone?Yuuji launching himself at anything female.That picture is SO cute. Especially Hatsune. =DWhat differentiates Yuuji from Keitaro in Love Hina is probably the blatant way he carries out his fantasies. While Keitaro walks in on girls changing unknowingly, Yuuji practically throws himself at Kazuki's (and Hatsune and Chihaya, so far) breasts, seemingly without fear of divine retribution. ^^ That's what gives a slightly different spin on how sexual innuendo is woven into the storyline, in my opinion. We're all fed up with guys inadvertently walking into every onsen (onsen = hot springs bath) and shower only to be thrown out by the raging beauty within. Now, this time, our friend Yuuji here seems to be a self-confessed pervert (read: teenage guy). He's not going to fall under your skirt. By golly, he'll climb up there if he has to, lol. Okay, maybe that was a bit far-fetched, but it certainly feels different.What is the deal with these sort of characters?Endearingly bubbly.The anime is moderately amusing, if you actually find this sort of thing funny. Animation is quite good, and I kinda like both the opening and ending songs. One's catchy, and the other one's a typical J-pop ballad. And as far as I can see (from 3 episodes), there ARE a few sensible, touching moments where Kazuki reminisces about the past, and still hopes for a major transformation from the pervert.Chihaya and Yuuji.According to ANN, around 8 episodes have been aired in Japan at the time of writing, so it's hard to make a substantial comment on the show before I get that far, lest I piss off some fans. But, I'm not really sold on the tired concept of the show. The way I see it though, this feels much the anime that will give you part of your 'ecchi and craziness' fix during this summer line-up (due to few similar shows), but not much more. Watch it, if only for the ending song. =P>>> AnimaniaTags: Animation, Anime, Japanese Animation, Manga, Tonagura!, Arisaka Kazuki, Kagura Yuuji, Tenjou
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