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Gakuen Heaven
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Animation - 8.9 |
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Sound - 8.2 |
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Story - 7.4 |
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Character - 8.0 |
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Value - 7.9 |
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Enjoyment - 8.8 |
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Average - 8.2 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| From the same creator that adapted Night Head Genesis, Gakuen Heaven proved a surprising watch for me as a 2006 shounen-ai series. The series tells the story of Ito Keika, a boy who transfers into an elite school, Bell Liberty, in the middle of the year. He doesn't possess any special talents, and the reason behind his acceptance is largely unknown by the collective student body. There are people who, behind the scenes, aren't terribly fond of Keika's entrance, and stop at nothing to make his residence there as difficult as possible.
To be honest, I wasn't into the series in the first few episodes. It's a standard premise explored in many different anime shows, with a bit of insinuating sexual humor that turns out to be harmless (though a few of them are actually worth a few giggles). I felt after watching the atrocity that was Marginal Prince, I wouldn't be able to enjoy an episodic series in the same premise. Turns out that I was, gladly, mistaken as the series gradually develops a greater story beyond episodic progressions, and has a likable cast that grows in its duration.
Gakuen Heaven feels a bit like Ouran High School Host Club in places, though not quite as immediately charming or developed, and peppered with light shounen-ai elements throughout. Those who are not into BL series will probably not be immersed into the genre from watching this series, but those who are already taken by the genre will likely love it, as long as they don't mind some common cliches. Some of the cliches did irk me, but as I went through the series, and the story and characters came to fruition, I grew to like it a lot more.
There were a few parts in the series where the BL elements put me off slightly, but only on a graphic note: one episode in the early part of the series where Keita's elbow is wounded and one of the gents decides to lick the wound. That's probably the most intensive BL element in the whole series, the rest is rather standard and light in nature.
The story is mostly character driven, rather than driven by story in the first half of the series. Keita comes to know the students at Bell Liberty as gradually as the viewer does. I'd agree that the characters do seem like cardboard cut-out personalities in initial presentations, but as the series comes to fruition, you actually come to care for some of them.
The characters that receive the most development throughout the series are Endo Kazuki and Ito Keika. By far, these two were my favorite characters in the series, because it was worth watching the two develop their relationship, as well as the greater story revolving around them. Granted, there are elements of secrecy and tense relations that come across through the series, but much of it is predictable as it comes to frutition. Yet, I didn't really mind its predictablity. I enjoyed what I saw as it unfolded with respect to their relationship, and found their interactions fun and lighthearted for the most part, at least where the story lent that tone.
Kakeru and Wataru are mischievous twins that reminded me of Hikaru and Akaru from Ouran High School Host Club, giving Keita a hard time with the attention he received in his transfer, but are notably for comic relief and are not as developed. Matsuoka has a greater part in the story as it progresses, but he serves as much in the rung of comic relief when the series starts. Shunsuke and King (Tanba Tetsuya) are largely for comic relief, as their bold, bright personalities usually light up the screen. Iwai-san, Koji-san, and the rest of the cast are created with their own roles in the series, but don't stand out as prominently as the aforementioned.
Umino-san and Naruse-san are built with their own eccentric traits that can be wearily noted on the viewer if they don't like the cliches they're crafted in. (Umino is a clumsy teacher, I found him lovable, but he really looks and talks like a girl XD Naruse calls Keita "honey" a lot and...it wore thin on me, unfortunately)
Animation style for the series is very good for its date of production. Character design (yes, the gents are definitely easy on the eyes in design ^_~), consistency, cel production are all of high regard. Coloring is actually rather gorgeous in some places, even noted in the clarity of the character coloring in themselves.
Music was touch and go with me. Some of the BGM stood out like a sore thumb for me in a few scenes and I felt it didn't mesh all that well with certain moments. The OP/ED themes were fine. "School Boys", the OP theme is lively and catchy, though it was one of those themes that grew on me because I didn't like the singer's voice at first. Nonetheless, I loved it by the time the series concluded. The ending is beautifully noted, soothing and with a nice meaning in it all. Voice acting was very well done and brought out each of the characters and their respective personalities quite nicely.
I should note that the series also features an omake at the end of each episode called "Ham Ham Heaven", which parodies Hamtaro and features the cast of Gakuen Heaven in little Ham-outfits. It's hilarious, and probably the reason I upped the story value a little more than usual. =P
Overall, I enjoyed Gakuen Heaven for what it offered, and I do think of it as one of the better BL series I've seen to date, albeit many cliches in tow. Worth watching at least once, but subsequent watches after that may depend on how taken you are with what it has to offer.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I looked around before I watched this anime to see if it was even worth my time, and I was shocked at some of the bad reviews people had given this anime! Luckily, I didn't have anything else to do, or I would not have given it a shot!
This story is great. It doesn't matter what anyone says! True, it has its flaws, and it isn't as good as some other shonen-ai out there, but it still deserves to be enjoyed. Once you watch the first two episodes, you are pulling for Keita to succeed and discover he really does belong at BL Academy! I personally was cheering for Kazuki and Keita the entire time, though my heart did go out to Naruse!
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Note: This is just my opinion:
Well, I think overall it was excellent, I mean the first time I watched it I was like "meh..." but for some reason I can't stop watching it, it makes me smile after every scence i see. I used to be a massive fan of shonen-ai/yaoi anime, but after months of being away from it, I stopped being interested b.c I've practically watch any shonen-ai anime worth watching (as in the one's over 4 episodes).
Anyways, I heard about this new one, it was a good and easy way for me to begin my interest again. I recommend this for any newb lover of shonen-ai, very light, actually so light, I don't think it would have been counted as Shonen-ai until the last episode, lol, but there is a lot of insede jokes in the anime which can be pretty mature if you get it. This anime makes you think thinks that arent really happening, its lovely XD.
Animation: Thought it could of been better, it's like the 2004 style (well its like Yami No Matsuei, which was made in 2004 which was brillient animation). The art was nice, and I liked the pictures in the pauses for commercial breaks. The BG I felt was drawn pretty good, the scenery, and the paintings in the anime. All of that was really amazing.
Sound: -OP: At first I found it quite annoying, so annoying that I didn't bother to listen to the whole thing. But after I listened to the whole thing, man it is suck a catching song, its like one of those things you'll listen over and over again. And yes, its a very happy song.
Ending Song: I've heard better. I mean I liked the lyrics and all, but this song was well pretty baaaaddd! I can’t say much, other than I didn’t like it. Again this is strictly my opinion!
BG Sound: This is the main reason why I gove sound an 9! I loved the BG music, when it was a happy moment, the music made me smile, when it was sad I felt depressed, when it was like one of those moments the BG sound was just right to fit the mood! I would love to buy the OST.
Story: Excellent at some points, I mean if it was bad I wouldn't of watched the whole thing. I'll admit it could of been better in some areas, I mean first of all it was a short anime, 13 episodes, you can't cover much with a topic that can have so many stories into it. I mean a school, a normal private high school filled with random people, and everyone could have had 2 episodes about each character. So many possibilities can happen in a high school, that's why I felt like the story didn't really end.
But as for the shonen-ai stuff. Very little, I mean, yeah people said they loved this guy, and "he's always there for me" but I felt this was more to do with friendship than actual boyfriend+boyfriend thing. This is why I recommend light viewers to watch this. Those who want to watch it because of hardcore, This is not what you're looking for.
Characters: As I've stated, so many characters in a high school were endless things can happen, I mean, yeah some characters were explained, of course the 2 main ones, Keita and Kazuki, the others you only can tell what their hobby was and guess what there personality was. Judging by the facial expression, voice, habits, you can guess their background and their types. I think the characters, even if it was a short series, were alright.
But most of the characters are extremely loveble, there is not one character I can hate, even the annoying twins who repeat everything, I love them all to death!
I liked this anime, it was adorable, innocent and funny. I recommend anyone, even if they are not shonen-ai fans to watch it. If you like school-life, yeah, this is an awesome anime to watch!
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Yuuto |
(2006-09-20 06:00:44) 2006-09-20 05:29:55 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Animation: Not the best of 2006, something in the middle range, but the artwork is really nice and the stills that mark half-episode/commercial break are really good and I would like to buy them as posters. And not forgetting the very cute Ham Ham Heaven at the end of the episode.
Sound: The seiyuus have done a great job. Their voice really suit the characters well. The OP is catchy and cheesy, the ED is good, what I like most is the BGM, especially the instrumental piano version of the OP and ED. Relaxing.
Story: Light in term of storyline, it follows the direction of the first game. Except when Keita arrives at school for the first time (yes, I played the PS2 game).
However, having said that this is probably the first BL/shounen-ai anime series to be rated PG (or PG-13). This series is free of underage love (Loveless), rape (Gravitation and Mirage of Blaze), or suggested sex scenes (Sukisyo). Some episodes do have suggestive dialogue at the beginning of the episode, but that's as far as they go....and a kiss.
Character: There are like 14 or so characters in this little series. You can't possibly breathe life into all of the characters, so you probably know some of the characters already, coz they are familiar stereotypes. From the gutsy Niwa, silent-but-strong Hide, and the blonde Naruse. However it does have unusual characters like Matsuoka sensei, the strange-looking cat, and the seme (Kazuki) in this series doesn't possess the usual seme qualities( ie: he blushes often and he likes blue power ranger...XD). The good thing is that they use the characters and their background to develop the story further.
Value: A must see if you're a BL fan or if you're gay (this is much safer watch than Brokeback Mountain or Running with Scissors or any Hollywood-made movie about gays which are depressing), and especially if you are a romantic and love a simple love story.
Hmm....I wonder why anime series about school life that is released this year
have either shounen-ai or shoujo ai elements, just look at Simoun, Ouran Host Club, Princess Princess etc.
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Noretus |
(2006-09-03 09:35:12) 2006-09-03 09:30:08 |
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| Average |
4.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
4 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| A young boy is selected to a special all-boy Acedemy for those with extra ordinary talents in different fields. Perfect setting for something where you don't have to worry about anything else but relationships and getting less then A in classes.
Completely unbelievable honey-filled boylove story where everything is too good and perfect. Some people like it, some people don't.
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Caireen |
(2006-08-14 06:15:01) 2006-08-14 06:06:14 |
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| 2006 seems to be a good year for some lovely shounen-ai anime. Not only have I had the pleasure of watching Princess Princess, but Gakuen Heaven as well - heavenly ^__^
While Princess Princess was light hearted and sweet, Gakuen Heaven offered a little more in the way of storyline. Add to that a cast of gorgeous male characters, some romance and plenty of humour and what's on offer is unadulterated pleasure ^__^
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Hmm.... Animation is splendid... The guys look very hot and pretty when they have to.... & the sceneries are very nice as well.... The animation deserves a full 10...
Sound... The music is good, but it just somehow doesn't stick to me, The music is good, but there are other anime songs that attract me better... So I'll leave it a 9 here... Panorama was a very soothing song...
Story... The storyline is a good storyline... Entering an elite guy school, having the chance to talk to any pretty or hot guy you see... & in the game, you could practically date all of them... I never played the game, but if there was an english pc version, i'd sure like to try it when i have more money.... xP
Okay, now to the characters, They have plenty of characters, shota, hot, emotional, pretty, average, cool.... Yeah, any girl would squeel over the sight of their favourite types...
I enjoyed the whole thing very much... It's very nice and sweet... Forgetting the fact it's shounen ai, it's really romantic and sweet... The scenes were set up perfectly and i think this whole anime was made splendidly... I also love the extra "love ham-ham" episodes... they were really cute..... =D
I give this a good review.... Whether you like shounen ai or not, as long as you're into guys and some romance, this anime is just right for you.... ;)
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Gakuen Heaven is, primarily, a fanservice anime. To watch it expecting something deep is like watching La Blue Girl for the plot. However, what it does manage, is to make a good anime out of a BL game. It works on a level that makes fangirls squee.
It's not going to convert you if you don't like shounen-ai, but it's not a bad little series.
(At the time this review was written, it was written from aarinfantasy fansub episode 9)
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Animation: Very smooth and accurate, high quality, and the drawings are very good.
Sound: I love the voice acting, XD... OP and ED are BOTH AWESOME, too bad that the OP and ED are coming out in June =__=; I really like the BGMs for this anime... it's so comforting... ~__~
Story: Um... not the best, and I'm not very sure where it ends. It's about a boy who has no special abilities.. and has no great interest except for her... unbelievable luck was accepted into this elite boys school... for some reason..
it's kinda funny cuz they named the school Bell Liberty Academy (aka BL Academy) Hahaha!! Purposely done like that... yeah I know..
It's kinda erotic in some parts, like when the second episode, you see the sharp, blue headed dude licking up Keita's wound from falling down. And the part where the handsome blondy with long hair decided to make Keita as his lover... (not a surprise to his other fellow classmates), he starts to push Keita with these ideas of going out, calling him 'honey', doing things, kissing him.. so uncomfortable if I were Keita..
The story isn't as original, but it's about fanservice to those fangirls and some fanboys.
Character: One thing, soo not original. But it's how they put the characters to use, that's what makes this anime interesting.
Value: Excellent, good quality.
Enjoyment: I had my laughs and giggles as a girl. It's entertaining, and I can't wait for more!! :D :D ..
I totally recommend this anime to BL lovers, who likes drama and relationship kinda thing.. and the school life genre.. u knoe.. ^__^;
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