Aion
Time-Traveller
Can you guess what happens next?
It's very easy to tell when I'm into something: if my emotions are being toyed with, I won't be sitting still. I'll be pacing around, bending forwards - anything but sitting still. And, as much as it pains me -- a 21-year-old guy -- to admit, Peach Girl was one hell of an emotional roller-coaster; it making me feel anxious throughout, and my heart leaping for joy during the brief moments of happiness for my favourite pairing.
Towards the end, when it seemed like Momo was going to do the unthinkable, I finally started to understand how those guys that 1/10 some of the better anime out there feel. It got to the point where I was visualizing myself going on MAL and giving the series a low score in order to express my fanly rage. That's how Peach Girl made me feel, from start to finish: on the verge of getting upset over the latest screw-up that prevented love from blossoming... only to be pulled back at the last minute.
I felt so strongly about Peach Girl because it had only four IMPORTANT characters. And only two get fleshed out in any great detail. If you add the small number of main characters with the length being 25 episodes (18 volumes worth of content was squashed in!), it should be easy for anyone to understand just how involving Peach Girl, with its love triangle drama, was for me. Fast-paced, full of over the top drama and complete with two very likable characters, I couldn't help but be swept along with the simple yet very moving story that presented itself before me.
Evil, thy name is Sae!
The four characters mentioned above are as follows, and my views seem to go along with what most others think. (At the very least, the Japanese voice actors all said the same things about the characters!)
Momo (the lead): Instantly likable, and hard not to feel for. Right from the get-go, it's shown that she's judged by everyone before she says a word simply because A) she has tanned skin and bleached hair and B) she missed the first week of high school; meaning everyone had formed groups by the time she started going. And her 'best friend' is such a bitch that she attempts to destroy anything good that's connected to her simply out of jealousy. At first I loved her strong personality, which still allowed her to be weak from time to time... but, as the series progressed, she switched from being an aggressive tomboy type to being your typical shoujo, indecisive female lead, and I went off her quite a bit after she kind of did the dirty on a certain someone. She was far too kind throughout, too - even STILL speaking to Sae at the end.
Kairi: One of the most lovable characters you'll ever encounter. At first it seems like he's going to be a 'playboy' type of character (his solution to dispelling a false rumour about him having kissed Momo was to kiss her for real!), but it's quickly revealed that his flirty side is just a facade that hides a truly caring guy underneath. He was always there for Momo; even when he knew she cared more for Toji. And he'd always be on-hand to cheer her up with the easygoing/idiotic side of himself. He always tried to put the feelings of others above his own, and that made him very endearing. Out of all the characters, he's the only one I can say I never wanted to slap.
Toji: A nice guy... and an idiot. Anyone who gets tricked by his girlfriend's friend (after being told she wasn't his girlfriend's friend by his girlfriend) into kissing with the friend for practice purposes isn't too bright. And, no matter what his intentions were, being a total dick to the girl he loved in order to protect her also wasn't the brightest thing to do. He never received in-depth development, and that just left him being 'the guy Momo had the hots for, not taking into consideration his brain'.
Sae: Quite possibly, the most evil, hate-worthy character in existence. If not for me viewing her as a plot device, I'd say she ranks even higher than Spinzaku (******* prick!). Without any motivation other than jealousy over Momo having a natural inner beauty that she lacked, she set out to destroy Momo's life; stealing her boyfriend and getting her entire class to hate her. The best part is that she was supposed to be Momo's best friend! I KNOW women can be vindictive and spiteful creatures ("Those bitches..." - Adachi), but going as far as dressing up as Momo in an attempt to sleep with her boyfriend? Even I laughed at that!
...So, yeah: there's the indecisive lead, the lovable guy, the idiot and the evil bitch. Those are the four that make Peach Girl tick.
OH NO, PEACH GIRL! YET ANOTHER GUY IS TRYING TO RAPE YOU! WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?
The opening arc of the series impressed me. If I ignored the characters not just, y'know, talking to each other directly and, instead, letting Sae use her venom to turn everything into one big mess, it was excellent. The first episode set the rest of the show up perfectly; introducing the leads and showing what they were all about, and the rest of the episodes flowed along at a pleasing pace. (Quite possibly because of the 18 volumes > 25 episodes thing.) As Sae twisted everyone against Momo (everyone aside from the comical/supportive Kairi was against her), the bullying theme made for a very involving introduction.
After that, for a short time, the series did reach soap opera levels of melodrama. In order to prevent an early 'happy ever after' ending, Sae became the evil menace she was at the start once again after a much loved male model decided, at complete random, to make her his; him falling madly in love with the evil bitch at first sight. Because of his love, he was happy to do anything Sae told him to, and this rather inevitably lead to some 'oh noes! have you taken my virginity without my consent!?' crying on Momo's part as Sae's latest plan to destroy Momo played out.
Even after that, the over the top, perfectly timed drama insanity continued. Just when things seemed to be settling down, halfway through, an ex-girlfriend JUST HAPPENED to get out of a car right when Momo was questioning her 'current' (note: she switches between her men like I do my anime) love about the nature of the relationship he has with the woman in the picture he JUST SO HAPPENED TO DROP. And, in the *name removed* back-story arc that followed, the craziness increased even further as the sex-crazed brother of *name removed; for legal reasons* took Momo to a hotel room (after she believed he wanted to show her something, other than his penis) and tried to 'persuade' her to have sex with him how most men in Japan seem to.
To be fair to Peach Girl, I'm not really complaining. If it was a totally realistic, straight to the point story, then it would've ended like a third of the way through. And the most entertaining parts of the show were when something unexpected happened and I'd be like, 'WTF!? DON'T YOU SLEEP WITH HIM, OR I'LL REMOVE YOU FROM MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER LIST! CHEATING BITCH!!!! DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
(Anything that gets an emotional reaction of that magnitude from me is a-ok in my book. I love stories that involve lots of depressing deaths because it affects me, and love triangles/romance stories are also up my alley for the exact same reason--they made me care. I think it's fair to say I enjoyed Basilisk and Peach Girl in equal measure!)
Whenever anything ever so slightly silly occurred, my mind would visualize the following GIF:
After all of the bullying and melodrama that had gone before, the last stretch did seem a little... lacking, in comparison. Sae had stopped being evil, one of the love triangle trio had left the picture temporarily and Momo - who once was happy to hit men for comedy purposes - had become timid enough to not go apeshit over her man kissing another woman. I enjoyed watching the episodes that were part of the arc in question, if only out of my love for the PERFECT Peach Girl pairing, but even I noticed the pacing had slowed to a significant degree. I can only imagine how painful it must've been in the manga, considering the anime covered all 18 volumes of the manga!
Another reason I was ok with the slightly less drama-filled segment was because I knew the drama would return full force for the conclusion, and I can't say I was let down...
Seeing men getting beaten up by women is funny. The reverse isn't. Deal with it!
First my love for Momo was tested to the max because, despite planning on meeting one of her two men, she ended up SLEEPING with the other one on the same sodding day. Now, I'm not one of those weird/creepy guys that go nuts over a virgin character getting devirginized, but even I got just a little bit pissed when Momo seemingly (they were shown kissing in a hotel room, falling down together... and then it was morning, and they were holding hands all happy) screwed a guy after previously being on the brink of going on a trip with another one. The mangaka did do an amazing job throughout of creating situations that prevented me from thinking of Momo as slutty, and I could fully understand why she ended up sleeping with who she did when she did, but the romantic in me wanted Momo's first time in 2D to be with the one for her... CAN'T YOU FEEL MY PAIN!? No-one wants used goods, and Momo should've remembered that.
...Anyway. Following the above agony I was forced to endure, Momo was EVENTUALLY forced to pick between them. I say eventually because, even though it was completely understandable why she struggled to choose and why she'd previously ended up in the arms of both, her inability to decide REALLY got to me by the end. I know - she didn't know the details I, as a viewer, did - but that didn't make it any less frustrating/gripping to see the drama last until the final episode. Even I have my limits!
Take note: the above is how REAL men win over women. If you aren't kicked off, you're in luck!
I've probably moaned a fair bit in the numerous paragraphs above. However, the truth of the matter is that I greatly enjoyed this anime... which is aimed at teenage girls. I was always on the edge of my seat, and I LOVED the artwork used for the light-hearted bits. For example, Sae becoming as flat as a pancake and being half-size after having her reputation ruined prevented her from ever being truly worthy of hate in my eyes, and the silly expressions/super-deformed Kairi bits always got a smile out of me. I know it's pretty much a love or hate sort of show because of all of the drama, but something so involving; something that can get such feelings out of me, cannot be called bad... IT JUST CAN'T, OK!?
There are lots of minor niggles, such as Sae transforming from good to bad overnight, a needless subplot taking up a lot of time close to the end, and the series ending RIGHT AFTER the two lovers had kissed to FINALLY seal the deal. I cannot call it a perfect anime. Even the artwork looked 'off' many times, and the animation is best described as limited. But, honestly, I can't imagine a much better romance/love triangle anime in terms of getting emotional reactions from its viewers. If I'm anything to go by, the anime fangirls who confess to crying after watching uneventful episodes of Kimi ni would need a box of tissues at the ready before watching. (Maybe for more than one reason, what with the ladyboys and all...)
...That's it; I'm done. 8/10, it very nice, goodbye. (Not that you actually bothered reading this far...)
