Amagami SSTuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

Another day, another dating sim adaptation, and Junichi Tachibana's got himself a smallharem's worth of girls to choose from. Except that this time around, the series is set up in sucha way that he doesn't have to choose. Lucky guy.

Two years ago on Christmas Eve, Junichi Tachibana got stood up for the biggest date of hislife. He's spent the two years since dwelling on why his date never showed up, but now he'sfinally working up the balls to get back on his metaphorical horse and get back into the datingscene. There are a few girls on his radar: Haruka Morishima, the playful and eccentric schoolidol in the year above him; Kaoru Tanamichi, classmate and something of a tease; painfully shySae Nakata, a classmate of his little sister Miya; swim-team member Ai Nanasaki; childhoodfriend and compulsive eater Rihoko Sakurai; and class president and girl with a serious case ofsplit personality Tsukasa Ayatsuji.

Being based on a visual novel, each girl has their own story. In the VN, you'll play a routeand see that girl's story to completing, before rewinding back and playing a different route; whenVNs are adapted to anime, you'll usually get some sort of mashup that tries to cover as much aspossible of each girl's route, but that ultimately involves the lead male either picking one, orwimping out and leaving the over romance unresolved. Amagami SS takes a slightly differentapproach, though: each girl is allocated a four-episode arc that tells the story of their route - andthen the rest button in pressed, the whole thing rewinds back to the starting point, and a newarc begins, telling the story of the next girl's route. Each arc's covering the same period of time- the run-up to the school's Founders Festival and Christmas - so there's some repetition ofwhat's going on in the background, but because Junichi is dealing with different girls, each withdifferent personalities and interests, there's plenty that's differentacross the arcs as well. If you take a shine to a particular girl, then they tend to get plenty ofcameo appearances in the other arcs as well, which is a nice tough.

There are downsides to this way of doing things, though. Being based on a dating sim, thepersonalities of the girls vary quite widely, and it's unlikely that you'll appreciate them all. Personally, I had a lot of fun with Haruka's and Tsukasa's arcs (Haruka is playful in the extreme,Tsukasa's split personality makes for some great moments when the switch between the two isflipped), but barring one or two particular scenes could have quite happily skipped Sae's arc, asher personality isn't quite as compelling; other people will see the girls in different ways. Butbecause they each have arcs devoted to them, if you're a completist who wants to see the fullseries you'll be sitting through episodes where you're just waiting for the next arc to kick off.

The dating sim roots also show through in that Junichi is a personality-free zone, which doesleave you wondering how in the hell he's suddenly so popular. He's just too damned nice, thesort of guy who in real life would never get the girl and yet this small harem of desirable girls -some of them with definite kinky streaks - are suddenly falling all over him. Nah, not buyingthat. And his constant presence - it's his series, after all - leaves a big personality black hole in

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Amagami SSTuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

the middle of every arc that noticeably detracts from the appeal.

Still, I can't deny that I had fun watching it - even the weaker arcs had enough in them that Ididn't feel much of a need to skip to the next arc. It's not the sort of thing that will have universalappeal; there are far better adaptations of this sort of thing out there, and the lack of any realconflict or jeopardy in the series is another weakness, but it has fun with what it does have andentertains enough to be worth watching, especially if you have it as part of a streamingsubscription.

1 - Admiration Two years ago on Christmas Eve, Junichi Tachibana got stood up for the biggest date of hislife. He's spent the two years since dwelling on why his date never showed up, but now there's anew girl in his life - after accidentally bumping into Haruka Morishima (literally!), he can't seemto keep her out of his mind. He's definitely developing feelings for her, and the way Harukakeeps flirting with him certainly gives the impression she cares for him. After mustering up hiscourage, Junichi does the hardest thing imaginable - he asks her out...

2 - Approach Junichi pays a visit to the school infirmary, where he runs into Haruka. She may have justrejected him the day before, but apparently she's more than willing to be his friend, and now thatthey're friends, they're at least having fun hanging out with each other at school during their freetime. From harassing the girl's swimming team to searching the library for puppy photo albums,the two become best friends fast. If only Junichi could fight his burning desire to tell Haruka howmuch he loves her...

3 - Jealousy Junichi is suddenly full of the joys of spring, which has everything to do with the 'progress' he'smaking with Haruka. Sure, she's still not agreeing to go out with him, but her kiss on hisforehead has to count for something, right..? And when Haruka catches him talking to othergirls and begins showing signs of jealousy, that's something else he takes as a plus side for hischances of impending romance. And his day's about to get even better...

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Amagami SSTuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

4 - Romance Miya and Rihoko are going Christmas shopping, and Junichi finds himself hauled along to actas their best of burden. But it occurs to him that he's got a little Christmas shopping of his ownto do - should be be buying Haruka a present? By chance, he runs into her while out, and endsup spending some time with her - but can he work himself up to confessing to her again..?

5 - Buddies Forget that Haruka arc ever happened - if Junichi hadn't gotten together with her, who elsecould have filled the void in his life? Meet Kaoru Tanamichi, a friend who ran into him on thenight he'd been stood up, and gave him somewhere to spend the evening with where hewouldn't be alone. In the days that followed, friendship began to show signs of developing intosomething else...

6 - Hesitation Kaoru's beginning to realise that her feelings towards Junichi are changing - a surprise to her,they've been friends for years without any hint of romance, so what's changed now to make hersee him in a different light? And what should she do about it..? When Kaoru gets involved in adispute she has with another classmate, it only reinforces her feelings, and she decides to see ifJunichi's feeling the same way...

7 - Betrayal Amazing the difference a few minutes can make: one minute Kaoru's almsot floating on air, thenext she's brought back down to earth with a major bump, after seeing her mother apparentlyout on a date with a strange man. Junichi, meanwhile, has a new appreciation for the femalemidriff, but Miya's not impressed with the slightly perverted turn her her brother's taken. Separate issues, but issues that affect the growing relationship between the paid...

8 - Progress With Christmas just around the corner, it's past time for Junichi to ask Kaoru if she'll spendChristmas Eve with him. He knows time is of the essence, but he just can't bring himself to do it.Luckily for him, he has two very understanding friends, as Keiko and Masayoshi set up theperfect environment for asking an old friend out on a romantic date. On Christmas Eve, Junichiwaits outside for Kaoru at their agreed upon meeting spot. After half an hour passes and noKaoru, Junichi's convinced she's never going to show up...

9 - Underclassman One day Junichi drops his wallet without realizing it. Fortunately for him, Sae Nakata picks itup and tries to give it back to Junichi - but various obstacles keep getting in the way. After shefinally succeeds in grabbing his attention and returns the wallet, she gets so nervous she runsoff. Wanting to at least thank her properly, he asks Miya for help finding her - a job that turnsout to be surprisingly easy, and Junichi soon finds himself becoming something of a life coachfor him the painfully shy Sae...

10 - Training Junichi is going all-out to help Sae prepare for her job interview - androm speed changing to aunique mock interview, everything he does is managing to take on a rather ecchi tinge. After a"mock interview" at a warm springs resort, Sae goes over to Junichi's house to for more training,where Miya asks if they can play a board game that oddly simulates real life. After they losetrack of time while playing, though, they find it's too late for Sae to go home, and she ends upstaying the night - which is when Junichi gets to overhear some interesting conversationsbetween Sae and his sister...

11 - Change Sae's training draws to an end once she goes to take the ever-dreaded job interview. Junichiaccompanies her to the restaurant, eager to hear the results - and all of their hard work pays off,as Sae managed to get the job. Some time later, Junichi, Miya and a couple of their friends visitthe restaurant and have Sae wait on them for the very first time. Junichi proud of how well she'shandling herself, but he's kinda missing their old student / instructor relationship - so when atheme-park date gives him a chance to slip back into their old routine, he's quick to jump on it...

12 - Lovers It's time for the school's Founder's Festival, and the Best Couple Competition, for which Saehas prepared a beautiful wedding dress and tux for her and Junichi to wear. It's a combinationthat goes down well with the crowd - although they're knocked into second place by Haruka andHibika. That's still enough to win them tickets for two to a private cinema booth - an opportunitythat Junichi wants to use to tell Sae how he feels about her. And Sae seems to have decided tomake the most of the occasion, too...

13 - Worst On his way to the boy's restroom in the park, Junichi catches a glimpse of Ai Nanasaki'spantsu as she jumps off one of the swings - and she's not amoused by his apparent peeking,and it takes him a while to get her to accept his apologies. And that's just the first of severalrun-ins that he and Ai have - from holding up the lunch line to getting caught near the swimmingpool when it's off limits to boys, his timing seems to be the worst. Despite all their unfortunateencounters, though, Ai eventually seems to begin warming to him...

14 - Heartbeat Junichi discovers that Ai's having a hard time in maths lessons - if she doesn't pass anupcoming retake, she'll have to take extra math classes, which in turn would mean that she'dhave to quit the swim team. Luckily for Ai, Junichi just so happens to be surprisingly good inmaths and is willing to tutor her - and if he can tutor her in maths, he might just be able to offersome advice for how she should deal with a problem she's having with her little brother...

15 - Transformation Ai and Junichi spend the day at a rather unusual theme park, where the Pharaoh's Mysteryhorror house has a few unique tricks in its depths. On the way home, Ai takes Junichi to thepark where they first met, where she suddenly kisses him, leaving him completely bewildered. The next day, Ai invites Junichi grocery shopping when he tries to confront her about the kiss. The plan was to go shopping after Ai's swim practice, but not everything goes according to planwhen Ai learns that she didn't make the cut for the upcoming tournament...

16 - Confession Ai and Junichi are manning the Girl's Swim Team oden stall at the Founder's Festival. Theymust prove to the Tea Club that they have mastered the traditional oden flavoring that the swimteam is famous for. After proving themselves, the oden sells like there's no tomorrow and beforelong, they are completely sold out. Once the festival is over, Ai takes Junichi to a secret warmspring in the mountains. While there, she confesses her love for Junichi...

em>17 - Memories Rihoko and Junichi are childhood friends, going way back to preschool. Junichi may not realizeit, but Rihoko has secretly held feelings for him ever since they were little. One cold morning,Rihoko decides to take a shortcut to school since she's running late, by sliding through a hole inthe school fence - which is when her love for food becomes her undoing, and she gets herselfstuck. (Un)fortunately, Junichi had hit on the idea of using the same shortcut himself...

18 - Assistance Rihoko, Junichi and some of their friends all go ice-skating together. The purpose of the trip'sto get some good physical exercise while having fun, but Rihoko's skating isn't good - and whiletrying to help her out, Junichi accidentally grabs a handful of something that he shouldn't have,and begins to realise that his childhood friends is growing up. Meanwhile, the Tea Club'spresident and vice president are concerned for the fate of their beloved club - once theygraduate in the spring, Rihoko will be the only club member left - and with the club needing tohave at least two members to remain active, they need a new recruit. Since Rihoko isconstantly telling all of her friends about Junichi, he finds himself at the top of their hit list...

19 - Succession With the Founder's Festival and Christmas over, next up is New Year, and Rihoko gathers upall of her courage and asks Junichi if he'll visit the local shrine on New Years Eve with her. He'squick to agree, but thinks of it as a date with a friend rather than as a real date. Come the day,Miya, Junichi and Rihoko spend the evening together at Junichi's house, and have a great timegoofing off together - but they're dead asleep when it's time to head over to the shrine, and sotheir visit has to wait until the next day. While there, Rihoko makes a few wishes: that her dietwill be a success, that she'll find a new member for the Tea Club - that Junichi will realize howshe feels...

20 - Goodbyes Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and Rihoko is making chocolate choux creams - shestill believes the story that Ruriko told her about how people used to give choux creams as apresent when proposing to their beloved. Despite her hopes to finally get through to Junichi,he's just too dense to catch on. After Valentine's Day, it's time for graduation, and with herdeadline at hand, Rihoko still hasn't found a new recruit for the Tea Club. Just as things seemhopeless, though, Junichi announces that he'll join the club...

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21 - Discoveries Amd the clock ticks back again. Junichi wants to overcome his trauma from Christmas Evetwo years back and enjoy the Founder's Festival this year, so when it comes time to selectingfestival committee members, Junichi volunteers for the job. Meanwhile, Tsukasa Ayatsuji, oneof Junichi's classmates, gets voted in as Festival Committee Director. Now she and Junichi willbe working closely together until the festival's over, and he soon comes to realize just howwonderful a person she is - until one day when he finds her day planner on the floor - whichshows him that Tsukasa has a darker side...

22 - Hidden Side When Tsukasa sees Junichi holding her day planner, she's convinced he saw something heshouldn't have. Tsukasa shows her true colors as she threatens to get Junichi kicked out ofschool if he ever tells anyone about what has transpired - and to ensure that he can't pull anyfunny business, she keeps him busy with committee work. Despite her dark side, Junichi findshimself attracted to how hard working she is - so when one day she passes out from fatigue, hefinds himself going to her house to check up on her...

23 - Pride The Founder's Festival is drawing near and it doesn't look like everything is going to be done intime. Tsukasa's working day and night trying to get as much done as possible, but she needsmore help, so Junichi suggests they get their classmates to help - but that would involvedTsukasa swallowing her pride, while not all of their classmates are happy about getting draftedin. When some of the girls from their class see Tsukasa and Junichi eating lunch together, theytell everyone that they're done helping because Tsukasa was too busy flirting to do her job -which pushes Tsukasa over the edge...

24 - Promise It's Christmas Eve. and that means it's time for the Founder's Festival. Thanks to everyone'shard work and help, the Festival is set to be a huge success, and Everyone seems bright andhappy as they welcome the holiday, or at least almost everyone. Junichi isn't sure what to thinkof Tsukasa's sudden change in personality: the bold and pushy girl he once knew has beenreplaced with a kind and sweet little lady, and although that's appealing in its own right, she'sjust not the same girl he fell in love with. and so Junichi gets to wondering how to get the oldTsukasa back...

25 - The Truth Junichi has received a love letter from Risa Kamizaki, a girl he has never met before. Despitehis initial hesitancy to go out with her, Risa's apparently earnest feelings for him convince him togive her the thumbs up. But while he's eager to tell his friends about his new girlfriend, Risaisn't so keen on the idea: one of the conditions she has for dating Junichi is that he can't tellanyone about her; the other condition is that they can't be seen together. So just why is she sokeen on keeping their relationship a secret..?

26 - Little Sister Miya's worrieed that if Junichi can't find a girlfriend, he's going to lead a horrible life. But whenshe asks Ai and Sae what they think of him, they seem to think he's a pretty cool guy. Obviouslyher image of her brother isn't quite matching up with her friends' image of him. Determined tofind out why Ai and Sae think so highly of Junichi, Miya spends the day spying on him, and itdoesn't take long for her to discover that he's friends with several girls. But if he's got so manygirl friends, why doesn't he have a girlfriend..?!

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