Video Girl Ai ( Japanese 電影 少女 VIDEO GIRL AI Dengei Shё: jo Bideo Ga: ru Ai ) is a manga created by Masakazu Katsura and published in Weekly Shonen Jump . There is an anime adaptation of manga.
| Video Girl Ai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 電影 少女 VIDEO GIRL AI | |
| Genre / Theme | science fiction , romantic comedy |
| Manga | |
| Author | Masakazu Katsura |
| Publisher |  Shueisha |
| Published in | Shonen jump |
| Lecture hall | shonen |
| Publication | 1990 - 1993 |
| Tomov | 15 |
| Ova | |
| Producer | Hiroshi Watanabe |
| Studio | Production IG |
| Date of issue | 1992 |
| Series | 6 |
From 1990 to 1993, 15 volumes were issued. The first 13 volumes talk about the video girl Ai Amano, nicknamed "Video Girl Ai." The last two volumes, released a year later, are dedicated to Ren's video girl ("Ren's Video Girl"). The pun in these two names was lost in translation (Ren + Ay = Ren Yai, the Japanese name for the kind of romantic comedy that is "Video Girl Ay"). Although the main characters in them are different, “Ay” and “Ren” are interconnected. Two characters from the first thirteen chapters appear in the last two. The fifteenth volume concludes with a bonus chapter on the video girl Haruno. Her story is no longer connected with the stories of Ai and Ren. The anime was released as a six-part OVA series in 1992. It is based on the first three volumes of the manga and takes over the style of the manga itself.
Content
Story
At the beginning of the story, Yota Motouchi discovers that Moemi Hayakawa, the girl he likes, is in love with his best friend, Takashi Nimai. Yota suffers from unrequited love and at the same time worries about Moemi, who is also rejected. He finds himself in a mysterious video rental called “Gokuraku” (“Paradise”), where all the tapes have an extraordinary property: they contain “video girls” that can get off the TV screen to console the owner of the tape. Having no idea about video girls, Yota takes the tape “I will console you” with Ai Amano. Ai comes to life to brighten Yota’s life and help him win his beloved. However, Yota reproduces this cassette on a faulty VCR, due to which Ai also finds some "defects"; among other “side effects” is the ability to experience emotions. This trait of Ai makes her fall in love with Yotu. Yota, in turn, begins to take care of her and experience a sincere disposition. But the creator of Ai in Gokuraku, Rolex, decides to recall Ai as being unable to fulfill her functions.
Characters
Ai Amano ( Jap. 天野 あ い Amano Ai ) is a beautiful and full of energy girl. Video girls should be gentle, graceful and excellent at cooking. But due to a malfunction in the VCR, Yota Ay becomes like a boy, prone to harsh speech and violence and unable to cook (she has to learn to cook again). But at the same time she is very kind and sensitive to the experiences of other people.
- Seiyu : Megumi Hayashibara
Moemi Hayakawa ( 早川 も え み Hayakawa Moemi ) is a very attractive girl who is hopelessly in love with Takashi. Moemi has a very high opinion of Yot, often turns to him for friendly support.
- Seiyu : Yuri Amano
Takashi Niimai ( 新 舞 貴志 Niimai Takashi ) is a musician surrounded by fans (but he remains indifferent to them). One of Yota’s best friends, he rejects Moemi because he knows Yota’s feelings for her.
- Seiyu : Koji Tsujitani
Nobuko Nizaki ( Japanese 仁 崎 伸 子 Nizaki Nobuko ) is a girl from the art club, a year younger than Yota. Present only in the manga.
Natsumi Yamaguchi ( Jap. 山口 夏 美 Yamaguchi Natsumi ) is a girl orphaned and running away from home. They were friends with Yota in kindergarten. Her family later moved. She is one of those who will lend a helping hand in difficult times. Appears only in the manga.
Heroes of the Video Girl Ren Manga
Ren Momono - New, not yet tested video girl.
Hiroma Taguchi - The guys who rented the cassette with Ren. Hiroma is the protagonist in this story, he is as shy as Yota was. He really likes Ayumi, but their relationship complicates his shyness and Ayumi's tarnished reputation. Soon they became engaged, but Hiroma was so happy that he had ceased to pay due attention to Ayumi, and they temporarily parted until he “found her again in his memory”. Toshiki, on the other hand, is more sociable and prone to typical teenage behavior, for example, he often tries to spy on Ren (which pisses her off).
Toshiki Karukawa - The guys who rented the cassette with Ren. Hiroma is the protagonist in this story, he is as shy as Yota was. He really likes Ayumi, but their relationship complicates his shyness and Ayumi's tarnished reputation. Soon they became engaged, but Hiroma was so happy that he had ceased to pay due attention to Ayumi, and they temporarily parted until he “found her again in his memory”. Toshiki, on the other hand, is more sociable and prone to typical teenage behavior, for example, he often tries to spy on Ren (which pisses her off).
Ayumi Shirakawa - The girl Hirooma is in love with. However, the rumor spread by her ex-boyfriend goes beyond the school where she studies (Hiroma and Ayumi study in different schools). Thanks to the plan, Ren Ayumi finds out who is behind this. Then she breaks up with her boyfriend completely and starts dating Hiramu.
Yota Moteuchi - Yota, who has matured by eight years. He teaches at an art school attended by Hiroma and Ayumi.
Notes
Links
- Manga “Video Girl Ai” in the encyclopedia of Anime News Network
- Anime "Video Girl Ai" in the encyclopedia of Anime News Network
- Anime "Video Girl Ai" in the AniDB database