Video Girl Ai, Vol. 2 (2)

I love Masakazu Katsuras work and Video Girl Ai is one of his bests. The story and character development are great.

I thought the second volume was even better than the first. In this volume, Yota has been searching for Ai, who disappeared at the end of the last book. The mysterious man in the trenchcoat, Ai's creator, as decided to allow Ai to go back to Yota, with a few conditions. Because Ai has fallen in love with Yota, something forbidden to video girls, these conditions are hard to her to follow, because they require her to put distance between herself and Yota.I really enjoyed this volume. Yota was much more likeable, I think. Instead of spending all his time thinking about female anatomy, he actually started to think about what and who he wanted. Unfortunately for him, this doesn't make his life any more simple, because he realizes that what he wants is both Moemi and Ai. My biggest complaint in this volume is Moemi, who seems content to let her feelings get stomped on by her boyfriend, Takashi. She's like a human door mat, but this doesn't seem to diminish Yota's feeling for her any. I found Ai to be much more likeable.

Mix Down continues where Part 1: PreProduction left off. To recap from the first novel, The lead character Yota, has found out that Moemi, the girl he likes, is in love with his good-looking friend Takashi. Feeling down, Yota finds a magical video shop, where he rents a video featuring idol Ai Amano. But as Yota watches the video on his broken VCR, Ai pops out, albeit a little different from her packaging. The video has made her lose her overcute charm, her curvy figure, and she has a small swearing tendency. But even so, she agrees to help Yota, and so begins an incredible dramatic manga. At the end of the novel, something begins to happen to Ai as she continues to help Yota, and one day, Ai suddenly vanishes! Apparently, Ai has been returned to the Gokuraku video store, where her Creator has deemed her defective. Instead of helping Yota (the lead character who is commonly called "Dateless"), it seems Ai is actually showing feelings toward him, which is a major diversion of what a Video Girl should do or be. Ai's creator is ready to pull the plug on our defective heroine, when Ai begs him for a second chance. So, her Creator grants her this, with the exception that she has to follow a program to only "help" Yota, and to distance herself from him. So, Ai returns to Yota, but with the premonition that she can't even tell him "I love you." I won't give away anymore, but the ending will really have you begging Viz to come out with "Book 3: Recall" as soon as possible!

I like it,

Video Girl AI is one of my favorite mangas. It's got some of the most interesting characters around, with a main character that you can actually care for. There's no action or giant robots, just a lot of romance and drama, but told so it would be more appealing for guys, and not at all like a sappy romance novel or chick flick. The series is just incredibly engrossing, a lot like Parasyte(another great manga). Once you finish the last page you REALLY wanna know what happens next. Unfortunately you're in for a long wait. This is an 18 book series, and it's taking Dark Horse forever to translate and market each one. In this book, you get to see AI's creators, who tell AI that she cannot have feelings for Yota. If she abides by these rules, her time limit with Yota will be taken away, and she'll be sent back to him. Also, Moemi's feelings are revealed, which may bring Yota's crush on her to an end. I don't wanna reveal any more than I already have. If you bought the last one, you've gotta get this one too.

Yota is desperately searching for Ai in the city streets, but he's never going to find her. She has been summoned back to the Gokuruku videostore, in what looks like another dimension, by the man(?) who created her. He threatens to erase her because she's not supposed to fall in love with Yota herself, she's supposed to FIND his true love. She's letting her own feelings get in the way of Yota's happiness because Ai can never live a normal life since she only has three months of life. She is able to convince him to give her one more chance, but she cannot show any personal feelings for Yota. If she does, she might just disappear! And what's the deal with Moemi? She seems to spend an awful lot of time talking to Yota, even though her boyfriend is Takashi. This volume also introduces the incorrigible pervert and Ai-admirer, Takao Sorayama, president of the school art club and son of an important PTA member.This volume had more emotional heft than the first volume and was the better for it. It has a lot of shojo elements but more in the male role as Yota can't really decide who he really loves, Moemi or Yota? I guess he wishes he could have both, but in the real world that never works. And is Takashi only dating Moemi to galvanize Yota into taking action with his feelings, hoping he will become jealous or angry at least? Or does Takashi like Moemi himself? There's all kinds of good emotional interplay here between the main characters, with noone really taking a dominant role in the manga. That's not a bad thing. I've even got over the late 80s horrible fashion sense that bothered me in Volume 1. Good book

Great story, great art. Love all his work. Unfortunately, some issues of this and his other titles are rather expensive.