I finished up the second season of Ai Yori Aoshi last night. It was pretty good -- not good enough for me to want to buy it, but definitely enjoyable to watch. It actually reminded me a lot of Someday's Dreamers, which makes sense because they were both directed by the same person (Masami Shimoda), animated by the same company (the fabulous JC Staff, whose animation is just so eye-poppingly beautiful), and have fabulous ending songs sung by The Indigo (I wonder if they have a CD...). Plus, Akiko Hiramatsu, who voiced Milinda in Someday's Dreamers (not to mention Calaveras from Sailor Moon), was the seiyuu of my favorite character from the show, Miyabi Kagurazaki.
I really loved the music. The three ending songs by The Indigo were great, and the two openings, sung by Ishida Yoko, are gorgeous. Eternal Flower, the opening for the first season, almost managed to knock the Someday's Dreamers OP Kaze no Hana off the top of my all-time favorite anime songs list. (You know, I really need to ask my sister if she would mind downloading all my favorite anime songs and burning me a CD. That would make a really good birthday or Christmas present.)
The characters were a lot of fun, as well. Aoi, the main female, was incredibly boring for the most part (though she got a little better in the second season when she developed a bit of a backbone and some traces of a personality beyond being Kaoru's devoted fiancee), but Kaoru definitely earns a spot in my hallowed Harem of Bishies. Cute and incredibly nice -- what more could a girl want? ^_^ My two favorites, though, were Miyabi and Tina Foster, which is kind of weird, because they are like on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to personality. Miyabi, who I judge to be somewhere in her thirties, is a strict, but very kind, woman who is usually very serious, while Tina is an energetic American party animal who loves having fun and squeezing her female friends' breasts. (Yeah, you heard me. It's strange, especially considering that she's straight, but so funny!)
The only real fault with the show is that there isn't much of a plot, which again, is another thing it shares with Someday's Dreamers, but while SD was only twelve episodes long, Ai Yori Aoshi was somewhere near thirty-five episodes. There was a lot of filler and lots of fanservice, but for the most part, it wasn't too bad.
If you like romantic anime, I definitely recommend Ai Yori Aoshi.
Edit: I should probably post this, since everybody else is.
1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
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