It's Spring time!
Yes, it's the days when the sakura trees blossoms and we can feel the breeze to our ears. However, for a certain place known as the Hatsune-jima island, it gives off that feeling of Spring years round. It's a mysterious island and there are many mysteries. One thing is for certain though, the island holds one of greatest secrets involving a Sakura Tree which apparently has the ...
It's Spring time!
Yes, it's the days when the sakura trees blossoms and we can feel the breeze to our ears. However, for a certain place known as the Hatsune-jima island, it gives off that feeling of Spring years round. It's a mysterious island and there are many mysteries. One thing is for certain though, the island holds one of greatest secrets involving a Sakura Tree which apparently has the ability to make wishes to come true. With this in mind, the series invites questions to the many mysteries that surrounds the origins of Da Capo III.
Da Capo III is the third installation of the Da Capo franchaise. The series debuted as part of the Winter 2013 lineup which seems to be somewhat ironic given the Spring atmosphere of the settings. Regardless, the series is a direct sequel of Da Capo II and takes place approximately 20 years after. That's over 2 decades and many things have changed.
For one thing, the series takes place on a mysterious island. The island itself is shaped like a crescent moon but more important, the setting has many mysteries. Perhaps the biggest mystery of them all is the Sakura Tree. Rumors says that it has the ability to grant wishes and make them come true. Sounds exciting isn't it? Well, that's only the tip of the iceberg...
Among all the mysteries also resolves around a competition of the Kazami Academy Newspaper Club. From the first episode, there is a sense of rivalry going around at school. In fact, it brings in together a little drama that were all part of the original Da Capo series.
The series has a school life setting and stars the main male protagonist, Kiyotaka Yoshino. He seems to look normal, acts normal, and is typically normal. However, the friends that he hangs around with are a bit..should I say, not too normal. Well, let's just say that Kiyotaka has his work cut out with him because the majority of his friends are of the opposite sex. They are girls and all of them seems to have a thing for Kiyotaka. This should be expected though given the romance aspect of the show. Just like some of the previous Da Capo series, romance becomes revolved around the main character with the interactions he has with the other girls.
In terms of the other characters, each of them get their own spotlights with one of them being the main focus. As such, some of the episodes are standalone and makes little to no progression to the plot. To me, this is a major distraction and rather loose way of enforcing the premise of the series. Additionally, I find the main male protagonist Kiyotaka to be far too dense for liking. It is quite obvious that many of the girls he hangs out around with are attracted to him in a different way or form. Whether it's displayed by jealousy, sadness, or curiosity, the girls around him feels a special connection to him; some less than others among the group. Unfortunately, Kiyotaka is too dense to realizes it. Even at one point, there's a minor character who also expressed interest in him. Furthermore, whenever an opportunity is presented for him to do various things to the girls, he passes it by. And of course, he also seems to get into misunderstandings that invokes wrath. Typical.
The series' plot revolves around the Sakura Tree and thus, a main female character makes her return to this series. She is named Sakura and holds a sense of innocence behind her character. She adoringly refers Kiyotaka as “oniichan” and often hangs out with a strange cat. Strange as it sounds, there are a lot of mysteries surrounding her character and origins. It spells mystery and as the series progresses, we learn some things about her and her connection to the Da Capo world.
As interesting as the potential plot itself sounds, the series suffers numerous problems. The drama involving the first episode with the rivalry is vaguely explored. In fact, there is hardly a sense of rivalry in that aspect at all except for the rivalries between the girls themselves. They all want Kiyotaka's attention but he's too dense to realize it. At various points, I have to wonder if Kiyotaka gives a damn at all.
The series also falls under the typical fan-service. In fact, various camera angles often prolong the scenes of the girls' moments with their movements. Certain parts of their bodies are often show in various point of views. It's as if the series wants to market them rather than the actual plot. Examples of this also includes the pool episode with the swimsuits, the many scenes when Charles (Lulu-Nee) literally throws herself at Kiyotaka, and even the opening sequence. Then, there's also the tsundere involving a minor character, the little sister type, the mature school idol, jealousy clingy girl, and among others. Oh, and don't forget about the 'naked apron' part because the show also conveys that part. With all this in mind, it is also no surprising that Kiyotaka becomes the envy of the male students. Sigh.
In terms of the major plot revolving the Sakura Tree, it is expressed in a weak way. There's some dream like sequences exploring the aspect of its mysteries but most times are vague. Therefore, it is fairly important for viewers to watch the prequels to understand more aspects behind the Sakura Tree and its origins.
Regarding the romance, I find the series to be quite weak in that department as well. Most of the girls seems to lack any sort of personality and Kiyotaka himself isn't faring any better. In fact, he's the guy who has to make decisions and the answers he gives often comes out so ambiguous that one may often if he's just trying to be the typical nice guy. This doesn't come across to be a pleasant response to the girls though. In fact, it's clear that Kiyotaka views one of the main characters as more than just a good friend. Unfortunately, the route? It leads to almost nowhere. Shame.
The visuals in this show is expressed well. The majestic feeling of the Sakura tree spreads that atmosphere of the Spring life. It is because of that atmosphere, we can see that the tree itself is obviously special and makes the island seems like a paradise. Unfortunately, the characters' designs are all generic to the max with breast sizes even being compared at various points.
For the soundtrack, Da Capo III has a soft melody and often mixes in with a sort of mystical tone. It's not breathtaking though but does gets some of its way across. The OP sequence also has the girls dance in various positions but becomes a distraction, just like the main plot.
Well, I'll give this series a '5'. It just didn't work out well for me and stands mediocre at best. The premise is interesting and caught my attention. However, the attention of the series shifted more to fan service and “romance” rather than anything else. While it did maintain its magical theme, it focused more so on the characters, including a minor character that had little to no progression to the overall series. Oh well, it was only 13 episodes but this was a chore to watch. If I did have a wish to make to the Sakura Tree, I wish I probably would of done something better with my time.
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