Rating: 
Summary: Sweet, funny, romantic
Review: "Ai Yori Aoshi" is a nice surprise. As another entry in the glut of "harem shows," the expectations were low, maybe some hijinks and some laughs, but little staying interest. However, it turned out to be really good!The series shows plenty of promise. The two lead characters have the simple naitivity that is charming and disarming. The emphasis on traditional Japanese culture is nice, with both Aoi and Kaoru coming from famous kimono making families. The additional characters, including the stereotypical loud American, and the stern guardian, make for a good mix and seem to set-up for some future fun. Any fans of "Love Hina" or "Maison Ikkoku" should enjoy "Ai Yori Aoshi." I'm looking forward to seeing more episodes, and I hope they live up to the promise of the first DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Its hard to maintain the edge
Review: Actually this should rate higher, but I'm averaging it with the rest of the series. This 26 episode series about first love is played sweet with little conflict. The only conflict comes at the beginning and then again at series end. Its hard to dance a plot intended as a romatic comedy on the edge of the knife of tragedy. It would however, have been nice to see them try. The two characters are brought together in the first few episodes by overly coincidental fate. Then when Aoi won't leave her long lost love, the family sets them up in a controlled living situation. This obviously a set-up in hopes the unknown relationship will run its course break-up. Normally I would have expected a lot of ominous meddleing from the family. Unfortunately the series turned light from here on, giving the traditional comic treatment expected of a situation comedy. New characters arrive, mostly females to create our situations. None of which are handled with any seriousness save a few scenes with Aoi. We have the prerequisite animals (a ferret and some cats), the ackward girl with big assets, the standard beach episodes, and some drinking humor. The standard bag for a light series. You can't help liking the series, but if you're expecting anything new or profound, forget it. Series turns serious again in last three episodes. It could have been a classic had episodes 4-21 held the same effort that 1-3 and 22-24 did. Animation is simple but good, backgrounds are excellent. Sound and music are both good, but not really special. I've noticed a lot of Japanese anime, the series is mapped from beginning to end. I wonder about that here. Its like two slices of heavy pupernickel rye with a filling of brie. Wheres the beef and the spiced ham when we need it.
Rating:
Summary: A romantic comedy that's both funny and pleasant
Review: Ai Yori Aoshi needs a warning to open: if you find the idea of a woman wanting to be a traditional housewife to be somehow repulsive, you'll hate this show. This is all Aoi wants to be: the wife of Kaoru, to whom she was arranged to be married as a child. Kaoru left his family (for reasons made clear), but Aoi still loved him. Therein is the heart and warmth of this show: there is no doubt that Aoi and Kaoru will be together throughout once they meet again. Only in the last episode on this disc (which has 5 episodes) does Ai Yori Aoshi reveal itself to be a "harem" show--Kaoru starts finding a lot of girls around him and ultimately, living in the same house. In its dynamics, though, Ai Yori Aoshi differs from many of the other harem shows that have been imported from Japan recently--in Love Hina, for example, one thing or another keeps interrupting Naru and Keitaro's romance. Here, that's not the issue. The humor in this show depends on Aoi and Kaoru learning about each other. Because there's no real conflict between the two, Ai Yori Aoshi may not be quite as funny as a Love Hina or a few others, but it manages to hold its own in the laughs department. More importantly, it is simply pleasant to watch. Aoi, who in a lesser show might have come off as spineless, drives the story with her efforts to make her dream come true. Barring an ideological problem with her domesticity, Aoi is more than reason enough to want to see more of this show. It is when she is not on-screen (particularly when the decidedly unpleasant Tina is), that the show suffers. Fortunately, Aoi is (and hopefully will remain throughout) the focus. One warning to close: there's a fair bit of fanservice here, and this release is based off the Japanese home video release, which added some nudity. It's all featureless (nothing's drawn in) and brief, but it's there, for those who want to avoid such things.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneasy balance between culture and cliche.
Review: Among the Harem animes I watched, this probably comes down as the hardest to understand without knowing chunks about Japanese culture. Perhaps, this series should be used as the reference to Japanese culture and its psyche instead of fun anime.
If you watched plenty of animes (most of viewers did, I assume), this is not very hard to understand. In basic, this follows the predictable plot, with bunch of girls around the main character, love triangle, etc. Problem is that whole ingredients are combined in very sloppy manner.
First of all, the characters do not possess strong personality. Most of them are either cliche, too goody, or both. It is just not fun to watch them, especially when filler episodes occupies 2/3 of whole series.
Second, cultural references are too strong. Many animes possess some cliche that has to be viewed over to understand, but this is full of them. Aoi's character is merely thin disguise of spineless women which is sure to offend many people (At least in Love Hina, Naru had mighty punch to blow at Keitaro). This might be the perfect portraight of Geisha in which Western people would think (which is very inaccurate).
If you have good understanding of Japanese culture, this series can be enjoyable, but not by much. All told, this is for people who can't get enough Harem anime fans. Even so, Love Hina is better excuted.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't enjoy it...
Review: I bought Ai Yori Aoshi on a whim, after hearing things like, "If your a fan of Love Hina and Hand Maid May, you'll love this!" What a lie.
I usually love harem-shows, but not this one.
I don't exactly know why I don't like it. Maybe that it's the fact Aoi is too persistent on becoming Kaoru's wife.
I really didn't like this one bit, and I hope I never come across another show as boring as Ai Yori Aoshi.
Rating:
Summary: I've been tricked and happy about it...
Review: I got this DVD because I heard many people compare this series to Love Hina. But it is not. It seems to have a very serious story line within it. Aoi Sakuraba wants to marry her first love, Kaoru Hanabishi, who can't marry her WITHOUT going back to to the Hanabishi Clan - which he feels he can't do.
Many times I felt very sad for the main characters and even a tad lonely, missing my own first love. They really have touching scenes, very innocent and romantic, with scenes of silly humor and lots of fanservice. The serious story line justs gives these other scenes more impact.
I'm not going to call it the anime verison of Shakespeare but it stands alone and should not be compared to Love Hina or other such stories. It has its own power and its own message. I can tell you that, because the first DVD has 5 episodes, so you get a lot of the story.
Extras include a art gallery, trailer, reversible cover(which is starting to become a standard extra now), and even a music video.
Rating:
Summary: True Blue Love
Review: I have to admit, I was hesitant at picking up this series but after doing so I was truly glad I did. Ai Yori Aoshi is one of the best romantic-comedy anime series I've had the pleasure of viewing(and reviewing). The quality of the drawing is truly amazing, music and sound quality is excellent, in fact, the quality of the DVD as a whole is way above average--Pioneer really outdid themselves with this series(do not expect the same superb work from ADV).
Ai Yori Aoshi also featured two of the best and greatly developed and likeable main characters in anime. The series is about a young girl, Aoi Sakuraba, who travels to Tokyo looking for the love of her life, the person to who she was supposed to be marry-through and arranged marriage when they were kids. Aoi is an innocent, loyal, and sweet young girl and Kaoru is a gentleman who must refrain himself from doing something outrageous. But soon Aoi finds out that this arranged marriage had been dissolved by their parents many years ago, but love can change things for both and the story begins to unfold thereafter.
The story is strong and the characters are just brilliant. I recommend this to both males and females, however, if you're a feminist, then chances are you won't find it to your liking. The main character, Aoi, is a perfect example of what all women should strive to become.(I just love Aoi--she's just so cute)
All in all, this is one of the BEST anime series ever made. You should check it out for yourself, you won't be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: True Romance
Review: I know, I know, you're thinking, "We've seen it all before. Typical anime where the guy ends up living with a ton of girls and can't make up his mind which one he loves."
Wrong.
Ai Yori Aoshi is a refreshing look at the romantic comedy genre. While it is true that there are more girls added to the series, they don't even begin to show up until the fifth episode, by which time, we already know that Aoi and Kaouru are made for each other.
Unlike most romantic comedies, Kaouru doesn't suffer from the typical indecisiveness of the standard anime male. In fact, he shows strong resolve. He's a Junior in college, he has his own apartment, and he knows he definitely wants nothing to do with the Hanabishi clan whose patriarch so horribly abused him when he was younger.
A man used to lonliness and pain, he remains in good spirits, and Aoi, with her unassuming gentleness, is just the person to be at his side for all time.
There's a bizarre sort of sincerity that comes from this series that I've never seen before in other romantic comedy type anime. Also, for those familiar with anime, the series seems to be a condemnation of the Japanese caste system that some still cling to even to this very day.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised.
Review: I went into this series thinking I was going to be in for another Tenchi clone. I was so wrong. The characters actually have a clue! I fell for Aoi quickly and I look forward to her growth throughout the series. The introduction of Tina, the iconoclast American, brings a laugh knowing how Americans are viewed by the Japanese and how well they can parody our behaviour in their eyes. It may not be deep, but it grabs your attention and gives you a fun experience. Much better than CNN, honest. ;)
Rating:
Summary: Of Fate, Love & Tradition
Review: I've read numerous average-to-good reviews of this series, but I took a chance buying it and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. A cliche "harem" series with surprising depth, subtlety and romance to go with the fan service and raunchy comedy. Comparing "A.Y.A." to other "harem" series like "Love Hina" or "Tenchi" seems fair enough, but the writers are smart enough to play around with the conventions. Instead of using stock characters in lieu of real character development, they subvert the cliches by giving depth to the concept of the hapless, well-meaning hero, etc. It also manages a coup because they cast the traditional girl as the rebel... something vastly different than the violent, post-feminist anime heroine you find in most animes Pretty ingenious, actually. Summarized plot: Kaoru and Aoi were both children of privilege promised to wed. Kaoru was physically and emotionally abused by his family, so he left to live on his own. Aoi, who has never forgotten her childhood crush, searches Kaoru out and meets him, accidentally, in a train station. While they obviously care about each other, marrying Aoi means returning to his family so Aoi's family hides them in a big mansion that quickly becomes populated by lots of hot chicks who all fall for Kaoru. Comedy ensues. Kaoru is a college junior, not an awkward High School student and conducts himself with much more maturity than your typical anime hero. He's apparently shy, a loner and a bit of a geek (for reasons in his past that are explained logically), but when the pressure is on, he's reliable. He's also sweet and well-meaning, something that also seems logical given his rough past. Most anime heroes have trouble admitting their feelings openly and the beginning of the courtship takes the entire series to develop, but Kaoru and Aoi click quickly and by episode three they're both obviously in love, if a bit naive as to what comes next. The heroine, Aoi, only appears to be a wallflower and the traditional stereotype of the Japanese woman. Rather than being spineless and servile, we can actually see her strength as she leaves everything she knows and sacrifices her place in her family just to cling to a dream. The charm of her character isn't her desire to please her man, it's the strength and focus she shows in chasing her dream of being the best wife possible. Having seen as much anime as I have, it's a surprise to see so much thought put into a light romantic comedy/drama that could have easily skated by on the stock characterizations. As a viewer, I liked feeling like my intelligence wasn't being insulted. There are subtle moments of character building that they don't come right out and say, which I really appreciated. If this was an American movie, they would have beat us over the head with those moments. Moments like the first episode when Aoi lets one hands rest on Kaoru's shoulder... then the other, a sign of real trust to someone she knows only as a stranger at the time. Or seeing Aoi notice that the bawdy American Tina Foster shows affection to Kaoru the same way she shows affection to a cat... and, thus, doesn't get jealous of her clinging to Kaoru. I really appreciated not having that hammered into my head. The downsides are relatively minor if you can get past the deceptively cliche nature of the show. The character of Aoi can (and apparently does) turn people off, but I looked at it more as a departure from convention than a glorified Japanese male fantasy, though both arguments have merit. After watching a series like "Love Hina" where the hapless male lead gets physically and emotionally pummeled for 20+ episodes with little or no payoff, "A.Y.A." can be a breath of fresh air so long as you don't take it seriously. (Frankly, "Love Hina's" Naru is as much a male fantasy as Aoi, just to the opposite extreme.) Additionally, the dialogue can get a little TOO frothy and the fan service feels tacked on... an attempt to please both sides of the gender divide. Even if the next couple volumes rely mostly on bawdy humor and "Tenchi"-ish misadventures, I still plan on sticking with it. To me, I like all of the characters enough that it'll be like visiting old friends, not watching some rote re-telling of the same ol' story. I've already watched this volume dubbed and subbed and I'll probably revisit it again in the near future. Highly recommended for anime/Japan culture aficionados, but neophytes should probably start their collection elsewhere.
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