Twin Love · review
Futakoi (twin love) is about a guy (the protagonist/harem lead) who returns back to his hometown after some significant period of time of which I don't remember the exact number of years. But that's not important. What is important is that he was "proposed' to by a pair of twins before he left. He comes back to them, and they still like him/he likes them. As the story goes on, five other sets of twins make their introductions (his harem), and he has to decide who to love. Story (7/10) A little unoriginal, with male harem lead coming back to girls he left behind (ai yori aoshi),but you could make the argument that more shows with this storyline aired after futakoi (kanon, myself; yourself). I'm sure I missed some. The story was enjoyable. There was plenty of romantic tension, which is a must for harem shows to do well, in my opinion. Although the show is 13 episodes long, the show is nicely paced and doesn't seem rushed.
Art (8/10)
I don't have anything to complain about here. The characters look their age, the background art is well done, and the animation is fluid. It gets an 8 because it isn't overwhelmingly superb, like say, 5 centimeters/second was, but it gets the job done and leaves you satisfied.
Sound (8/10)
The OP was a good choice for the show; it set up the right mood to watch the show in. It was done by eufonius (they did the OP for the clannad series, which are some of the most musically beautiful OPs out there). It is really hard to fail with the main twins voiced by Yui Horie (Naru, Minori) and Ami Koshimizu (Kallen, Tenma). Nozomu is voiced by Claymore's Raki. I hated his voice in Claymore, but it works in this show quite nicely.
Character (8/10)
With six sets of twins, character development for all of them was impossible to do adequately in 13 episodes, and the show knew that. The show didn't take away from the development of the main characters by wasting time on minor characters. If it did, it was done to further develop the main characters. There is delicious tension between some characters, and plenty of love is thrown around too.
Enjoyment (9/10)
The show was very enjoyable for me. Very rarely was I so bored that I conscientiously wanted to fast forward to move the story along. It has its moments of comedy, drama, and romance, all of which are done to your satisfaction.
Overall (8/10)
My scores averaged out to exactly an 8/10. Futakoi is one of the better harem shows out there in my opinion. It offers a deeper kind love in a sense, because to love one identical twin over another (yes, all six sets of twins are identical) means you truly love them for who they are, not for their looks. If you're looking for a pretty good comedy/romance show that isn't all that time consuming yet leaves you satisfied, give Futakoi a try. It's a show that's not as well known as say, Love Hina, or Shuffle. It also doesn't have as much fanservice as either show. What it does have is a pretty good story that'll have you asking yourself some interesting questions, and leave you in a good mood when you've finished episode 13.
Note: This was my first review. If this review wasn't helpful, please spend the time to write me a quick personal message on what I did badly. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Thanks for reading~