I hadn't seen Video Girl Aifor three years, since the last time CJAS showed it in the 92-93 school year, and boy, did I get a wave of nostalgia when I heard that opening theme again last Saturday. It's weird, but I really like this anime a lot better the second time around. I've always liked the character designs, especially Amano Ai's costume designs in the credits, but there was something else I couldn't really put my finger on.

Maybe it's because I've seen so much anime since then that I've learned to notice and understand the significance in certain devices. Things like the timing of a flock of birds all taking off at a particular pause in conversation, or a few seconds of animation and sound devoted to a tin can falling down some steps, or even just leaves swirling in the wind. All these things just went right by me the first time I saw this OAV series, perhaps because back then I didn't realize how important they were to the unspoken story, or the part they played in adding to the tension of an angst-ridden scene. Three years later, the interplay between the main characters seems a lot more complex, Youta's personality reveals more subtlety, and I find that I am able to sympathize much more as events unfold. Reading into things a little too much, perhaps? In any case, the years have turned full-circle, and I couldn't ask for a better anime my last semester at CJAS.