Synopsis
All year round the sakura trees mysteriously blossom on the island of Hatsune. A couple converse and run through the pink flowers in the distance. A girl makes a wish from the side of her window. Another year of grade school has begun. A transfer student from America blissfully says hello to a friend she hasn’t seen for years to fulfill a long kept promise…
Review
Da Capo is a 26 episode series produced by studio Circus. Like Kanon and To Heart, it’s another anime based off of a PC hentai dating simulation game and released child friendly for the Playstation 2. Dictionary.com translates Da Capo in this fashion: adv. Music Abbreviation DC. From the beginning. Used as a direction to repeat a passage. In the last episode Junnichi explains: People say that you can’t reset life, like a game. But is that really true? If you stumble you can always start over, like a da capo. That’s what I would like to believe. Because that is not a start from zero.
The Breakdown
Kanon, Taiyaki. Onegai Sensei, the red box of pocky sticks. Da Capo, Miharu’s bananas!!! Or a pot of nabe. ^_^
» The Pros
If Kanon is the anime of miracles, then that would make Da Capo the anime of faded dreams. We all have experienced waking up still in the warmth of your bed only to have a faint remembrance of the dream we just had. Your heart beats gently. Your pajamas are not in sweat as in a nightmare but refreshed. It was a pleasant dream that you didn't want to come to an end but had to. You might even wish to have stayed asleep if the reality of everyday life is that hard to accept. Is it true that something good can't last forever?
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» The Cons
Personally, no matter how good looking they would be, I wouldn't dare fall in love with a family member or close relative. Many of us know of or at least heard of cases where childhood sweet hearts that have been together from kindergarten all the way through high school and college get married. In Onegai Twins, Karen and Miina make a pact that whoever is not related is allowed to love Maiku. Growing up, Nemu, Sakura, even Miharu called Asakura by Nii-chan (brother) but none were related by blood. In Kanon, Nayuki had that complex of loving her cousin Yuuichi.
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» Animation
9.0 |
In Newtype USA, the authors mentioned as the case was with Kanon that none of the main girls in the series had glasses. This is not representative of the Japanese population as a whole. Asakura's teacher, Kouyomi-sensei, does wear glasses however. Each girl has a different hair color if you count the sisters Moe and Mako as one. |
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» Sound
9.0 |
The opening theme Sakura saku mirai koi yume is happy and upbeat. Da Capo employs many talented voice actors working together due to the sheer size of the female cast. Two of which make their return from Kanon: the beautiful Horie Yui (Kanon - Ayu) as Kotori and Tamura Yukari (Kanon - Mai Kawasumi) as Sakura. Nogawa Sakura plays Nemu. Her portfolio includes animes like Real Bout High School, Angel's Tail, and Pita Ten. Asakura Junnichi is voiced by Tai Yuuki, who made his debut in E's Otherwise. Another newcomer we'll likely see playing important roles in future anime series is Kanda Akemi, the speaker for Miharu. |
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» Story
8.0 |
The first seven episodes devote only 15 minutes to plot development accompanied by a karaoke. Episode 8 is an Utamaru recap. Episode 9 to 20 contains a side story at the end with the girls encountering a strange dark furred neko man in a brown trench coat (Episode 9 also has a funny what I like to call a day in the life of Asakura). You can compare it to the Welcome to Lodoss Island mini series in Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. The storyline itself is like an extended Kanon. The digging beside a cherry blossom tree to find a time capsule is similar to finding the angel doll in Kanon. Emotion and romance intensifies during the last string of episodes. Yoriko departs like Makoto in Kanon, but not as extreme. Miharu leaving did move me, but not a match to the tears I shed when Ayu left Yuuichi in Kanon. What happens to Nemu took me by surprise. O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on. - Othello, William Shakespeare. Going back to the meaning of da capo, the series ends with the start of high school. |
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» Recommend
9.0 |
Box Set 1 contains episodes 1-7 and costs 9,800 Japanese Yen (~$92.00 US Dollars). I prefer Kanon and Love Hina over Da Capo. |
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» Other Information
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Extras: All those goodies you see there. Dozens of character artwork.
Package: Nemu left and Sakura right in their school uniforms holding hands. Utamaru sitting atop Sakura's head. |
Saturday, June 27, 2026
