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Peach Girl Vol. 1
01/07/2008 . Source: Phil Jones 
region2 DVD: pub: Revelation Films. FUN72601. 1 DVD 100 minute film plus extras. Price: £15.99 (UK). Buy Peach Girl in the USA - or Buy Peach Girl in the UK  check out website: www.revfilms.comand www.funimation.com/peachgirl
OK, so what do you get if you take a teen soap, something akin to Grange Hill (UK school drama), a bitch of a girl that wouldn't have been out of place in 'Dallas' or 'Dynasty' and Japanese Anime and put them in a blender. Probably something along the lines of 'Peach Girl'. Throw in a love triangle and you've got it made.
Momo is a young tanned girl who has just started a new school. The only person she vaguely knows is a boy, Toji, who she's been in love with from a far from her previous school. She would like to go out with Toji but due to her having been in the swim team and gained a dark tan, Momo doesn't think she's his type. One of her old friends told her he doesn't like 'tanned' girls and prefers the paler ones.
She has few friends at her new school, well actually none until she meets up with Sae. I say a friend but Sae turns out to be not quite what she seems. Always copying Momo and wanting what she wants or has got. She turns up one morning with a bag that Momo had said she liked when they were out shopping the day before. While chatting, Sae asks whether Momo has a crush on anyone. Panicking, Momo points out Kairi, the school 's most eligible and popular boy.
Momo does finally get round to going out with Toji after a few incidences with Kairi. Sae does get wind eventually of there newly forming relationship and, of course, throws a couple of spanners in as she wants Toji all to herself. Kairi, on the other hand, falls for Momo and tries on occasion to win her over.
It's a bit like musical relationships. Momo is quite emotional and sometimes quite innocent to what Sae is up to. I think she breaks down and cries in most of these episodes. Toji is also a bit naive to Sae's manipulations. With him being stoic, slow to react and well sometimes a bit dense and stubborn, there are bound to be problems with his relationship especially with Sae throwing emotional hand grenades continually left, right and centre.
For all of Kairi's playfulness and attempts to get the attention of Momo, you do get the feeling especially in the later episodes that his heart is in the right place. He also becomes very clued up to what Sae is really like and how she plays people. She is, to be frank, a downright evil little controlling witch (sorry, lost it a bit there). We really do start to see Sae's indeciduous jealousy of Momo.
This could be referred to as shôjo anime series. Out of the box, it's most probable target audience is girls. Featuring melodrama, relationships and a female protagonist, it kind of ticks all the usual boxes. Saying that, I think it could have a wider appeal, but be warned, the plot developments come at a pace and I think some of the characters could start to grate a little after a while. This speed of plot and emotional developments is, I think, these episodes downfall.
I found I could watch only a few episodes in one sitting. You are bombarded from word go. I think the speed has the effect of reducing any depth the episodes could have had. You are so emotionally flung about that you don't have any time to stop and ponder about what's going on. The characters as well can be blatantly thick and I think this is used sometimes to create set pieces and scenes. I think a bit more creative writing would have been a better call. Mind you, if you're looking for full on action scenes you won't find it here. This is firmly routed in relationships and characters. Perhaps just take it in small doses.
The one thing that really did impress was the English dubbing. It keeps quite true to the original even to the point of not been toned down like other Funmation/Revelation releases. This has the benefit of giving the true feel and responses of the characters especially when things start to get heated. Extras wise, there's both interviews with Japanese actor who plays Momo and also the English director and actor who plays Momo along with the usual anime extras.
One thing that did really grate was the English version of the title theme. It's bad. No really, really bad. Mind you, saying that the Japanese version is only marginally better. The music in the episodes is fairly throw away along with average animation. It'll be interesting to see where this series goes and whether the pace can be maintained, that's if we can cope with the pace. In fact, perhaps a bit of a slow down would lift this series from good to, well, watch it and see what you think.
Phil Jones
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