Gift ~ Eternal rainbow – the DCSS wannabe that never was
One of my deepest regret in anime is not seeing Kotori get a real chance at Junichi's heart in Da Capo second season. While it is not in Kotori's gentleness to be confrontational, I had hoped Gansis/FEEL worked magic (literally) to incorporate the same dramatic Nemu/Sakura-esque face-offs that make season 1 emotional. Sadly, thanks to excessive Aisia airtime and airheadness, Kotori was cheated of a REAL shot at contesting Nemu and relegated to battle her inner demons. So great was my lament of Kotori's fate that I stopped wearing her hat for a day.
Well, it would appear that writers of Gift ~Eternal rainbow agree. And so we have a brand new series with a similar premise where DC characters designs are emulated but their roles reshuffled, all for that much awaited Nemu/Kotori rematch! Ok, not exactly. But close. Here's comparison of the 2 series and you decide how close we really are to that proxy rematch.
Premise
Instead of a ever-blooming sakura tree which grant wishes in DC, we have a one-wish eternal rainbow in Gift. While invoking the gift seems a little more complicated, both sources of magic which can have unsavory results.
The almighty sister character also returns in both DCSS and Gift. There is no ambiguity on who's the designated girl from that point on.
Characters
Some swapping for roles occur but the cast and character design remains largely intact.
The pinked haired Kotori-esque Riko is now the invincible returning (non-blood related) imouto complete with a bunny accessory instead of a catbell on the neck. The brown haired Nemu-esque childhood friend, Kirino, dons a hat (paying tribute to Kotori?) and loses her special place in male protagonist household as caregiver immediately with imouto's return. Yes, clearly like Kotori, she has absolutely no chance of winning against siscon.
Not forgetting the Sakura-esque blond, twin-tailed loli, we have Chisa a broom riding mage with a black familiar (in place of the white Utamaru of DC fame). Plus the mandatory Suginami-esque sidekick whose fearsome intel and ninja skills continue to unnerve the cast.
Voice-acting
If you found the voices familiar, that's because the male protagonist's seiyuu also played Junichi. Not to mention, one of the 2 female leads, Kirino, has Aisia's seiyuu lending her voice. In addition, there are at least 2 more seiyuus in Gift who were also involved in the DC animes. At least Horie Yui is not doing Riko.
With a similar premise and character designs (albeit with swapped roles), would disappointed DCSS fans finally be seeing that Nemu/Kotori-esque showdown we've been pandering for years? Frankly, I don't know. The first 2 eps do show some promise with apparent tension between Riko and Kirino already. (A very good sign indeed) There'll be a showdown certainly. I'm just not sure if it'll impact me as Nemu X Kotori would since in term of artwork, DC is light years ahead of Gift so I'm not taking to Riko/Kirino as yet.
Nevertheless, this stays on my to-watch list. After all, it's THE siscon show of the season even if it may be a DCSS wannabe that never was and never will be.
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October 18th, 2006 - 11:17
Eat Lead Nemu
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/3552/dcvf098resizeip7pp4.jpg
October 18th, 2006 - 11:53
No way am I going to use this as a balm for the agony from DaCapo.
October 18th, 2006 - 12:21
I was just reading the english translated manga “Crossroads” yesterday and I came to this scene…
…we have 4 non-blood-related siblings living in a house…2 of which are basically the same age…there was a stupid argument between those and some making up…and the sister ends up on her back with the brother over her reaching for his fallen glasses…
…right here the oldest brother who plays the hapless father figure for everyone else comes in and sees those 2…he loses it for a bit and eventually yells out…
“THERE WILL BE NO INCEST IN THIS HOUSE!!!”
…”even if you’re not related by blood”…
ROTFLMAO…
October 18th, 2006 - 12:26
I guess its mandatory for you since you must keep your sis-con qualifications up to date. Still I much rather curse Junichi and Nemu than turn to a replacement. The pain and agony of DC and DCSS is proof I support deaest Kotori even unto death and I will be faithful.
October 18th, 2006 - 13:38
Why would anyone wannabe DCSS?
October 18th, 2006 - 13:52
Lmao.. ripping D.C. Whoever it was, they fail.
October 18th, 2006 - 16:36
You know, I’m not getting as much of a Da Capo vibe from this show as I thought I would. Perhaps this is because I love Nemu, and am perfectly happy with the outcome that DC gave us. Thus I feel no desire to see a “remake” where Kotori wins, and am approaching Gift as its own show with its own story to tell.
That being said, I am already feeling pain about Kirino’s inevitable doom. At least I get the feeling that she will have a major role in the outcome of this series, and won’t simply be sidelined or go down without a fight. Of course, I could end up falling in love with Riko – she really wasn’t in episode one, and I am still waiting for a sub of episode two. I guess I will just have to wait and see…
October 18th, 2006 - 18:38
Xellos-_^: hehe, I prefer the kitchen knife myself. Subtler. XD http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/view/10225
Skane: Depending on your source of agony from DC, you might find relief from Gift… or not. Despite the strong DC reference, I’m enjoying it quite a bit. You may want to give it 2 eps?
Zzz
October 18th, 2006 - 19:36
I personally liked the ending to Da Capo, because I find nothing wrong with Nemu. I’ve never watched DCSS, though (turned it off halfway through the first episode; am I a bad person?), but that’s beside the point. As long as this show gives off the same feel-good OVA style vibe that the Da Capo had in its first half, I’ll watch it ALL DAY LONG. I enjoyed the first episode based on that hope alone. Gift really does seem like it wants to be its own show, so why don’t we all give it the chance it wants and see if it will stand out from the rest of the pack, okay?
October 19th, 2006 - 02:14
da capo has come to be known as da crapo(only the tv series) and gift well i am still working on something that would make it look crappy…
honestly, this season there is no anime that can get better than death note and kanon… some other ones that i think are good are negima and asatte no houkou etc. the other HGTAs are hopeless.
October 19th, 2006 - 05:45
Crys: Yes, I like DC’s ending myself.
It’s DCSS’s that I lament. Nemu was my favourite char in DC but sadly she was sidelined in DCSS and I sold my soul to Kotori then 
I actually thought DC’s strength came from its 2nd half. Maybe I prefer the taboo angsting and dramatic confrontations. But I did enjoy the MV style side stories very much too. 
I’m hoping Gift would be different. So far they have been focused and I think it’s gonna be a enjoyable ride if they stay that way
cyw1988: I think it’s too early tell really.
Happiness/Gift/Tokimemo all show promise. Of course if you had deemed Da Capo bad we probably have very different views on HGtA series in general. 
October 19th, 2006 - 12:40
As one of the 10 people in the English-speaking world who liked the DCSS plot and ending (I used to say 5, but was proven wrong), I guess my perspective might be a bit different. As much as I like the “taboo angsting and dramatic confrontations” too, the more introspective “inner demons” approach from the second season worked for me just as well (for the most part – that’s not to say it was a perfect show, of course). Could be because I’m a more introspective person myself, and could identify with what Kotori was going through (and precisely the fact that it *didn’t* blow up). I think it was important that they took a different approach to prevent it from being a complete redux (and, to be honest, I really don’t think Kotori fans would be any less likely to hate the show had Kotori gone down more literally “in flames” – they really wanted D.C. to be *re-done*, not continued, but that was the point of the S.S. plot).
Anyway, all that being said, I do agree that Gift seems heading more towards the former than the latter. A physical confrontation of some kind (replete with all the necessary angst) seems inevitable, as this show hasn’t really taken an “introspective” tone at all (and it doesn’t make as much sense to do so in a season one). In that sense, the way they’re telling the story is more similar to D.C. But I’d also agree that, although the setup’s similar (involvement of Circus staff in the original game duly noted), I’m expecting it to go its own way too. I’m not sure that one show can substitute for the other, but I do think it’s worth watching to see how it turns out.
What I’m most curious about is that it seems the 13th episode will be DVD exclusive. Hopefully they don’t leave us hanging for 7 months (since it’s on DVD 7) to see how it all turns out, as that’d be a bit cruel! :p
October 20th, 2006 - 17:24
relentlessflame: Your thoughts on DCSS has always prompted me to give the series another chance and I think I really will this time, to try to discover the subtler aspect of the show.
Thanks once again for emphasizing the different perspective.
And I didn’t know Gift has involvement from Circus staff.
*elevates Gift from to-watch to must-watch*
October 21st, 2006 - 22:30
nope dun get me wrong, what i meant was that HGTAs hardly ever surpass their game counterparts(although i have not played all of them)… This apply not only to gift, da capo etc. But also to better ones like shuffle!, Air and Kanon as well… Seriously, i dunno but I am starting to classify most HGTAs as fan-service-only-no-powerful-plot animes especially if they last only 1 season and ever worse they are of 15mins per ep =(. but oh well, it could be because i dun really enjoy them as much as i used to anymore. =( *refers to Marginal Utility curve in Micro Econs text book* hahaha bleahx i am getting so bored…
October 22nd, 2006 - 23:21
I’ve seen the second episode now, and I am liking Riko a lot more than I thought she would. She reminds me a lot of Nemu personality wise, which is a good thing for me . So far I still like Kirino more, but Riko is a much better match for Haruhiko. I’m looking forward to their showdown, and I just hope that it occurs as a suitably climatic aspect of the series.
I’m enjoying this show a lot, and I will be very happy if I continue to wake up on Sunday to find that another episode has been subbed…
October 24th, 2006 - 09:42
cyw1988: ahhh ic ic. that’s so very true.
although it’d hard to make a fair comparison since in eroges, it’s usually pursuing a single girl whereas the anime adaptations need to thread the various girls’ tales into one and it’s a tremendous task indeed. I thought SHUFFLE did it very well although they diminished Asa’s charm near the end of the series (Primula FTW!)
The 15 min formats are truly the worst of the genre seeing Wind~A breath of heart being one of the WORST anime I have completed. But I do notice the games-turned anime series this Fall with less fanservice and more on story/character charm. There’s still hope for the bishoujos lovers.
Kefit: I’ve just see ep 3 and I’m liking Riko a lot.
Kirino still feels rather generic at the moment and given Riko’s headstart, I’m not sure if they would manage an engaging Kiminozo-esque rivalry that leaves us wondering who’s gonna get the guy in the end 
They’ve up the tempo in ep 3. I’ve signed up for the whole ride already. 
November 1st, 2006 - 23:44
You might want to give this show a second chance; it’s actually pretty decent so far.
Kirino may seem generic but there have been a number of warning signs that there may something more to her. She’s already gotten Riko to back off from pursuing Haruhiko and while jumping at every opportunity to get closer to him. She’s being very, very sneaky, if you ask me.
Not sure if Kirino will pull out a boxcutter or if Riko will start coughing up sakura petals. But I have a feeling we’ll see the equivalent by the end.
November 2nd, 2006 - 01:48
Thanks for the assurance, dsong.
I’m following this series rather closely actually. In fact as of ep 4, I believe it’s one of the most focused bishoujo series of the Fall since every ep builds on the primary thrust of the Kirino/Riko rivalry. While Kirino has all the makings of pyscho-moe, I hope she is the sweet girl she seems XD
November 2nd, 2006 - 03:43
*peeks in*
Did someone say psycho-moe? Details, details!
December 3rd, 2006 - 02:03
Watch Episode 9 for further details.
Now that was one impressive episode. The Kirino/Riko battle is shaping up to be every bit as scintillating as the Sakura/Nemu catfight.
If it continues at this pace, this show could be every bit as good as the original D.C. ~ Da Capo – and will blow DCSS out of the water.
December 3rd, 2006 - 02:18
Skane: LOL! we have emo-eyes at ep 7 but nothing at the Kaede level yet.
dsong: Thanks for the heads up! Frankly I was on the verge of dropping the series at ep 7. Ep 8 was ok but I did notice some lapses in character intuition. Looking forward to ep 9.