Utakoi

This was an enjoyable title while it lasted. Uta Koi, for the most part, portrays animated adaptations of stories concerning the lives of famous traditional poets in feudal Japan having their own differing experiences with love that influence their writing. Each of the stories provides enough fleshing out of the characters to let you know of their upbringing and unique romantic dilemma, many of whom involve differences in age and/ or social standing, the latter of which being a huge deal in feudal times. It made for quite the interesting watch since it let me know a little more about Japan's literary history. The seriesalso mixes in some comedy with its romantic stories, mostly through Teika's easygoing narrations as he introduces the stories being portrayed in each episode of Uta Koi. The comedy mostly relies on anachronisms with Teika and the other poets making appearances at points throughout the series when relevant to the story being portrayed in said episode. I found this style of comedy to be hit or miss and an absolute waste for one episode when it was used as complete comical filler. Fortunately, it doesn't get too intrusive in the other 12 episodes that are telling their romantic stories. In terms of visuals, scenery and character designs are fairly standard in quality and being rather limited in its animation. Like Gankutsuou, Uta Koi implements stylized methods with its scenery and characters by implementing a design pattern onto the kimonos of characters, clouds and even rain drops. While still sticking out quite prominently in moments where characters are moving about, it isn't as annoyingly glaring as when Gankutsuou resorted to this approach. Uta Koi will certainly not be for everyone considering the title's strong focus on poetery, Japanese history and episodic storytelling. But if you have interest in these elements of storytelling and genres, then Uta Koi makes for an entertaining watch as you experience the love woes faced by famous Japanese feudal poets who lived centuries ago.

I think that Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu is a good series, with its use of historical references to Japan and Medieval Age Japanese poetry, as well as the way the characters were portrayed in it (which I believe was one of the highlights of this series). At the same time, it did make me want to read the original set of 100 poems, which are available here: I will say that the art is good, but not the best - it could have been a shade better. Also, the story had its moments when I wondered what the tone of the anime will be. Although it carried itsconcepts well, it lacked discipline in some places. Which was sad, because the characters were not constructs in any form - in fact, in a subtle way, it portrayed what medieval Japan was like, especially to live in that time and its hierarchical society. Its enlightening, actually. While I won't say that its the best anime I've seen, I feel it has its merits as a good anime which gives food for thought. And I would definitely recommend it to be seen at least once - especially for those who want to experience "love" in a mix of poetic, and metaphoric aspects. Its nice, its fun for its 13 episodes, and the morals that they share in this anime are such that we can relate with them, from metaphoric or conceptual grounds anyway.

Hi everyone! Let's start : Story(7/10) The 13 episodes are episodic, so each one has a diffrent stroy to tell (understand a different poem to illustrate), but some characters are reccurent and you get to know them and their stories. Theres nothing special to say, its not mystery or anything, because its no the purpose of the show. Art (9/10) Its very beautiful, the kimono, the hair, the colors, its beautiful, but nothing particulary outstanding. Expet some scenes that are really well animated, and absolutely beautiful and memorable.Sound (8.5/10) The opening is really good and fits perfectly well to the show, you easily get the spirit. The ending is surprising but nice. And the ost is present but discreet I guess, at least I have nothing to say, it doest its job, makes a good atmosphere. The voices are perfect, with many famous voice actors as good as always. The poetic lines are nice to hear and fits persfectly with the rest of the show. Character(9/10) The characters are great, worked, and have a great psychology that you might not suspect they have at first, but beware they do. You get the josei vibe if I may say, the realtion between them (love or not) are great, and tho it may seems because of the episodic episodes that you wouldn't have time to have character developement, you actually do! And it's not forced at all, it's very fluide. Enjoyment (10/10) Watched in one day, I just couldn't stop, I kept wanting to see more of the romantic, sad, poetic atmosphere. The atmosphere is great. I wish there were more shows as good as this one. It has all I wanted : historic, interesting and good characters, beautiful art, a poetic vibe sometimes melancolic, some romance, some comedy too (I haven't talked much about it but the context story is pretty comedic and the good thing is that it doesn't even bother, it fits well to the rest). If you like those things I believe I you might love as much as I have. Overall 9.5/10 A must for romantic fan. But the show is more than that as I said. Imo it is incredibly good in its category. I haven't given it a 10, not because it has some big flaws, just its episodic there isn't one big story so...its not a good reason actually. I guess its just that I don't see myself singing the opening or kya-ing about the show, but I think that's because its not really made to have this kind of fan actually. Its a show you appreciate alone, for its poetry, beauty, melancolic side. I say give it a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed, its so worth it!!

“Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi” is a very free adaptation of the lives of some of the authors included in the famous poetry anthology "Hyakuninisshu" (100 poets, one poem each). Story – 9 The anime centers in the love poems of the anthology and narrates the events and relationships that gave rise to some of them. However, such events should not always be considered faithful to history, as many of them didn´t happen, or happened differently in reality. But it doesn´t really matter. The core of this anime isn´t the portrayal of actual events, but rather the spirit of poetry in the Heian Court, which is successfully rendered.Love poems were the way to court women, and poems came along with a lot of other things which are beautifully shown in the anime: care for calligraphy and presentation (poems were usually sent together with a flower or a branch, for example), the excitement with which the poets waited for an answer, the screens that separated women from men in their encounters. The anime also shows the main characteristics and themes of heian poetry, such as the grief caused by impossible love. It is divided into two sections: the first half deals with the early Heian poetry and the Rokkasen (the six best waka poets), Ariwara no Narihira and Ono no Komachi being the two characters that are more deeply developed. The second half deals with the late Heian Period, and introduces several poets, but –for some reason- there are more chapters devoted to Sei Shonagon, author of "The Pillow Book". I would have liked to see more of Murasaki Shikibu, who only appears in one chapter. The manga is episodic. Each chapter tells a different story, but some characters are protagonists in more than one story, and those who are main characters in one of the episodes, may appear as secondary characters in another one.These chapters are all presented by Fujiwara no Teika, the anthologist, whose poetry is shown in the last episode. At least one of the poems of the Hyakuninisshu is recited and explained in every episode, together with other poems by the same authors, not included in the anthology. Characters – 10 As most stories are told within a sole chapter, some of the characters appear briefly and there isn't much time for development... but there are characters, such as Narihira, Komachi, Yasuhide and Shonagon that appear in several episodes and are more deeply developed. There is little known about the real lives of some of these poets, especially the ones of the early Heian period, but there are many legends surrounding them. Much in the anime is based on these legends. The best character, in my opinion, is Narihira. No matter how little we know about the real Narihira, I definitely can imagine him behaving as he does in the anime. I am not that sure about Murasaki Shikibu. She appears too little and I don't know how faithful to reality her story was. I would also have liked to see a chapter devoted to any of the poems in her novel "Genji Monogatari", which is the work she is mostly remembered for. The characters are restrained by the rules of the Court as well as political an social issues, especially women. The anime reflects successfully the ways of the Palace and the distinct feature of most of the poets' personalities, as history has come to remember them. Sound – 9 The opening and ending songs are both good, and although there isn´t really a traditional feel to them, for some reason they go well with the story. I usually like the strange mix between the old and the new. It gives a refreshing and original touch. As for the seiyuus, I must applaud that most female characters don´t sound childish and annoying. And there are a lot of male characters with beautiful voices. The only one that might feel a little exaggerated at times is Yasuhide, but then again, he is one of the characters that brings humor to the story. I liked Narihira´s seiyuu especially. Art – 9 The art has been frequently criticized for being flat and lacking in animation. I particularly loved it. It is true that there isn´t much animation… but I found it very original and appropriate for the story, with emphasis on the outlines and on color. It was strange to see blond and red-haired Japanese poets, though. Enjoyment – 10 “Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi” is definitely underrated. It may be because of its topic. But those who like poetry, or Japanese traditions and esthetics, should watch it. Those who aren´t familiar with Japanese poetry but like love stories or historical plots should also give it a try. It is very interesting. Furthermore, despite the tragic and sad nature of most of the stories, there is a great deal of humor in the anime. 10 for enjoyment.