Ikoku Meiro no Croisée – anime review

posted in: Anime Review, Featured | 15

Hello everyone, summer comes to an end and also most of shows from the anime summer season have ended. I’ve picked way to many shows this time but I’d like to share my impressions with you about the stuff I’ve watched theses last few months.

This time I will cover up the Anime Summerson 2011 in a different way, instead of writing a post with every show, I will make a single post for every show I’ve watched. I just wrote too much text this time (3300 words) for one single post. So you can expect a new anime post, every 2nd day.

In the next few days I will show you reviews of the following anime shows

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel
Ro-Kyu-Bu
Blood – C
Usagi Drop
Nekogami Yaoyorozu
Mayo Chiki!
Manyuu Hikencho

I will only write about the shows which have ended, maybe I’ll cover the ongoing shows later.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée

This 12 episode long show takes place in Paris during the nineteenth century, it is a lovely slice of life show, about the daily life adventures of Yune, Claude, Oscar and the hilarious but also enchanting Alice, in a shopping Gallery somewhere in Paris. The main character is Yune, a 13 year old girl from japan and for whatever reason, she traveled to Paris to live at the house of Oscar and his grandson Claude Claudel, who owns a small iron workshop in the Gallery.

[singlepic id=1438 w=320 h=240 float=none] [singlepic id=1441 w=320 h=240 float=none] The Blanche family who is running a huge mall is the natural enemy of the small shops from the Gallery and Alice the youngest daughter of the Blanche family appeard like the antagonist in this show, she’s a spoiled brat with a rotten personality, who is crazy about japanese things.
As she learned about a japanese girl living nearby, Alice is beside herself with joy and wants to get to know Yune. After a few episodes  I really started to like her and her weird but likeable character and top of that she is adorable, Yuuki, Aoi did a great job with the voicing of Alice.

[singlepic id=1439 w=320 h=240 float=none] [singlepic id=1440 w=320 h=240 float=none]

This show is quite lighthearted and funny, because the cultural differences between Yune and the other characters, there occur a lot of funny situations and misunderstandings. Yune isn’t used to the european lifestyle and Claude doesn’t know anything about japan and always gets the wrong idea about the things he is being told by Yune and Oskar.
[singlepic id=1444 w=320 h=240 float=none] [singlepic id=1445 w=320 h=240 float=none] Well, sometimes the show leaves it’s way of being lighthearted for example when Claude is overly harsh torwards Yune when she comes too close to his personal issues, when they show how the poor people in Paris live or when it is shown what the rich going to get married girls have to sacrifice because of their social position. Or when we learn something about Yune’s past.

[singlepic id=1442 w=320 h=240 float=none] [singlepic id=1443 w=320 h=240 float=none] Overall, the show had a wonderful flair, with the nicely animated city and the french toned background music it was highly enjoyable, I also liked the calm and cozy atmosphere Ikoku Meiro no Croisée created. If you have no problem with the slower pace of an slice of life anime, this would be a nice show to watch. It ended with an open happy end, so a second season is possible.

15 Responses

  1. Miette-chan

    This is one of the shows I wanted to watch last season before I ended not watching anything at all other than continuing shows.

    I was attracted by the visual design it’s good to see the characters and story are up to par. Will make sure to track the show down to watch when I get a chance.

    • wieselhead

      Ah I see, well aside from Croisee, Usagi Drop and maybe Blood C there wasn’t a lot interesting stuff.
      The look is quite nice, the nostalgic french city look and the characters are appealing,
      the included chibi scenes in the comedy moments are also very funny and entertaining

  2. anonymous_object

    I watched and liked this show but I think it could have been better 🙁
    They waited too long to really delve into the characters backstories (Yune, Claude, and the Blanche sisters). I wanted more ^^;
    Still, it was a lot of fun. Yune is so cute. I want a Yune of my own! :3

    • wieselhead

      The Yune backstory really came a bit late and also was quite short.
      At first I liked Yune the most, but I have an affection for pretty weirdo girls ^^
      therefore I prefererd Alice after some eps. I want an Alice of my own <3

  3. Nopy

    I thought it was a bit too slow. While I loved Yune and Alice, there just wasn’t enough happening in the series to keep me interested.

  4. tanoshimini

    I watched the first episode and decided it wasn’t my type of anime^^” Although it’s different from your typical anime these days, it just wasn’t for me. Wasn’t really a fan of yune and that’s probably why I didn’t watch it.

    Although I gotta admit that trying to understand each others culture was nice. With Oscar and Yune

    • wieselhead

      This historic setting isn’t for everyone I guess even though the show felt quite modern.
      Well, I liked Alice the most, Yune was cute, but a bit boring overall.

  5. Hoshiko

    I actually adore Alice more than Yune. >.< She's so much more mischievous, fun and adventurous.

    Yeaps, I agree. A very cozy anime, perfect to unwind after a busy day. And I enjoy the background music too. It's very soothing.

    • wieselhead

      I agree Alice was enchanting, I like such upbeat characters and oh well she was also pretty ^^
      Maybe I will buy the soundtrack

  6. tsurugiarashix

    One of my favorite shows from the summer season. Still looking forward to getting the DVD/BD when they come out. Wouldn’t count on a second season for various reasons, but it is possible.

  7. exilehero

    Sounds good. I’m curious about the interactions between the loli and the rich girl. They sound like a quirky pair. Maybe I’ll get around to watching it.

    • wieselhead

      thx for the many comments btw =)
      Yune is more the silent and intelligent part and Alice is.. oh well crazy and hilarious ^^
      lol but I got a small crush on her after a few eps, even though I prefer dark haired girls a bit

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