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I SHALL NEVER RETURN (ADVANCE REVIEW) |
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Tuesday, 06 February 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | MEDIA BLASTERS | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 1.33: 1 FULL FRAME | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | JAPANESE DD 2.0 WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLE | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 30 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 16+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 04/03/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 02/07/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Risuro is a straitlaced guy but years ago he met Ken who was going through hard times and took pity on him. Since then they have been close friends despite their very different lifestyles. Ken is a gigolo and likes to party hard while Ritsuro is studies diligently for school. He also has a girlfriend named Moeko. Things become turbulent when Moeko is seduced by Ken! This betrayal is nothing new to Ritsuro as Ken always seduces his girlfriends away from him. But this time around Ken tells his uppity friend why: because he wants Ritsuro for himself! A tumultuous and torrid triangle ensues. Whose desire will win out in the end?
I Shall Never Return is a yaoi romance that tries to use music and scenery to convey emotions. It is an anime that is one of the sparsest in dialogue that I’ve come across. A great deal of the story actually happens off camera. It creates a disjointed story where the viewer is left to fill in the blanks and interpret the meanings of what has occurred in the interims. All three people in the triangle are flawed and interesting characters. No one is guiltless here. Moeko chose to sleep with her boyfriend’s best friend; it seems to test Ritsuro’s reserved feelings for her. Ken seduces his best friend’s girlfriends constantly and without any regret. Ritsuro seems somewhat unfeeling towards both his friend and girlfriend before any seduction took place and has a hidden judgmental side. What is curious is Moeko’s accusations towards the end of the anime and her demanding that Ritsuro feel guilty. Guilty about what? She was the one who cheated on him. With her unresolved feelings and the presence at the end of the anime of a trouble making lothario who wants Ken for himself, the anime concluded with some unresolved issues. The two men however do confront their feelings for each other and that should please yaoi fans quite a bit. If the anime was longer, it would likely have been able to flesh out the story to greater satisfaction.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include trailers of other Anime Works titles and a video interview with the Japanese voice cast: Kazuya Ichijyo (Ritsuro), Koichi Tochika (Ken), and Yuko Nagashima (Meoko). Note: to avoid spoilers make sure to watch the interviews only after having seen the anime.
IN SUMMARY:
I Shall Never Return is a somewhat fragmented yaoi romance with intriguing characters and chalk full of melodrama. |
