If I See You in My Dreams

If I See You in My Dreams
夢で逢えたら (Yume de Aetera)
Genre	Romance
Manga
Written by	Noriyuki Yamahana
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Business Jump
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	February 1994 – December 1999
Volumes	17
Original video animation
Directed by	Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio	J.C.Staff
Released	1998
Episodes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Takeshi Yamaguchi
Studio	J.C.Staff
Original network	TBS
Original run	November 30, 1998 – December 24, 1998
Episodes	16

Yume de Aetara (夢であえたら, trans. If I See You in My Dreams) is a Japanese manga series originally penned by Noriyuki Yamahana under the pen name HANAKO, serialized in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine (1994–2000).

Plot summary

The story follows a Japanese salaryman Masuo Fugano in a big city who falls in love with a kindergarten teacher named Nagisa Shiozaki. Masuo (the aforementioned sap) tries repeatedly to get her to consider him potential dating material, but every time he seems to make progress, something inevitably goes wrong. Nagisa, in fact, likes Masuo, but due to a previous heartbreak, she constantly pushes him away.

As the series progresses, it becomes more thoughtful and mature, with many of the problems evolving out of the characters' personalities rather than being imposed artificially by circumstances. Many of the coincidental misunderstandings have to do with Masuo interacting with coworker Miho Hamaoka, the daughter of the company president, who has fallen in love with Masuo, but Masuo lacks the confidence to believe it to be true.

Initially, Masuo has to face two other comical suitors for Nagisa's love. One being Kaizuka, a tall muscular physical education high school teacher, and Kujira, a short rich and perverted real estate agent. Later on he has to face much more serious competition from Nagisa's first love, Minato.

At one point later on in the manga, Masuo takes in a pregnant woman out of compassion. This information makes its way to Nagisa, but in a different form; she is told that the girl is pregnant with his child, but she eventually determines the truth for herself. The series ends with Nagisa having their child named Yuka in her arm smiling happily. Yume de Aetara was made into two anime shows: a TV series and a direct-to-video or OVA series, both of them produced by TBS.

The TV series takes a more comedic tone than the OVA and involves much of the early unlucky coincidences from the manga. In the TV series, Masuo faces no competition from other suitors but merely must face Nagisa's difficulty with men while Kaizuka and Kujira appear in the OVA to try to win Nagisa's love.

External links

• If I See You in My Dreams (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia