Green Green (グリーングリーン) is a Japanese, 12-episode anime series based on a H-game of the same name. Although Green Green is adapted from a pornographic video game, of which 3 volumes have been published, it is not considered hentai. While there are no sexually explicit scenes, the humor often employs nudity or suggestive innuendo, so it is considered ecchi (However, series such as Love Hina, MEC, and Shuffle! are also considered to be ecchi, but none of these are as bold as Green Green). This series is known for its liberal use of fan service.
This series was not expected to see distribution outside of Japan due to its frequent use of stereotypical Japanese quirks unknown in other countries, and thus would not be understood by foreign audiences. However, Media Blasters has licensed Green Green for distribution in North America, and the first volume was released on May 16, 2006.[1]
Story
Template:SpoilerGreen Green takes place in the countryside of Japan, at the isolated all-male boarding school of Kanenone Gakuen (translated literally in English as "Sound of the Bell Academy"). Since there are no females for miles, the school is advertised as the "last remaining paradise for men on Earth". However, the Kanenone school board has begun talks to merge with an all-girl boarding school, in hopes of becoming a co-ed boarding school. This has the hormone-driven, girl-deprived male body of Kanenone thrilled.
Both schools decide to have a test run of sorts, having the girls from the all-girls school stay at Kanenone for a few weeks, in order to see how the boys and girls get along. Yuusuke Takazaki, the main character, has his hands full with his "perverted" roommates, nicknamed the Baka ("Idiot") Trio. The Baka Trio - which consists of Bacchi-Gu, a fat pervert, Ichiban-Boshi, a self-proclaimed ladies man, and Tenjin, a gentle giant who has a "little sister" fetish - are incredibly excited that there will be girls around.
When the buses containing the girls arrive, one girl named Midori Chitose excitedly disembarks first, leaping at and happily hugging a confused Yuusuke. Who is Midori and how does she know Yuusuke? The series focuses on answering this question, in addition to the antics of the Baka Trio.
Characters
Yuusuke Takazaki
Ordinary, nice, and maybe a little paranoid, Yuusuke is the typical male protagonist one would find in most anime. He is friends with the Baka Trio, yet does not share their "perverted" interests. Nevertheless, he usually finds himself forced into situations or dragged along by the Baka Trio; which often ends in misunderstandings of his true intentions with those of the Trio. For some reason, Midori seems to know Yuusuke and is head over heels in love with him. Yuusuke has no idea who Midori is, and at first pushes her away ignoring her and treating her meanly, but he later still develops a crush on her after remembering his past. He also experiences feelings for tomboy Futaba Kutsuki, creating a love triangle.
The main female lead, Midori is an outgoing and cheerful girl who seems to know Yuusuke and is also in love with him. She seems willing to do anything for him, even filling out a form of perverted questions the Baka Trio gave her, hoping it will please Yuusuke. In the opening scene of the series, Midori narrates a tale about two people who were in love, but their love was forbidden at the time and they could not stay together. They promised each other to meet again in another life, hinting that Midori is the girl from the tale and somehow retained her memories, while Yuusuke is the boy from the tale, but he has not retained the memories of his past life. She seemingly has no grasp at the effects some of her antics have wrought, such as climbing on top of a bedridden Yuusuke in the nurses' office while in lingerie, and hanging on to his arm after class ended.
Futaba plays the role of the tough girl. She is disgusted by the Baka Trio and considers most of the boys in Kanenone to be perverts. Futaba even goes so far as to knock out and hang the Baka Trio (and Yuusuke) upside down by rope when they are caught peeping on the girls while they bathe. After the Baka Trio pulls a cruel and humiliating prank on her in retort, Futaba decides to leave Kanenone on her own that very night. She gets lost in the woods but is rescued by Yuusuke, who carries her back to Kanenone. This act sparks feelings inside her for Yuusuke, and soon Yuusuke also finds himself liking Futaba. Futaba was highly popular amongst fans, and many preferred episodes focusing on her and Yuusuke, rather than Midori and Yuusuke. Futaba is the main character in the H-game's second sequel, Green Green 3.
Wakaba is Futaba's younger sister. She looks up to and respects Futaba, but has trouble refusing a favor if someone asks for it. The most defining trait of Wakaba is her potted cactus, whom she named Togemura. Wakaba carries Togemura everywhere with her and seems to be able to speak to it and sense when Togemura is talking to her. In fact, she uses Togemura as a weapon to defend herself and her friends in a magical girl-style. She is also notable as being the only girl character aside from Reika that does not become romantically interested on Yuusuke, or any other boy for that matter, instead focusing on Togemura.
A weak and shy girl, Sanae looks much younger than the rest of the main female characters. This has drawn the attention of Tenjin, who is attracted to "little sister" types. In fact, Tenjin wants Sanae to call him "Onii-chama", a term meaning "big brother" which merges chan and sama. Sanae, however, is scared to death of the perverted Tenjin and wants to be as far away from him as possible. Sanae has gone on the trip to Kanenone because her doctors feel that the fresh country air will be beneficial to her health.
Reika Morimura
Reika is Midori's best friend and seems to know about the connection between Midori and Yuusuke. She seems to be intent on keeping the two apart, trying to put Yuusuke and Futaba together instead. Reika's motives are explained near the end of the series.
Unlike the other characters, Reika was not in the H-game of Green Green. She was created as a new character for the television series.
Chigusa Iino
Chigusa is the nurse at the all-girls boarding school. She came along on the trip as the girls' supervisor. The Baka Trio, especially Bacchi-Gu, are enamored by Chigusa's beauty and her E-cup breasts. Although she should be keeping the girls in order, Chigusa is very easy-going and actually encourages the girls to flirt with the boys.
The apparent leader of the Baka Trio, Bacchi-Gu is an overweight, bespectacled pervert who has no shame. The arrival of beautiful girls to Kanenone seems to send him out of control. He does things such as drinking the bath water the girls recently bathed in, to making a nipple print of his own nipples so he can imagine they belong to a girl. Bacchi-Gu is considered to be the lead comic relief of the series (although the series is mostly comedy) and is the male mascot of Green Green.
Hikaru Ichiban-Boshi
Literally translated in English as "number one shining star," Ichiban-Boshi believes himself to be a suave ladies man. He has a book of pick-up lines to use on his new female classmates, but he always fails and makes a fool of himself. He is perhaps the least perverted of the Baka Trio, but he is still a pervert nonetheless.
Tenjin
Tenjin has an odd fetish. He dreams of having a young girl consider him a big brother, and then she will sleep next to him...while he smells her and eats rice at the same time (a joke referring to the word "okazu", which means both "meal" and "porn". Sanae's young appearance makes him instantly attracted to her, but Sanae wants nothing to do with Tenjin.
OVAs
In 2003, an OVA of Green Green was released. It had no relation to the television series. It starts off with the same plot, but instead of girls visiting Kanenone, it had a group of boys from Kanenone (Yuusuke, the Baka Trio, and some others) visiting the all-girl boarding school. The OVA was not well received, some suggesting that the animation was rough, choppy, and outdated.
An OVA entitled Green Green: Erolutions (グリーングリーンエロリューションズ) was released in 2004 as the thirteenth and concluding episode of the television series. Erolutions is considered hentai for its two short sex scenes between Yuusuke and Midori (in a dream), and then Yuusuke and Futaba. However, most fans - who praised Green Green for its humorous fan service - had complaints with regards to the sex scenes in Erolutions. Critics of hentai said it didn't belong with the series, while hentai fans felt the scenes were too soft and was poorly done.
