Similar to another AIC project, R-15, Shukufuku no Campanella has above average art by ecchi standards, quality nude fanservice, and some inspired creative energy in the writing. During a time when ecchi was exploding in popularity, it should have been a hit.
And yet, for reasons I just can’t put my finger on, it was still somehow totally forgettable as an anime. I’m unaware of how much commercial success those two series had, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d wager on the ‘less successful’ half of the spectrum. Nothing about those series, as much as I enjoyed them, gave me the urge to rush out and buy the BDs, other than as a means to support ecchi series in general.
Torrent. Seeders needed!
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Production Company: AIC
Vintage: Summer 2010
Notable Seiyuu: Kaori Mizuhashi
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Plot wise, it’s typical harem fare set in a southern European type setting, with a dash of imouto vibes thrown in for good measure (Agnes isn’t his sister, but they often play out her scenes like she is). Honestly, I really can’t recommend this series as an anime, though I can recommend the fanservice.
While the series itself was very light on fanservice, both nude and non-nude, AIC more than made up for it with their OVA and BD specials. Going off memory, I think the OVA had almost 3 times more nudity than the entire TV series did combined when I reviewed the final product in the edit. Clearly, the whole point of the OVA was to show as many bare breasts as possible, for any reason, no matter how random or unnecessary. EVERY ecchi series OVA should adopt such a strategy. If only.
So many cute girls in this one, though I think I favored Nina the most. I was honestly a bit crestfallen when she wasn’t given a spot in any of the CG specials.
Also like R-15, this series had pretty much nothing going on the seiyuu front, I can only guess, but it seems AIC seems to prefer budgeting for art over big name voice actors with their dedicated ecchi efforts, a strategy I completely endorse. The biggest “name” is Kaori Mizuhashi who I’ve mentioned a few times (Elina from Queen’s Blade). I’m a fan of her’s. She plays Agnes (the girl in the picture above).
Wikipedia shows a manga being the first iteration of this series, but the manga was created by the same company that made the much more famous eroge version a short time later. If this was indeed an eroge adaptation, you can chalk Campanella up as an eroge convert, something you don’t see as much of these days in ecchi.
As usual, this video has an alternate OP. There were several versions of the OP, but only the Rito and Salsa version included anything notable fanservice-wise, include a brief nipple sighting. In this version, I isolated the fanservice portions and remade the OP to emphasize them, with just a few non-fanservice moments in between the cuts to aid flow.
Tomorrow I’ll have a follow up release for the Shukufuku no Campanella CG specials, which are edited for time to emphasize nudity. CG isn’t for everyone, hell it wasn’t for me at first, but once I got used to how different it was, it became one of my very favorite videos.
Shukufuku no Campanella rocks!
