Endless Serenade is a Vanilla offering, brought to the English-speaking market by Critical Mass Video. Just like Girl Next Door, Endless Serenade breaks the tradition of sucky and downright asinine Vanilla Series titles by bringing you Yuji’s romantic and somewhat touching story. Yuji doesn’t look like your typical h-protagonist, nor does he act like one. At one point he becomes a jerk for taking advantage of Miki’s vulnerability and feelings of loneliness, but he doesn’t deny that he was being an exceptionally insensitive horny asshole. He doesn’t make excuses for his sexual cravings, or that his tendré for his deceased brother’s fiancée is fairly twisted. Yuji is honest in his thoughts, which makes the situation funny sometimes, especially when it comes to his opinions about his co-workers.
The women of Endless Serenade, Satsuki in particular, are common in most regular and hentai anime. In other words, they lack distinguishing characteristics that go beyond the colors of their hair. If you’re an avid bishoujo gamer, chances are, you’ve already “met up” with girls like them.
Despite this, Yuji’s erotic night with Miki brought tears to my eyes. It was the epicenter of all the emotional issues laid out for this title. There he was, experiencing such blissful peace in the arms of one girl, while his heart was crying out for another. The events that followed were a series of tumultuous, though somewhat hastily done, scenarios.
Speaking of flow, Endless Serenade was rather short. In fact, there wasn’t enough time for Yuji’s love to go through proper transitions. Things happen so fast that you realize you might have reached the ending without having blinked. Yuji’s rapid-fire decision-making skills were pretty much disconcerting, considering the amount of time he invested in desiring Satsuki. The story flow needs work in that aspect.
The H scenes aren’t too heavy. Sure you can see the private parts, and blow jobs are the most predominant sequences, but when it comes to the act itself, the important body parts are well shielded from view. The art and animation aren’t spectacular, but they aren’t too bad either. Music is something to look forward to. I don’t know how or why, but I find myself gently lulled into a state of absolute relaxation everytime I listen to the background sounds. English dubbing is okay, except for Miki’s voice actress. Miki in the Japanese version spoke mostly in soft hushed tones. The English version’s Miki has that whining lilt that jumps from one decibel to the next.
Overall, I’m satisfied with Endless Serenade. With an unusual lead like Yuji, I’m thinking the occasional bumps can be overlooked.
Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 8 Story/Plot: 8 Characters: 8 Sounds: 8 Ecchi Level: 7
