Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Next Season

Kimi ha Nozomu Eien Next Season is the follow up to the TV series, which is also known as Rumbling Hearts an America. This four-episode OAV set came out between 2007 and 2008 and completes the story of four friends who are torn apart by tragedy.

    Following all of the events from the TV series, Haruka is finally released from the hospital after being deemed stable enough by her doctor. Takayuki decides once and for all that he will pick up his relationship with Haruka and push Mitsuki aside. Mitsuki is torn between her feelings for Takayuki and her guilt for dating her best friends man while she was in a coma. Shinji’s relationship with all of them has soured and he drops from the scene all together. Takayuki pushes ahead full bore in trying to make up for lost time with Haruka while planning for their future. Haruka, still not wholly connected with reality has to do her best to return to normalcy. She is still delicate and the threat of her reverting to a comatose state looms over everyone’s head causing all to treat her with kid’s gloves. She has to decide for herself if she wants to pursue a life with Takayuki or go her own path. Mitsuki, scorned and left out in the cold, has to find her own purpose in life and tries to start over far away from her hometown and old friends. In the end will everyone be able to find their happiness or has the past three years of grief and hardship reversed their friendships and dreams?

    This four OAV set wraps up the original 14 episode TV series nicely. It puts finalization on the story and the characters. That being said, it follows the TV series in every way, art style, writing, music, feel, etc. There is much heartbreak and agony in the episodes, keeping with the standards the TV series had set. It is very dry, very serious and very moody. The only break to the tension is with Takayuki’s coworkers again, however they don’t show up very much in the OAV, which I don’t see as a bad thing. The biggest problem I have with it is how flat and uneventful it ended. The series got me so used to being shocked and having everything thrown to the wind that the ending and entire last OAV was actually quite boring and disappointing. I was hoping, futilely, for something like a bus crash in the end…but alas history does not repeat it’s self. In the end the story wraps up and you can move on to other stories. If you enjoyed the TV series, continue watching this, just to see some more stories with the characters and for some final resolution. Aside form that, it is highly suggested you view the TV series before viewing the OAV. To decide whether or not you want to view the TV series read my review on that and go from there. So go step in cat shit.