Search - Diamond Daydreams, Vol. 2 - Kyoko + Suomi on DVD

The Story Needs Some Fire In it

Keith A. Jones | Philadelphia PA | 02/06/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The second volume starts with the 3rd character Kyoko Asahina who is an aspiring college filmmaker. Kyoko's main problem is that she is trying to one up her previous film that actually won an award at a film contest the year before. Because of this she carries a nasty attitude and is almost impossible to work with or be around period. She wants everything done perfectly and she doesn't care who she hurts to do it. One day during shooting Kyoko notices some things about her lead actress like her showing up late. Instead of talking to the girl Kyoko gets into an argument immediately and looses her lead actress and after a while she looses her entire cast and crew.

The fourth character introduced is Suomi Kitano who was a greatly acknowledged figure skater. Suomi suffered from an injury that could end her career. You would think it was already over as she searches to find herself and think about why she started skating before returning to the ice. While out and about she runs into a boy who's down at the moment and even better doesn't recognize whom she is.

The first volume of Diamond Daydreams is no doubt intriguing because it shows stories with little interruptions of comedy or even the normal things you'd expect not just from anime but a story in general. The first volume showed a little bit of promise but also a sign that the upcoming DVD wouldn't have what it takes to keep someone's interest after the next set of stories. Basically what I'm saying is that Diamond Daydreams might not agree with my mind because a female would be able to fall deeper into its story because I know this show is aimed at girls. Then it could be another reason why volume 2 isn't holding me and that's because it is boring and repetitive of the previous stories.

There is no action in the story to keep you from falling asleep or a will burning inside you to see the next episode because you feel you have to see what happens next. You don't say to yourself I need to know what's going to happen between Kyoko and her buddies but instead "When is this episode going to end". The story always gets prolonged by the wasted minutes of staring off at diamond dust and the boring flashbacks and foreshadowing of the character. The constant use of the sad slow music is getting played out also. I think Diamond Daydreams had potential but lost it. Another writer with a bit of fire alongside with whoever is currently writing it wouldn't have hurt the series. I'm not saying the series needs any kind of Fan Service at all but it needs some style to it. All I can say is the series may work for some and maybe I'll give volume 3 a look to see if the stories get better but if your looking for a story like this that is more entertaining I suggest you check out Boys Be.."

Don't sell this one short

S. Bell | Iowa | 07/01/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The second installment of this unusual series involves two very different women.
Kyoko is a young aspiring filmmaker, who's began to be noticed by her peers. Unfortunately, this has put her under tremendous pressure to surpass her previous work, which ends up having the effect of turning the budding story teller into a tyrannical perfectionist, which drives her friends away from her. How much will she have to lose in order to get her dream back?
The other girl, Suomi, is an accomplished figure skater, forced out of action by a accidental injury. She is content to leave her old life behind, till she meets a young male skater who reminds her of herself, and a friend she lost. Eventually, the young skater inspires Suomi to try to get her old life back, along with the friend she abandoned. But, is it too late?
I agree that this set of episodes is not quite as pleasant to watch as the earlier ones. Kyoko, in particular, is not an easy person to root for. That said, I still liked her in the end, as well as Suomi (though there were times in her second episode where less dialog might have been better)There were still good messages here and I think that they came through very well. If you gave the first group a try, you really should look at these episodes too.
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