Diamond Daydreams, Vol. 3 - Shoko + Akari

Nothing sends chills down the spine - Like a wish finally realized. Take a trip up north for a series of stories from six women and their trials of love, loss and life in Hokkaido. Shoko runs a local radio program where she discusses with listeners their relationships and offers guidance as to how they can keep the fires burning. Her show is successful, her fans love her – she couldn’t ask for a better job. The problem: she is having an affair with a married man. As their shaky relationship grows even more unstable, Shoko is forced to ask herself some very important and painful questions – questions she found much easier to answer when someone else was asking them. Akari has lived alone with her father ever since her mother died. She spends her days working at the local confectionary, doing household chores and taking care of her father. He is an unsuccessful gold digger and a drunk. He spends the majority of his time and Akari’s money at a small bar down the street from their house. Each night, he eventually drinks enough to get into a fight and gets kicked out. That’s when Akari picks him, takes him home and puts him to bed. It looks like things couldn’t get any worse. Until, Akari finds out about her father’s illness.

Going out in a blaze of glory

The final set of episodes in this series is arguably the best, as two very different women face some daunting challenges.
Shoko is a radio dj, dispensing her own brand of wisdom, and music on a public that adores her. She seems to have it all together. But in reality she is involved with a married man, in a increasingly one sided relationship. As the distance grows between them, and her trials increase, our heroine is forced to question her values, and her own sage advice.
Akari, on the other hand, is a sweet, if somewhat clumsy student who works at a local confectionery. She is also principle bread winner for her family, as she is without her mom, and her father is a drunk and only marginally successful gold digger. Her situation seems intolerable, till her father's illness is revealed. Then she has to find a way to let him go.
The final episode is quite interesting, as we get one more look at what fate has sent our heroines. For some, life is a bit more normal; for some it has improved; and for one it seems a bit worse. In the end, for all these ladies there is still hope for better times and happiness, symbolized as all see diamond dust for themselves on one special afternoon.
There are certainly no simple solutions to any of these ladies ' problems, much like in real life. The fact that there is so much truth here makes the story that much more endearing. Don't let the diamond dust blind you, there's a real story here, and it's a beut. July 15, 2008

YOU HAVE TO LET GO SOMETIMES

The excellent and wisdom infused series of Diamond Daydreams has finally come to an end with the tales of two more women that have come to crossroads in their lives that will either break them or make them aspire to even greater things. First, there's Shoko who has a radio show where she gives advice to listener's emails about relationship issues. The problem is that Shoko is having problems of her own. The man she loves is married and has a kid, and due to the added pressures of his job (or so he says), he hardly ever sees her, so Shoko is getting frustrated. In addition to that, one of her fans seems to be stalking her...or trying to make her feel better by sending her little gifts. The second set of episodes has to do with Akari, a clumsy but kind girl working at a confectionary whose father is a alcoholic who spends most of his time drinking. If he's not getting drunk, he's out panning for gold in the local river. Akari is barely able to keep a roof over their heads and on top of that, a bad boy that used to work with her is giving her unwanted attention...well, unwanted at first. The fifth episode on the dvd wraps the series up by bringing all the characters from all 3 volumes together in one way or another.

The thing I liked about this series was that it was always honest and didn't have fairy tale endings. Even episodes that seemed like fairy tales ended with a jolting realism. All the relationships didn't work out for everybody so there was some sadness, just like in real life. But you do get the sense that all these women will move on and have a chance at happiness someday, if they don't have it now. They all have prospects even though it might not look easy. This anime will appeal to more adult viewers. It has a lot of wisdom in it. You'll feel yourself shaking your head in agreement as you watch the show because it's life. Great show.

There are a ton of extras on this dvd. There are behind the scenes interviews with all the Japanese voice actresses and two radio shows where they answer emails in character. There are even Japanese bloopers, which is one of the first times I've seen that on an anime dvd before. There is also a neat travelogue that gives pictures and information of some of the actual places in the anime. June 22, 2006

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