English Dub Season Review: Meiji Tokyo Renka Season One

A sweet shoujo show with a great leading lady, but not much else.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

As the series begins, we meet a reserved, introverted girl named Mei Ayazuki. She’s grown up in modern-day Tokyo, but because of her unique abilities to see ghosts, she hasn’t exactly had the easiest time forming connections with her classmates, who tend to write her off as being too weird to bother getting to know. Her entire life is turned upside down when a blue-haired street magician chooses her to volunteer as his assistant, only to send her back in time to Meiji-era Tokyo. There, she’s taken in by Mori Ougai, a famous Japanese novelist, and his friend/adopted little brother Hishida Shunsou.

As Mei learns to live in this strange old time, she gets to try lots of fun new things. She takes lessons in being a lady from a cross-dressing man named Kawakami Otojirou. She helps Shunsou with health problems. And she uses her ghostly-sight powers to assist others whenever she can! Going through all these things teaches her that her uniqueness isn’t something she should hide – she deserves friends who accept her as she is. As the series draws to a close, she is forced to make a decision: will she remain stuck in time with all her friends, or return to her present-day life and start over as her authentic self?

Our Take:

I’ll start things off with a warning right up front: Meiji Tokyo Renka is a shoujo romance series. Yes, it’s an adequately-decent one, filled with some fun episodes and a fantastic main character who changes and matures as the show progresses, but at its core, it’s a series based on a dating simulator that exists to force two characters together who don’t have a whole lot in common. A Hallmark channel-type show set in ancient Japan, if you will. So if you’re not the type of person who is going to enjoy this (or be able to endure it, at least), then Meiji Tokyo Renka will not be for you. If that doesn’t apply to you, then you may find some things to love about this sometimes strange, often goofy little series.

Mei is pretty much a perfect protagonist in my book. Curious, kind, and of course, super kawaii, her bubbly personality that comes through more and more with each passing episode is a joy to watch. While she doesn’t have any real flaws to overcome, her conflict of having to fit into a completely new time period and then choose whether to stay or remain is plenty to keep her character occupied. Her supporting cast is a lot less interesting. Ougai, the supposed romantic co-lead, is just bland. It was never really clear to me why he took such a liking to Mei, or what qualities she found in him, besides being very grateful for his kindness in taking her in and giving her food and shelter. Shunsou is a more interesting character, but most of his development is shoved into episode 11, and I felt like he was sort of forgotten about after that. (Mei doesn’t even say a proper goodbye to him before she leaves!)

Episode-to-episode, the pacing, and plot of the series were definitely where things fall apart for me. The show operates mostly on an ‘adventure of the week’ type of thing. This is both good and bad, depending on how each episode unfolded. Sometimes there were magical mysterious that was genuinely cool and unpredictable. Other times there were episodes like the one where her manners instructor violently hits Mei until she abandons her own natural personality. But most of the time, the episodes were just pretty boring, without much plot to interest a viewer like me, who didn’t buy into the romance between Mei and Ougai.

The character designs are fairly standard, with Mei being tiny and cute, while the guys around her have long, flowing hair and eyelashes. The visuals are nothing to write home about, but then, I never expected steller sequences from this type of property. Most times, the background art is pleasant to look at and the animation never sinks to offensive standards. The soundtrack is mostly melodic piano solos, which fit the tone of the show well. I’m a fan!

When it comes to the dub, the English-language adaption isn’t perfect, but then, almost no dub is ever completely flawless. Luckily, Meiji Tokyo Renka’s dub is very, very solid. Lead by an amazing string of performances by Madeleine Morris, the voice of main character Mei Ayazuki, almost every character comes across as they should. Mei is a boundless bundle of energy, but she also is unsure of herself as the show begins and afraid of the unknown. Morris delivers standout performances nearly every episode, and perfectly embodies Mei and her bubbly personality. None of the other cast members struck me as much as she did, but they’re still fine. Christopher Wehkamp does an admirable job as the main man Ougai, despite the character not having much personality to speak of. Damon Mills has a little more to sink his teeth into in the role of Shunzo, and does a nice job being just prickly enough to still root for.

In the end, Meiji Tokyo Renka is a romance story based on a Japanese dating sim that manages to be watchable, even enjoyable in some aspects. Mei is a magnificent lead character who is easy and fun to root for. The rest of the cast is a little more uneven, and the storylines are very hit or miss depending on the episode. While Meiji Tokyo Renka isn’t the kind of show I’ll rewatch or recommend to many others, I’m glad I got to see Mei grow into a more mature version of herself, someone who knows that our unique gifts are what makes us special. And that makes this show a little special itself, too.