Aoi House

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Aoi House

Left-to-right are (top row) Elle, Nina, Sandy, Jessica, (bottom row) Maria, Morgan, and Alex, (very front) Echiboo.
Author(s) Adam Arnold and Shiei
Website http://gomanga.com/webmanga/index.php?series=aoi
Current status / schedule Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Launch date 2005-01-24
Publisher(s) Seven Seas Entertainment
Genre(s) Original English-language manga, harem comedy, fandom, otaku
Rating(s) Older Teen

Aoi House is a shōnen harem Original English-language manga series written by Adam Arnold, with art by Shiei, and published by Seven Seas Entertainment. The story follows the misadventures of two down-on-their-luck college guys named Alexis "Alex" Roberts and Sandy Grayson who are thrown out of their college dorm and join an anime club dominated by crazed yaoi fangirls.

It first appeared as a 36-episode webcomic written by Adam Arnold and illustrated by Jim Jimenez. It initially ran from January 24, 2005 through April 15, 2005. Aoi House quickly established itself as a "fandom harem comedy."

Proving popular enough, Aoi House was re-launched by Seven Seas Entertainment as part of its standard publishing line. For the re-launch, Shiei (artist of Amazing Agent Luna) took over as the illustrator leading to changes in the art style, as well as additional changes to characters and alteration and expansion of the story. The re-launch began serialization on the Seven Seas Entertainment website in late May, around which time (2005-05-27) a Aoi House theme song, performed by the J Brothers entitled "Itsumo Futaride", was also released.

In January 2006, Aoi House 4-panel color koma began appearing in Newtype USA.

Aoi House made its print debut on 2006-05-15 with the release of the first volume.

New updates of Aoi House appear every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Gomanga.com and are accompanied by blog-style entries called "Aoi Notes" by Adam Arnold.

On January 19, IGN.com announced their "Top 10 Manga of 2006", which picked Aoi House Vol. 1-2 as the #3 best manga of the year behind Death Note Vol. 7 (#2) and the Train Man (Densha Otoko) manga series (#1).[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

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Alexis "Alex" Roberts and Sandy Grayson are two college students who get evicted from their dorm lodging due to several infractions of the rules, including the showing of hentai anime. Echiboo, Sandy's pet hamster, does not help matters when he scares the Dean and exposes the fact the Dean is wearing a toupee. Told they need to find new lodges by sundown, they start to search campus for a place to live. In their search for lodging, Sandy is shown to be an obsessive otaku, while Alex is more focused on the reality of their situation. Seeing a flyer for "Aoi House," which promises anime and manga viewing, Sandy becomes very excited with the very idea of an anime club; Alex however is mostly happy to have found possible lodging. As they head over to housing, Maria is seen looking at the same flyer Sandy and Alex were just thoughtfully reading.

Excited about finding the lodging they need before sundown, Sandy and Alex hurry over to "AOI (Alpha-Omicron-Iota) House." Upon arrival Sandy knocks a few times on the door but gets no answer, so Alex takes the more direct approach and throws the door open. Once inside Alex and Sandy are startled to find a room full of beautiful girls watching anime. At this point Maria makes her own entrance and, not knowing anyone is in the doorway, bumps into Sandy, who stumbles into the room, landing against Elle's lap. Then with a hit from Elle he falls into Jessica's chest. After Maria enters and mentions her desire to join the lodge, Sandy and Alex express a similar desire to the shock of all the girls. The girls at first mistake Sandy and Alex as a gay otaku couple since they themselves are "yaoi-crazed females."

Once the truth is revealed that Sandy and Alex are not truly gay anime fans but two straight males, the girls have some fun with Sandy and Alex in an attempt to turn them into yaoi-lovers, or at least make them the lodge's token gay couple. Sandy and Alex learn that Morgan, who made the flyer, left a few important details off the flyer - the most important being that "AOI House" was really "YAOI House," a college yaoi-otaku club turned sorority using Greek letters to covertly express their hobby - the "Y" had fallen off the sign - and straight ("perverted") male roommates were not what the girls were looking for (at least at first). On top of all of this, Echiboo almost gets them into deep trouble (again) by escaping from his cage and crawling amongst a pile of Elle's panties. Elle was already dead-set against allowing two straight males to join "Aoi House." Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for Sandy and Alex, Nina allows them to stay, while Jessica points out to an irate Elle that "Aoi House" needs members in order to keep their house as much as Sandy and Alex need lodging.

[edit] Chapters

Aoi House Vol. 1

  • Episode 1 - "Arrival"; 1 - 30
  • Episode 2 - "Fangirl's Delight"; 1 - 27
  • Episode 3 - "Echiboo's Big Adventure: Phase 1"; 1 - 21
  • Episode 4 - "Echiboo's Big Adventure: Phase 2"; 1 - 20
  • Episode 5 - "Mallpisode"; 1 - 17
  • Episode 6 - "Food Courtin'"; 1 - 14
  • Episode 7 - "Arcade Showdown"; 1 - 22

Aoi House Vol. 2 - "Fun & Games"

  • Episode 8 - "Playful Secrets"; 1 - 12
  • Episode 9 - "A Date to Remember"; 1 - 26
  • Episode 10 - "Charmed"; 1 - 26
  • Episode 11 - "Movie Magic"; 1 - 28
  • Side Story - "Fruit Cake Fantasy"; 1 - 14
  • Episode 12 - "The Nightmare Before Christmas"; 1 - 22
  • Episode 13 - "Evergreen Party Night"; 1 - 21
  • The Lost Scene (extra in Aoi House Vol. 2 and Aoi House Omnibus I)

Aoi House In Love! Vol. 1 - "The Great Con Caper"

  • Episode 1 - "Aoi House Hits the Road"; 1 - 15
  • Episode 2 - "Check-In Time"; 1 - 12
  • Episode 3 - "Rival Schools"; 1 - 24
  • Episode 4 - "D for Drama"; 1 - 21
  • Episode 5 - "Mr. Wonderful"; 1 - 10
  • Episode 6 - "Midnight Rebirth"; 1 - 23
  • Episode 7 - "Yaoi 801"; 1 - 16
  • Episode 8 - "Cosplay Complex"; 1 - 20
  • Episode 9 - "Twilight"; 1 - 9

Aoi House In Love! Vol. 2 - "Happy Endings"

  • Episode 10 - "Many Happy Returns"; 1 - 9
  • Episode 11 - "Lost and Lonely Souls"; 1 - 23
  • Episode 12 - "This is Not Happening"; 1 - [current]

[edit] 4-Koma

Starting in the January 2006 issue of Newtype USA, Aoi House began appearing as a series of full-color, 4-panel gag strips. The 4-koma are drawn vertically and read right-to-left. The actual stories are all stand-alone and tend to be themed for the holiday's or events in a given month, such as Valentine's Day or college exams. Recent 4-koma from 2007 have involved spoofs of various anime series and video games.

[edit] Music Video

On December 4, 2006, Seven Seas' first-ever flash anime music video was released dedicated to [1]Aoi House. Aoi House: The Music Video was animated by Jonathan Talas and set to the Aoi House Theme Song - "Itsumo Futaride" by The J Brothers. Within its first week of release, the music video received over 150,000 views on Newgrounds.com, was awarded with Newground's Daily Second Place award for 12/05/06, and earned a spot on YouTube.com's "Top Favorites (This Week) in Arts & Animation" list.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Major characters

  • Alexis "Alex" Roberts
    • Morgan's "yaoi-pet", and perhaps the more level-headed between himself and Sandy. He is Sandy's friend and roommate. Along with Sandy, he was kicked out of his dorm because of Sandy's viewing of hentai anime, and the serving of Ramune which Dean Perkins mistook for an alcoholic beverage. It seems that Sandy is in fact Alex's best friend as Alex continues to stand beside Sandy in spite of all the adventures he has faced as a result of just being near Sandy. It also seems he has the exclusive attention of Morgan McKnight. At one point in the story the removal of his ponytail makes him look sufficiently like a bishonen to cast a "fangirl" effect over the female cast. But as soon as a snippet of hair was cut, the effect was broken. He and Sandy are also stepbrothers.
  • Sandy Grayson
    • Sandy is the owner of Echiboo the hamster, and is also Alex's friend and roommate. Between himself and Alex, Sandy seems the larger otaku and is much more immature. Sandy is also the one that Jessica seems the most interested in, as she calls him "tiger" and teasingly flirts with him. Sandy appears to be a fan of almost all aspects of Japanese culture, or at least the otaku culture as is seen by his drinking of Ramune while viewing anime(he has a Sailor Moon shrine in his room), and likes to imagine different anime scenarios happening in real life. Has a strong dislike of corn after viewing Boku no Sexual Harassment's infamous porn scene involving corn.
  • Echiboo
    • Echiboo is Sandy's pet hamster. Morgan calls him a "panty hamster" because of the critter's obsession with panties. Echiboo seems to have taken a strong liking to Elle, or at least her panties. He is also one of the causes (by taking the Deans toupee) of Sandy and Alex's need to find new lodging, which eventually led them to Aoi House. Morgan likes to put a tiny camera on his head and let him run amuk, getting footage "of the ecchi kind."
Echiboo's name is a pun of Ebichu, the hamster from the Gainax anime series Oruchuban Ebichu. His name also means "Perverted Fart" in Japanese.
  • Elle Mathers
    • The most mature of all the girls and very ill tempered. She comes from a wealthy family and continually acts upset about having Sandy and Alex as a part of Aoi House. She does wear a very interesting costume shortly after their first arrival however and seems to (barely) mellow down toward them as they become part of daily Aoi House life. Elle is on the tennis team.

Nina Parker

    • Nina is the most nonchalant member of Aoi House. She is also seemingly the least concerned about having two straight male housemates, as she at times continues to walk around without her shirt on regardless of the fact that she now has two straight male housemates. She also makes a habit of smoking where she is not supposed to. She is also a member of the swim team and practices synchronized swimming. Adam Arnold stated that Nina is the most "macho" of the Aoi House girls, and she also has the smallest bust. [2]
  • Morgan McKnight
    • The most energetic of the group, Morgan is a very hyper girl who seems to be on a continual sugar high and loves candy. Morgan has a playful, childlike innocence about her and how she interacts with Sandy and Alex. In her first meeting with them she claims Alex as her "yaoi pet" and later uses something of Elle's to lead Sandy and Alex on a wild chase that ends in the girl's locker room. Her closest friend who is not an Aoi House member seems to be the mysterious "Oniisan" who she doesn't seem to hesitate in telling her secrets, almost as she would to a diary. Morgan also continues to demonstrate, both in her actions and what she tells her "Oniisan", a very strong attraction to Alex. She is much less energetic when talking to her confidant.
  • Jessica Kim
    • Jessica is a Korean-American medical student often found wearing her nurse outfit, the subject of Sandy's fetishes. She, along with Morgan, accepts Sandy and Alex joining Aoi House. Jessica is almost as playful as Morgan and joins in on one of hers schemes while helping to defend the ever hyper Morgan's desire for candy; both of these might be why she seems to be one of the few that can "control" Morgan. She is very motherly and also teases Sandy, which causes him many a nosebleed. She has three little brothers.
In the after notes of the manga it says she was originally suppose to be African American, but due to toning troubles was changed.
  • Maria Ortega
    • Along with Sandy and Alex, Maria is one of the newest members of Aoi House. Of Latino descent, she is a little self-conscious about her uncommonly large bust. She is happy to be in Aoi House, and is friendly toward Sandy and Alex, who once helped her shortly after they all joined. Her parents own a local Mexican restaurant which is a place she uses along with the other members of Aoi House to celebrate the new members.

It should be noted that in the second volume of Aoi house that the girls are secretly taping Alex and Sandy in their bedrooms and distributing the videos online (see "The Lost Scene"). Kimberly of Uri house seems to make mention of this on page 3 of episode 3.[3]

[edit] Minor characters

  • Oniisan
    • Somewhat of a mystery at this point in time. "Oniisan" seems to be the one that provides Morgan with an amazing amount of technological equipment including an "Ecchi-cam", a camera that can be strapped to Echiboo's head. "Oniisan" is also possibly Morgan's closest and only true confidant, and has counseled her, and Elle, on their respective attractions to Alex. At this time it is not certain who or what Morgan's Oniisan is, though, Oniisan has recently been revealed in "Diary Room Antics" to be human. The previous theory was that he was some sort of computer (an obelisk labeled "Sound Only", a reference to the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion) with various sound and visual links throughout the house. Oniisan means "big brother" in Japanese, and all the members of Aoi House (and former member Carlo) address him as "oniisan." For the moment, Alex and Sandy are unaware of Oniisan's existence, and the girls of Aoi House seem either unwilling or just have neglected to enlighten them. The top half of his face is always hidden; in Aoi House In Love! Vol. 1, he cosplayed as Tuxedo Kamen of Sailor Moon, so his eyes would be hidden; he later judges a cosplay battle between Aoi and Uri Houses and the UASOS Brigade wearing sunglasses.
  • Carlo
    • Aoi House's (Yaoi House's) homosexual transvestite founder. When Sandy and Alex first meet him he is dressed as a woman complete with wig and skirt. When the girls arrive and inform them of who Carlo is both Sandy and Alex shockingly learn that the one they thought was a "she" is in fact a "he". It is interesting that though they both have never met him, he clearly knows about them, indicating that the girls of Aoi House still keep close contact with their former founder. Carlo's face has stereotypical macho qualities. He also finds Alex very attractive and went on a date with him when Alex lost a bet.
  • Mr. Perkins
    • Dean of the University. Echiboo stole Mr. Perkins's toupee, causing Sandy and Alex to search for new housing, which eventually lead them to finding Aoi House. He continues to be somewhat of a problem for Sandy and Alex; he keeps a close on eye them because of the trouble they caused in the past. Mr. Perkins can occasionally be found watching the synchronized swim team practice and talking to the swim coach, Ms. Addison.
  • Ms. Addison
    • Coach of the women's synchronized swim team.
  • David, Daniel and Danny
    • The little triplet brothers of Jessica.
  • Uri House
    • Aoi House's rival from Lawndale State University. Their name is based on Yuri, Jessica earlier stating they heard of Aoi House and did a Yuri rip-off. It's current members are Mason Blue, a hooded boy named Kevin Cardenas, a boy with glasses named Dale Stevens, a girl named Kimberly Ann, another girl named Sanae and a pig named Luna-P (A reference of Chibiusa's [Luna-P Ball]). Sanae showed interest in Nina, while Kevin liked Morgan, calling her 'McCutie.' Kevin is in charge of their AMVs and Dale is the artist. Sanae is an open lesbian, calling out that Maria's breasts were bigger than Kimberly Ann's.

[edit] Books

Aoi House Vol. 1 collecting Episodes 1 through 7 was released on May 31, 2006. In the Aoi Notes on 04/21/06,[7] Adam Arnold said the book has been given "special edition" treatment that includes, "minor dialogue and art changes to fix continuity errors," is displayed with screentone whereas the web version presents only Shiei's black and white line art, and a new opening page for Episode 4 and an added scene, "with the guys singing Karaoke at the end of Episode 2." Other extras included are "Aoi Notes: Print Edition," "Student Records," "Fun Zone," and "Original Webmanga Designs."

Aoi House Vol. 2 collecting toned versions of Episodes 8 through 13, plus "Fruit Cake Fantasy" was released in December 2006. The volume carries the subtitle "Fun & Games" on the inside title page. Extras include "Aoi Notes: Print Edition 2," an eight-page super deformed character gallery called "Chibified!," a "Fan Art" gallery, and a two-page story called "Aoi House: The Lost Scene."

Aoi House In Love! Vol. 1 collecting the Episodes 1 through 9 of the 2nd Season of Aoi House was released July 2007. The volume is subtitled "The Great Con Caper!" on the inside title page. The volume also includes 8 color pages that collect the first twelve Aoi House 4-Koma that appeared in Newtype USA from January through December 2006. Other extras include a "Last Season on Aoi House" recap page, "Aoi Notes: Print Edition 3," and a new "Fan Art" gallery. This volume was designed to be a jumping-on point for new readers, and features a completely self-contained adventure following the Aoi House crew at the anime convention Hatsu-Con.[8]

Aoi House In Love! Vol. 2 collecting the Episodes 10 through the end of the series will be released in June 2008. The volume carries a subtitle of "Happy Endings." The final twelve Aoi House 4-Koma from Newtype USA that run from January to December 2007 will also be included with the volume.

On November 23rd, an omnibus edition was announced[9] and will include reprints of Aoi House Vol. 1 and Aoi House Vol. 2.

[edit] Tributes to other media

There are many references to various other real-life celebrities as well as anime and video games mostly in the form of the characters from Aoi House dressing up in various character's costumes from the referenced work. Below is a list of shows that are either referenced or parodied as well as the real-life celebrities that are mentioned:

In addition Adam Arnold has also admitted he is a huge DC Comics fan. Two of the characters surnames are actually either taken directly from the DC character's surname or is parodied on a nickname. The two characters in question are:

  • "Sandy Grayson" who's surname is taken from Dick Grayson, the original Robin.
  • "Morgan McKnight" who's surname is actually taken from the nickname for Batman who is known as The Dark Knight.

[edit] References

  1. ^ IGN.com Top 10 Manga of 2006. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
  2. ^ Seven Seas's product details on Volume One. Retrieved on April 30, 2006.
  3. ^ Seven Seas's product details on Volume Two. Retrieved on December 10, 2006.
  4. ^ Seven Seas's product details on the omnibus. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
  5. ^ Seven Seas's product details on Book 3. Retrieved on June 08, 2007.
  6. ^ Seven Seas's product details on Book 4. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
  7. ^ Aoi Notes from 04/21/06. Retrieved on April 30, 2006.
  8. ^ Aoi House in Love – Seven Seas' Hit Harem Comedy Returns. Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
  9. ^ Aoi Notes 11-23-07. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links