Green Green is a 13-episode anime that was adapted from a video game, and it aired in Japan from July 12-September 29, 2003. The anime, directed by Chisaku Matsumoto and Yuji Moto, contains comedy, romance, and quite a bit of “fan service.” Media Blasters holds the distribution license for North America; however, Media Blasters only released the first twelve episodes. While the first twelve episodes only contain “fan service,” the final episode contains explicit sexual material.

Green Green is set at Kanenone Gakuen, which is an all-boys boarding school located in the Japanese countryside. The school board has been discussing merging with an all-girls school, with the hope of turning Kanenone into a co-ed academy. Both of the schools decide to have a “test run” by bringing some of the girls from the all-girls academy to Kanenone and have them stay for four weeks in order to see how the boys and girls will get along.

At the beginning of each episode, a brief story is told about long ago, when a boy and a girl were in love. However, they had a forbidden love and could not be together. They promised each other that one day, when they were reincarnated in the future, they would be together again... but this time, as man and wife. This is the backstory for a very important plot point.

There are four main male characters and six main female characters in the series. Yuusuke Takazaki is the main male, and it is implied that he is the reincarnation of the boy from the ill-fated lovers’ tale, but that he has no recollection of the past. Midori Chitose, the main female character, is an outgoing and cheerful girl who is the reincarnation of the girl from the ill-fated lovers’ story.

Futaba Kutsuki is a tough, boy-hating girl who is rather unenthusiastic about the co-ed school idea; she is also the self-appointed protector of the girls. However, after being rescued and helped by Yuusuke Takazaki, she starts becoming interested in him. Hikaru Ichiban-Boshi, who is a friend of Yuusuke’s, is a guy who believes he’s a suave ladies’ man, and he is interested in Futaba. In reality, Hiakru is neither suave nor a ladies’ man, and he fails to impress Futaba every time he tries to win her over. Reika Morimura, another girl from the all-girls academy, is mysterious and seems to know about the connection between Yuusuke and Midori. She does everything she can to keep them apart.

Sanae Minami is a weak and shy girl who came to Kanenone because her doctors believed the fresh country air would be beneficial to her health. Taizo Tenjin, another friend of Yuusuke’s, wants Sanae to consider him a “Big Brother,” and wants her to sleep next to him while he smells her and eats rice. Sanae, however, is terrified of him.

Tadatomo Ijuuin, who goes by Bacchi-Gu, is overweight, wears glasses, and is a friend of Yuusuke’s. Bacchi-Gu is very interested in Chigusa Iino, the nurse from the all-girls school who accompanied the girls to keep an eye on them. Bacchi-Gu is the main comic relief of the series.

Wakaba Kutsuki is Futaba’s younger sister, and she has a potted cactus named Togemura that she carries around. The plant has fortune-telling capabilities and can be used as a weapon by Wakaba to defend herself and her friends. Arisa Haruno is a brash girl with glasses who has rather vivid fantasies, and serves as the comic relief for the girls.

Green Green focuses on the male and female characters and their adventures and struggles of trying to co-habitate at the same school. The tone of the series is very much in the vein of “teen sex comedies” such as American Pie and Porky’s. It’s definitely not an anime that is meant for children; with all of the “fan service” that’s included in the series, I would probably say that Green Green really isn’t suitable for anyone under 16-17 years of age. I think teens under the age of 16 really aren’t ready for the tone and content of Green Green.