Genre: Romance, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Original Run: 10/04/2006 - 12/20/2006

Series Length: 12 Episodes

Current status: Completed. Fan-subbed. Not yet licensed in the U.S.

Location: Veoh.com, YouTube.com, various download sites

Synopsis: The story takes place several decades after humankind landed on the Moon. Earth’s natural satellite was eventually colonized and became an independent nation called the Kingdom of Sphere. Unfortunately, tensions began to grow between Earth and its nearest cosmic neighbor, which eventually erupted into a conflict known as the Oedipus War. Casualties were high and eventually, a ceasefire was called. Though the two worlds are still uneasy toward each other, there’s still hope for peace. The princess of the Moon, Feena Fam Earthlight, is going to take part in a homestay, in order to learn about Earth customs to prepare for her eventual ascension to the throne. Tatsuya Asagiri’s family is chosen for the homestay. Tatsuya has always been fascinated by the Moon and he will now become even more involved with its affairs as the princess and the pauper begin a romance that’s out of this world.

Artwork: The colors are very bright and vibrant, which fit in with the overall emotions. However at times, it can be very annoying. The characters are decently drawn and well-proportioned, and the chibi-forms are really cute. Score: 7

Plot: It’s a standard line of commoner meets royalty and both fall in love, despite being from opposite ends of the class spectrum and from different worlds. Character development of the main stars was good, though the supporting cast seemed to STAY in the background and didn’t do very much to help the story along. Score: 5.5

Sound: It’s nothing really ground-breaking or anything and it’s pretty standard fare. Score: 5

Special Effects/Features: They’re aren’t any aside from the occasional gunshots and alien genre. There are a couple of running gags such as one of the characters being consistently thrown through a window and his paycheck getting deducted each time. Score: 3

My Review: Based on a Japanese adult visual novel video game, (but with just about all the hentai aspects taken out), I was expecting it to be the standard harem genre with multiple girls after one guy routine. Well, there are a LOT of cute girls, but the only girl who actually goes after the main guy was the princess. And in fact, Tatsuya isn’t torn with making a choice among the girls, since there’s only girl to choose, and that’s Feena. So one can’t categorize this series as a harem show. With that out of the way, should I really give this anime a thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

More like I should this a bit of a thumbs-maybe with a slight incline toward up. I’ve read mostly bad reviews about this series, due to the fact that it doesn’t contain the standard multiple relationship conflicts and character development, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. After seeing God-only-knows-how-many harem shows, I kind of found this anime to be a welcomed change of pace. The flow of the story was episodic and had some chuckles. The show reminded me a lot of UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie, but unlike that series, this one has a definite end. I’ll admit that some parts dragged on, but I wouldn’t say it was a bad ride and the romantic aspects did kind of made me feel warm. What can I say? I’m a romantic at heart.

Overall Score: 6.8

Recommendations: Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na (Crescent Love) isn’t what you call ground-breaking or anything, and some might even call it dull as compared to series like Love Hina or Fruits Basket. However, I wouldn’t call it all bad either and it was good enough for me to download as a short series that offered a clear, easy-to-follow plot ,with a definite ending, and minus the over-the-top craziness that often clutters up other series. If you’re into more of a romantic side of things with some humor, then this can be good for viewers to watch, if only as a change of pace.