Fujimi Orchestra
Overall Rating: C
Media Reviewed: VHS Fansub
Creator: Akizuki Koh
U.S. Licensed: No
Released by: AIC
Run time: 60 minutes
BL Content: Hard (sexual situations, non-consent)
Genre: Drama
Other media:
Japanese novel
Japanese manga
Like the classical pieces that make up its score, the 60-minute OAV Fujimi Orchestra starts slowly, builds to a dramatic crescendo, then tapers into a quiet and vaguely satisfying conclusion. However, this is a rather weird movie and its characters are difficult to care for. It's often hard to tell just what's going on or even why it's happening.
The Fujimi Orchestra is really the community orchestra of the town of Fujimi, made up of a group of townspeople earnestly trying to become better. Their Concert Master is Morimura Yuuki, a bespectacled violinist. When Tonoin Kei, an egotistical fellow tall enough to resemble a telephone pole, arrives to be Fujimi's new conductor, the sparks start to fly with Morimura. However, the violinist has a crush on one of the flute players in the orchestra, though he has never spoken his feelings to her.
A lot of the action of the OAV is told in flashback form, beginning with Tonoin's arrival in Fujimi. Morimura's growing frustration with and fear of Tonoin leads him to decide to quit the orchestra, to escape the conductor's amorous advances. Tonoin, of course, has other ideas. He claims he loves Morimura, and believes Morimura is gay, because he never made any moves on the flute player after all.
The one sex scene should come with its own warning label. This is rape, there is no consent, and while he speaks as if he cares, Tonoin very clearly takes Morimura against his will. The Wagner classical piece playing in the background is a strange soundtrack for such a strange, non-consensual scene. Morimura tells Tonoin to stop plenty of times, but he doesn't actually fight. All the while, Tonoin is declaring his love for and adoration of his "lover," lending an even more uncomfortable quality to the scene. Morimura's reaction to all of this, the next morning, is even more disturbing.
This is not a happy yaoi relationship. It's hardly a relationship at all; through the entire thing, Morimura dislikes and even fears Tonoin, and the two never really end up "together" in a romantic sense. On top of this, the plot moves very slowly through the first 30-40 minutes, including lots of unnecessary still pan shots and pictures of unrelated places around the town of Fujimi. While the OAV depicts an interesting relationship, it's extremely unsatisfying for those looking for a relationship development story.