Reaching For a Dream

After reaching a fair popularity in Japan, the first of two OVAs, entitled From I"s, was produced from December 9, 2002 to March 19, 2003. It was an original two-episode story not found in the manga, and wasn't received very warmly.

Three years later on December 9, 2005, a new six-episode OVA series called I"s Pure began release, and finished it's release on June 23, 2006. Based directly on the manga (albeit condensed due to time), this OVA was much better and more-well liked by manga fans and new fans alike.

Both OVAs were picked up for US release by Viz Media and dubbed using New Generation Pictures (which cast with an LA cast). They were released jointly as a two-disc DVD set on March 24, 2009.

From I"s

Episodes
1. Another Summer Story, Part 1
2. Another Summer Story, Part 2

Synopsis
Episode 1 - Another Summer Story, Part 1
Iori spends her holidays working as an actress, shooting a movie at the waterside of a lake, which has a mysterious small island called Lover's Island at its center. Ichitaka, on a biking trip, coincidentally makes a stop at the location where Iori is shooting. Meanwhile, Itsuki returned from her job as a molding artist in the United States and plans to meet her childhood friend Yosuke to fulfill a promise they made ten years ago. Walking along the railroad track she, Yosuke and Ichitaka went along ten years ago, Itsuki is confused when she sees the lake with the small island in it at one side of the track, as she does not remember there being a lake. Yosuke, along with three of his biker friends, is also on his way to meet with Itsuki. However, the other bikers reveal to him that they are planning to rape Itsuki. He drives ahead to save Itsuki from them, but drops from his motorbike just as he crosses her path. The other bikers close in on him, stab him and let him drop into the lake (which he can not remember being there when he was a child). As the bikers spot Itsuki, she runs away.

Episode 2 - Another Summer Story, Part 2
Teratani and his friends want to pick up Iori at the Lake Side Hotel, but she already left as her shooting finished early. Meanwhile, she meets Ichitaka and they decide to take a boat and row across the lake to the island. As they arrive, Ichitaka recognizes the island as the place he, Yosuke and Itsuki visited as children, although back then there was no lake around it. Just then, Iori and Ichiitaka hear Itsuki on the other side of the lake screaming for help as the bikers found her and now want to rape and kill her. Ichitaka quickly rows over, leaving Iori alone on the island. He manages to hold back two of the bikers, but their leader knocks Itsuki out and abducts her on his motorbike. As it starts to rain heavily, Ichitaka follows them, while Teratani and his friends, who suddenly show up, take out the two bikers. Ichitaka takes a shortcut across a fragile old plank bridge to catch up with them, but the bridge collapses. Swinging down on one of the ropes that hold the bridge, Ichitaka grabs Itsuki from the back of the motorbike. Together, they drop into a stream and as they regain consciousness, find themselves at the waterside of the lake with the ghost of their childhood friend Yosuke standing nearby. Across the lake, they spot Iori on Lover's Island, close to drowning as the heavy rain threatens to flood the tiny island. As no boat is around, Yosuke reminds Ichitaka of a secret cave they found nearby when they were kids, that leads to the island. However, the cave is flooded with rain, and Ichitaka has to dive through the last part and manages to save Iori from drowning at the last second. After saving Iori, everyone is playing beside the dock, and Itsuki wonders where Yosuke went. The scene after shows the local police searching for Yosuke's body in the water, but to no avail. High above the dam, Yosuke appears on a cliff, smiling, and then his spirit fades away. It is assumed that he died from the stabbing wound inflicted on him earlier on in the OVA.

Cast
Ichitaka Seto - Darrel Guilbeau (Dub)/Takahiro Sakurai (Sub)
Young Ichitaka - Samuel Wallace (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Iori Yoshizuki - Erika Weinstein (Dub)/Kui Sakuma (Sub)
Itsuki Akiba - Carrie Savage (Dub)/Tamaki Nakanishi (Sub)
Young Itsuki - Carrie Savage (Dub)/Tamaki Nakanishi (Sub)
Yasumasa Teratani - Mike McFarland (Dub)/Atsushi Kisaichi (Sub)
Jun Koshinae - Taliesin Jaffe (Dub)/Akira Ishida (Sub)
Yuka Morisaki - Hunter MacKenzie-Austin (Dub)/Yuko Goto (Sub)
Nami Tachiba - Emily Wallace (Dub)/Sanae Kobayashi (Sub)
Yosuke Ichimura - Rylan McPhee (Dub)/Kazuya Ichijou (Sub)
College Girl A - Christian Rose (Dub)/??? (Sub)
College Girl B - Zarah Little (Dub)/??? (Sub)
College Girl C - Gina Bowes (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Punk A - Jeremy Hou (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Punk B - Mike McFarland (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Punk C - Jesse Fish (Dub)/??? (Sub)

I"s Pure

Episodes
1. Au Commencement (The Beginning)
2. Souvenir (To Remember)
3. Adieu (Goodbye)
4. Vertige (Giddiness)
5. Declaration D'Amour (Declaration of Love)
6. Ensemble (Together)

Synopsis
Episode 1 - Au Commencement
Coming soon!

Episode 2 - Souvenier
Coming soon!

Episode 3 - Adieu
Coming soon!

Episode 4 - Vertige
Coming soon!

Episode 5 - Declaration D'Amour
Coming soon!

Episode 6 - Ensemble
Coming soon!

OVA/Manga Differences
The OVA generally follows the main plot of the manga, but due to the shorter nature of the OVA, few of the main characters play a less prominent role (for example, Itsuki only lasts two episodes before her departure and Izumi only appears in the beach storyline arc from manga volume 8) and others such as Jun and Aiko are omitted altogether. Due to the missing characters, there are many situations in the OVA that follow the plot in the manga but are played out by different characters.

Cast
Ichitaka Seto - Darrel Guilbeau (Dub)/Katsuhito Nomura (Sub)
Iori Yoshizuki - Erika Weinsten (Dub)/Shizuka Itou (Sub)
Itsuki Akiba - Carrie Savage (Dub)/Asuka Nakase (Sub)
Izumi Isozaki - Laura Bailey -credited as Elle Deets- (Dub)/Mai Kadowaki (Sub)
Yasumasa Teratani - Mike McFarland (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Yuka Morisaki - Hunter MacKenzie Austin (Dub)/Yuko Goto (Sub)
Nami Tachiba - Emily Wallace (Dub)/Naoko Suzuki (Sub)
Samejima/Marionette King - Travis Willingham -credited as Johnny Hildo- (Dub)/
Isai - Jason Liebrecht (Dub)/
Rie Furukawa - ??? (Dub)/Masako Katsuki (Sub)
Ichitaka's Father - Jason C. Miller (Dub)/??? (sub)
Takako Seto (Ichitaka's Mother) - Lindsay Messenger (Dub)/Atsuko Yuya (Sub)
Yasuo Teratani (Teratani's Brother) - Jay Klein (Dub)/Nobuyuki Kobushi (Sub)
Matsuo - Sam Oddy (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Hanazono - Jeremy Hou (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Mizushima - Jeremy Hou (Dub)/??? (Sub)
Tateno - Rylan McPhee (Dub)/??? (Sub)
The Chief - Paul Roberts (Dub)/??? (Sub)
The Senior Student - Jaso Liebrecht (Dub)/??? (Sub)
The Male Student - Taliesin Jaffe (Dub)/??? (Sub)
The Man - Rylan McPhee (Dub)/??? (Sub)

Disclaimer

I"s and all related material are owned by the Masakazu Katsura, Weekly Shonen Jump, Viz Media, and all other related parties. All fan-made materials are owned by the billed names. If anything is even partially owned by myself, it will say so.