Video Girl Ai is a Japanese rom-com franchise written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura.

The manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shounen Jump from 1989 to 1992. Its chapters are compiled and published into 15 separate volumes. As of December 2021, the manga series has over 14 million copies in circulation, worldwide.

An OVA adaptation of the manga was also released in 1992, with the six-episode OVA adapted by Production I.G.

The story starts off with Yota Moteuchi realizing that the girl he likes, Moemi Hayakawa, is in love with his best friend, Takashi. To distract himself, he rents a video from a mysterious store. The special thing about this store is that whenever the video is played, a video girl comes to life and pops out of the renter’s TV to cheer them up. Yota mistakenly plays the video on a broken player, which causes the video girl, Ai, to come out as broken and develop emotions for Yota. The story follows the complications that come with this relationship.

We start off by seeing a dream in which Yota kisses Moemi, but an unknown person shows up, distracting Yota and causing him to wake up. He accidentally breaks his VCR while waking up, that he recently bought. Its not a good start to his day.

Yota get’s ready to ask Moemi out as it is the last day of vacation. He pumps himself up and enters the cafe where she works, to propose to her. Just as he’s about to speak, his friend Takashi pulls him away.

He calls Yota as ‘Dateless’, which annoys him. Takashi tries to stop him from proposing in such a dress. And furthermore, says that girls don’t like to be proposed in such a flashy manner while they’re at work.

Yota’s heart starts beating rapidly as Moemi comes to greet Takashi. Without thinking, he presents some flowers to Moemi, which she immediately rejects. Confused as to what he should do, he bluntly asks her to go to an activity after she gets free from her job. Takashi saves the conversation by jumping in and inviting both of them to the pool.

While at the pool, some girls come up and take Takashi away, leaving Moemi and Yota alone at the pool. The two spend some time alone. While trying to exit the pool, Yota accidentally pulls in Moemi and they both fall in the water.

After the day at the pool, we see them in a carnival. They go to a fortune teller, who says that Yota has been facing difficulties in his love life, causing everyone there to make fun of him.

Takashi convinces Yota that it’s the perfect time to admit his feelings to Moemi and sets it up. Moemi asks Yota, who he likes, to which he counters by asking the same question. Moemi comes out and says that she likes Takashi, and Takashi immediately rejects her, saying that she’s not his type.

Yota realizes that she likes Takashi, and even while heartbroken he tries to cheer her up. Takashi tells Moemi that Yota likes her, but Yota gets awkward in the situation and says that it’s only a joke. He feels bad for being a coward and ruining everything Takashi had set up for him.

He also feels bad for Moemi for being rejected so bluntly. On his way home, Yota stops by a Rental Video Store. The guy in the store tells Yota that only the pure of heart can see that store and hands him a membership card before disappearing.

Yota brings home a tape and puts it into his VCR. To Yota’s surprise, the girl from the video comes flying out of the TV and into the real life.

What will happen now that a mysterious girl has popped out of the TV?