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| Episode Details | |
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| Kaed, Lisi, Asa, Kare, Neri, Prim, Mayu, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 | |
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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | Devil Doll | # |
[Score: 83% = Buy-, because this 'comedy' is anything but a comedy; the first half may be no more than a "Rent" but the second half alone would have been somewhere around 90%. Other recommended Romance/Fantasy Drama animes: Video Girl Ai, Kanon, Clannad (TV), Chobits, To Heart]
No problem with the Animation; the Art was something to get used to (the ears, plus most girls look a bit childish and their seiyuu even intensify this effect, with the notable exception of Asa; I actually liked Nerine's VA because her voice being this way is significant for her character). Using neon-colored hair allows for introducing many characters in parallel so that the audience will incrementally learn more about these, which I consider a plus. As for the Music, the more often I listened to the fast and powerful OP song (suiting this story quite well) the more I liked it, and the ED song at least has a nice rhythm and vocals; unfortunately there's nothing memorable about the background music. The scenario premise is a weak one to begin with. Look, Belldandy in Aa! Megami-sama! TV sweet-talks to Keiichi during their first conversation but what she agrees to is just a contract in the beginning; Aoi-chan in Ai Yori Aoshi hugs Kaoru when she recognizes him but she's been conditioned to do that for 18 years of education. But in this series, two princesses declare Rin their forthcoming husband just because they happened to run into each other 8 years ago, events that were so trivial that Rin doesn't even remember any of them? Okay, this may work for a comedy - but it's a really bad start for a drama. So it's even more astounding how this story makes the best of this situation and gives each of the girls a credible development; in the end none of them will be laughing stock, each one of them has a valid reason to be here. During the first half of this series the comedy/slapstick level was too high for my taste: Those three fanclubs are unnerving, and neither one of both fathers adds anything valuable to the show while Itsuki as well as Mayuki at least pose interesting questions. The fanservice is, well, kind of omnipresent but rarely ever annoying or even obscene (with the exception of episode 11) - okay, there's lots of pantsu shots and some nipples but quite a few of them are shown to give us more information about Rin-kun's reaction to this kind of teasing (which is important for the audience as to guess the chances of the "contenders" - this is a harem scenario after all, and these girls mean it). The increasing ecchiness during the second half of this story is definitely called for (based on the contenders' situation), so I have no problem with this one. I was afraid that my main problem with this Series Story would be the suspension of disbelief. With Lords of Gods and Demons as actual players it would be critical to understand how their powers work, for they're expected to be able to alter history and stuff - and how can a real drama (or even a tragedy) happen in this kind of scenario? But from episode 6 on you get the necessary answers about these issues... in fact many of the small bits and pieces about magic during the school lessons are mandatory for understanding this story (which is one of the best aspects of this show - you have to watch it thoroughly as to not overlook the hidden gems). Other issues like biological compatibility between the races are taken care of as well (unlike in Aa! Megami-sama ;-). I don't see any significant plot hole in this story, and had they left out some of the unnecessary pantsu shots and the slapstick stuff I would have given "Story" the top rating. The story itself may neither be outstanding not completely new (except for the part that most harem stories avoid like the plague - letting the guy actually chose a girl and show the consequences!) but the way how it was interwoven with the character development and how the secrets are uncovered one by one is probably the best aspect of this show - everything makes sense to me. This anime starts as a comedy polygon (including some of the sidekicks) with many likeable Characters. The harem in alphabetical order: Shigure Asa is the cool onee-chan whom you'd never expect to be more than an also-ran; Fuyou Kaede starts in the pole position but isn't aware of the competition for quite a while and obviously going to have a hard time in this show; Nerine is the shy but sensitive type (the one I'm usually rooting for as the story will be boring if she doesn't have at least some success); on the other hand, Sia is the aggressive type, overdoing things but Kaede's main challenger in the beginning. Primula appears to be a mere mascot; actually she turns out to be much more than that (like all these girls do, sooner or later...) but she definitely isn't the loli arc of the harem game. So what can I say? All main characters get a lot deeper than they appear at first (and boy was I wrong with my bets about these girls' chances!); the background story kicks in rather late but is consistent as well as relevant for all characters; the lead girl was my favorite character right from the start and turned out to be so much better than even I had expected (I suffered a lot with her); the drama & tragedy elements are credibly interwoven with some of the comedy elements, including a wonderful and plausible climax in the final episode which you have a fair chance to guess if you watch episode 23 attentively. Watch this show in as short a time if you can, it will then have the maximum effect and lead you from a harem comedy to a rollercoaster drama you won't forget that easily. Last updated Friday, June 06 2008. | ||||||||
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| Unevaluated | Stretch | # | ||||||
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(Two episodes watched): As for the plot, so far nothing has particularly caught my attention here--beautiful girls showing up out of nowhere and begging you to marry them are not exactly unusual in anime. Neither are godesses or demons. The comedy is so-so; the self-proclaimed guard units seem pretty lame and annoying to me. Some things about Shuffle which did catch my attention would be the way the character designer seem to love green-haired girls, or the sponsors being announced in English (I thought for a moment this might be some sort of Fandub. Is that Sugita Tomokazu voicing Rin? Yes, it is--he's become one of my favorite Japanese VAs (and the second one I can reliably recognize). I don't know if it's because he's particularly good or if he just happens to play the lead in a lot of well-written shows I've been enjoying lately (or both). Fairly clever dialogue here allows him to employ his trademark acerbic wit, as he did as Kyon in Haruhi Suzumiya or Mayama in Honey & Clover. Last updated Wednesday, March 19 2008. | ||||||||
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| Buy | Forbin | # | ||||||
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Analysis : All Fansub Episodes Watched
Shuffle is over. The most surprising series I have watched in 2005. I didn't predict anything after epsiode 10. It starts out as your typical fluff harem. Each girl tries to stake her claim in Rin (Except for Primula..she's later). That's the funny episodes. Then we learn the Backstory of the 5 girls. That's the drama. Rin makes a decision. The funny returns. The final girls turns out to have a real whopper of extra backstory. That's the H-Game translation. We learn a couple of things about his friends Mayumi and Nadesico-sensei. That's backstory. We meet Kareha and Tsubomi. That's got Sequel written all over it. While FMP! TSR is my #1, this is my #2. If this didn't start out as a comedy it would have been probably #1. This is Da Capo meets Maburaho. Take the Hero of Da Capo and Place him in the same situation as the Maburaho guy. Then for fun, lets add KGNE. Someone's gotta die! Hehe. What didn't I like about it?
What did I like about it?
What was surprising about it? The amount of nudity after the drama heated up. It seems to buffer the drama going on, instead of boosting the comedy they boosted the nudity. Heck even the Cut Scene gets a boost around episode 10. So all in all, a very enjoyable series. If you aren't into ecchi, then give this a pass. In KGNE the ecchi scenes were tastefully done. Here I think NAVEL said, hey we made an H-Game, you BETTER put in some ecchi scenes. 01.26 - What in the heck! Funi got shuffle? Shuffle is a titty harem series, that just screams ADV. I wonder what funi is going to do with this. Last updated Monday, February 05 2007. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | chibi | # |
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This series really reminds me of Kanon. Not just because Rin and Yuichi (2006) share the same VA, but because they're both about a guy surrounded by cute girls, and he has to discover each girl's secret and help her through a crisis while deciding which one he wants to commit to. I've never played one, but I'm guessing that's how dating sims work, which I think both series were developed from. Rin is a pretty good guy, though with a tendency to be indecisive and let things slide (I suppose the story wouldn't last very long if he wasn't), but someone who is strong when he needs to be and will make great sacrifices for those close to him. I could tell you about the girls, but that would spoil your fun: discovering what makes them special is the heart of the entertainment of Shuffle. Rin actually ended up with the girl I'd decided was his best choice a third of the way through the episodes, but the story along the way was always an entertaining one with better-than-average character interactions and relationships. There's some humor sprinkled in, like Rin being chased by the jealous members of the various girl's fan clubs, but the core stories are fairly serious. There's some ecchi, too, though it didn't bother me much. (Well, when Mayumi had that waitress job, it did get a bit painful to watch.) There were some annoying parts where it seemed the artwork was sub-contracted out to another studio or something and the characters looked noticeably different, but otherwise it was of good quality. The theme song was nice, and variations of it get repeated as background music, though for some reason the tune kept reminding me of "God Bless" from Haruhi Suzumia. Last updated Sunday, January 21 2007. | ||||||||
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| Unevaluated | Jan-Chan | # | ||||||
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An eight-minute intro to this series has been released as a fan-sub. Based on the intro (and a bit of research into this series), this is going to be harem story along the lines of Ichigo 100%, but with a bit of Girls Bravo weirdness tossed in (but with none of the violence.) I am looking forward to seeing more of this series. Tx Forbin for mentioning this series.. Last updated Thursday, June 30 2005. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Wowow's Official Japanese Web Site | http://www.wowow.co.jp/anime/shuffle/ |
| Navel's Official Japanese Game Web Site | http://www.project-navel.com/navel/shuffle/ |
| Funimation (R1 English) web site | http://funimation.com/shuffle/ |
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