Title: Zero's Familiar / Zero no Tsukaima / ゼロの使い魔Anime Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Harem, RomanceDate of Airing: 2nd July 2006Date Concluded: 24th September 2006No. of Episodes: 13No. of Episodes Watched: 13"Pink haired Potter?"Well, I must say that exams and a confounded PC do not make for a particularly generous setting for anime watching/downloading or blogging. The latter of which I very much regret...my blog's kinda grown on me, so it's an injustice that it has to lie dormant for so long. =( After around 3 weeks of getting the final 5 episodes of Zero no Tsukaima (henceforth ZnT), I've finally managed to finish the damn series. Pathetic? Hell yeah! ;)So, here's my review on it. I've decided to change the format of the review and make it slightly more ordered and concise (I hope) for the purposes of:i) Easier readingii) Less yapping from me = less typing ^^So, read on!Plot Synopsis:Well, you could probably get this on ANN or AniDB, but it's required for a review, okay? =P So, we have Louise Francoise de la Valliere of Tristein Magic Academy (or Hogwarts if you so please), or better known as Louise the Zero, so named due to her lack of successes in casting any sort of magic spell. The students at the academy have a familiar summoning ceremony which she must attend. At the ritual, lo and behold, Louise manages to defy the odds and summon a familiar. Only her familiar turns out to be Hiraga Saito, normal teenage boy from Japan. He's stuck here, and she's stuck with him, so it begins.Louise the Zero, and aptly named too.Setting/Story:At first glance, just like I mentioned some time ago in first impressions, the setting of the anime appears to be very much a rip-off of Harry Potter's famed Hogwarts. 2nd and 3rd glances don't do much to change my view, so yes, it is somewhat a Harry Potter rip-off, but not in a bad way. The world is always blindingly colourful (Louise's pink hair included) and makes for pleasant viewing throughout the 13 episode series. The story is pretty much the synopsis, except that Saito finds that he's pretty attractive to a few girls in school, making it a little harem-y. He's also trying to find a way back to Japan, which he does, in a way. There are a few twists, but I don't think the producers ever meant it to exercise your brain.Score: 6/10Characters:Saito's your stereotypical, likeable Japanese boy, voiced by Hino Satoshi who also did Yuuji in Shakugan no Shana (SnS). And Louise is rather cute, discounting all her temper flares and her 'dog-treatment' of Saito. Hmm...actually that's rather cute too. Her seiyuu is Kugimiya Rie, who was Shana in SnS. See what I'm getting at? The problem with me was that I've seen SnS, so watching the pair of Saito and Louise in ZnT was like watching brighter, more colourful versions of Yuuji and Shana in SnS. You see, SnS is a pretty nice show, with a rather dark story etc. etc. (if you haven't watched it, go see for yourself), so their very similar portrayal of the characters in both shows (Shana & Louise get angry alot/Yuuji & Saito are innocently dumb alot) kinda detracted from the experience for me. That's not to say they did a bad job, on the contrary, in fact. Just try not to watch the 2 animes too closely together. The rest of the cast, from Henrietta to Kirche are all what you woould expect from an anime of this sort, but they play their parts well enough. I paticularly liked watching Guiche squirm in the face of Montmorency or any slightly threatening situation, lol. Stale roles, with a rather entertaining execution keeps things interesting.Score: 7/10Shana with pink hair...deja vu.Saito and Guiche.Animation:Animation is very nice. Though if colours and happy thoughts aren't your cup of tea, then this may disappoint. Think Negima and not Trinity Blood/Blood+. Overall, I thought the animation pretty much suited the show perfectly.Score: 7/10Music:As with most animes, the opening and ending songs are catchy tunes sung by women with dog-whistle octaves in their vocal range. Okay, I'm kidding. But, the songs are nothing to shout about and I really didn't like Kugimiya Rie's execution of the end song 'The Real Feeling'. Cringe-inducing. Music in the show is in the same department as the animation, happy and colourful.Score: 5/10Metal polish does wonders on rust.Verdict:Harem, love, and some heroics in Hogwarts Academy, Nagoya, Japan. Lol. This was like ordering a huge burger and not being able to finish it. The show started out really well to me, but around the 3/4 mark, the plot just became a bit tired, and you can really see what's going to happen next. But, it's still a burger I managed to munch down.Princess Henrietta, dressed to kill, literally.Worth Your Time?Well, if you're the "I download all anime, new or old!" kind of person, then why even read this? If you're not though, then yes, it's worth your time and bandwidth (or money if you want). However, I wouldn't recommend it to people who only watch Gundam, Naruto, Bleach and nothing else. ^^Overall Score: If You Liked This, You May Like:Love Hina, Tonagura!, Inukami!, REC>>> AnimaniaTags: Animation, Anime, Japanese Animation, Manga, Zero no Tsukaima, Louise Valiel, Hiraga Saito, Tenjou
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