Reviewed on January 15th, 2007

Visually

The first thought that jumped to my mind after watching the characters, the costumes, the vivid colors is “Harry Potter”. And I mean, let’s face it, who else hasn’t thought of this that way?
The Animation in this anime is pretty much basic, and suits the bubbly storyline which follows. Think “Negima” meets “Shakugan no Shana”. Pretty much basic composition and am pretty disappointed that the animators do not take advantage of the serene scenery which the story is set in, but nevertheless, a not too shabby show to look at.
Mis-en-scene which is usually ignored in most shows is used to a greater depth in this show where the animators take great undue care and with the use of constant action, give life to even the blandest items in a specific set.
Characters are simply drawn and probably taken from various ideas of other famous anime characters (as nearly all characters are), however, the male lead character plays a striking resemblance to the male lead character of “Shakugan no Shana” series: Sakai Yuuji.

Audio

The background music in this show really fits the storyline in an upbeat and comical way. With the addition of appropriate suspense and action fuelled scores, the overall background score is something to be reckoned with.
The Opening and Ending themes of this show are almost too generic that it hurts. Hearing another track of the ending theme: “The Real Feeling” by Kugimiya Rie would probably reduce me to nothing but tears.
Opening song tries to make up for the ending theme but then again, these are generic song titles which keep in line of the storyline and animation: Happy and Colorful.
Voice actors in this show (which I feel), are what actually stops me from muting the whole episodes altogether and watch the show on mute. They breathe life into their characters, (as all Voice actors should) and improvise in spots which we (the audience) may overlook but adds the subtlety and that extra wackiness this anime thrives upon.

Storyline

Here is where the real clincher of the show which steals the limelight. With its generic music, and pretty much basic animation, this animation breathes life into its characters and scenery, so much that we feel apart of the story.
The story plot basically follows the lives of a called Tsukaima Louise and her “accidentally summoned creature from the human world” Saito. What follows are just another string of wacky adventures of a witch blasting spells, and the summoned creature (a regular school-boy) trying to stay alive while getting mixed up with various friends of Louise (who just so happen to be drop-dead gorgeous girls) which clearly outlines the obvious comedy-come-harem nature of this show.
First glance, this is a Harry Potter rip-off for me. 2nd and 3rd glances don’t really change my opinion so it has led me to the conclusion that this show is basically a Harry Potter rip-off. Not too much plot leads are delved deep enough to consider a real storyline in this show though…but then again, I don’t think the directors ever meant to exercise your brain into thinking.

DVD

Pretty much basic DVD features featuring a mix of English dubbed cast and Japanese voice actors with subtitling in over 4 languages. Bonus features include drawings and re-drawings of the characters but that’s just about it.

Overall

Harry Potter meets anime and gets side-tracked looking for Voldemort and instead falls into a luscious harem filled dream: pretty much summaries the show.
The show started out really well and bloomed with potential and promise, but around the 3/4 mark, the show took an abrupt turn in the storyline and ended up finishing quite dismally (in my opinion). Kind of like when you order a large meal and can’t end up finishing.
This show may leave viewers with mixed feelings, seeing as it is very short anyway (only 13 episodes).

by Tiger