Honestly I've wanted to watch this show for a while as it just seems adorable in every way but I was just turned off by that 52 episode count. I tended to think that it would fall into drudgery considering the rather simple premise behind the show. Seems I was right from your review. I think I'll put this one on the backburner for a while.
Full Moon wo Sagashite tv Review
Twelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki was devastated when she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the throat. She had made a promise to the boy she loves that she would one day become a singer, but her illness made singing impossible. To make matters even worse, two angels of death, Takuto and Meroko, appeared to Mitsuki and informed her that she only had one year left to live! This news provides an even greater motivation for Mitsuki to fulfill her dreams, and with a little bit of divine intervention, she begins her quest to become a professional singer so she can be reunited with Eichi before time runs out.
Synopsis: MizzDorKeeAznGurRl
Story & Characters
Story
Twelve-year-old Koyama Mitsuki loves to sing, and she made a promise with a boy Eichi-kun two years ago that she would
try to achieve her dream as a famous singer, and thus make Eichi-kun, who moved to the US two years ago, notice her.
However, she has throat cancer and can't sing anymore. Then one day, two Shinigami (death spirits) Takuto and
Meroko appear before her, telling her that she only has one year to live. Motivated by this news, Mitsuki is determined
to go to an audition where they're looking for the next young singing star. However, twelve-year-olds aren't
allowed to audition. Touched by her determination, Takuto and Meroko decides to help her achieve her dream as a singer
and make Eichi-kun notice her before her time is up, by turning her into a sixteen-year-old blond named "Full
Moon".
In terms of story, it is kind of touching and inspirational, through the feeling of Mitsuki wanting to sing no matter what. At first she wants to sing in order for Eichi-kun to notice her, but she's also singing because she loves to sing, and wants to bring music to everyone, including her grandmother who can't stand music because of personal reasons. The theme of people and music is reiterated throughout the series. Another theme is to live life to the fullest and doing your best. Even knowing that she only has one year to live, Mitsuki is still so cheerful and optimistic that her dreams will come true. It is cheerful and happy and sweet for the most part. But there are sad and emotional bits that can make you cry as well (though it's not as sad for me as I heard it was).
Characters
Mitsuki is a determined girl, and she has this never-give-up spirit that give people around her the will to do their
best. As Eichi-kun once told her, she is like the Moon (her name means "full moon") that keeps shining while
hiding her scars. This causes people around her to worry about her, but that's because they care about her. And as
Full Moon, she gives inspiration to people around her through her pure-hearted desire to sing no matter what. I do like
that she's not a damsel-in-distress, but I kind of wished that they showed more of her fears (there's no doubt
that she has to be afraid of dying) and vulnerability, because even as Full Moon, she is still twelve years old at
heart, so showing more of her doubts and weaknesses would make her more realistic.
Takuto is a Shinigami assigned to watch over Mitsuki until her time is up, then take her life once the time comes. He made a promise to Mitsuki to help her achieve her dreams for a whole year, because he feels touched by her determination. But he genuinely wants to help Mitsuki whenever he can, and becomes good friends with her, which comes to conflict with his job. He's very stubborn, and ofter gets into arguments with Meroko or Mitsuki. But he has a good heart and acts upon his feelings quite often.
Meroko is the more experienced Shinigami of the two. She is always loud and cheerful, and likes to meddle, mostly with good intentions. She is in love with Takuto, and isn't afraid to confess it (though he just ignores her). At first Meroko seems to be jealous of Mitsuki, but they eventually become friends. Perhaps due to being Shinigami longer than Takuto, when her job comes into conflict with her feelings, she is less decisive than Takuto, who would more often follow his heart. Both Takuto and Meroko act more like humans than shinigami, in that they have very human emotions and conflicts that they'd have to deal with.
Wakaoji-sensei is Mitsuki's doctor. He cares about her a lot, and treats her like a daughter. And Mitsuki trusts him a lot, though she had to lie to him about being a singer because he would worry about her throat. He gets more involved with the plot concerning Mitsuki later on in the story.
Overall the story is good and understandable, with enough plot twists to keep you interested, and by the end all the mysteries are solved. Though it's a bit slow I think, with too much filler material. And also, I think there's good potential for deeper emotional impact with the plot, but for some reason, perhaps with the way the story is presented with all the happy-go-lucky parts, I just didn't really get that sort of impact from watching the anime. And a lot of the themes and plot bits are overly repetitive and unneccessary.
Rating:
Art
The character designs have that typical shoujo flavour: humongous shiny eyes, pretty hair, and pretty costumes. And stays pretty similar to the manga style (with exception to the hair colours and details). I think the costume and clothing designs fit the series pretty well, with Full Moon's clothes making her look feminine and sweet. Takuto and Meroko's designs make them look cute, to suit their jobs as Shinigami for children. The stuffed-animal designs for Takuto and Meroko are also very cute. The bright and happy colour palette gives a sense of 'cuteness' and 'fluffiness' to the general feeling of the series. And sometimes it looks out of place in those sadder scenes.
The transformation sequence of Mitsuki into Full Moon is that of typical magic girl transformation, complete with cute background music, shiny shoujo background, and puffs of smoke. They are obviously recycled, but at least they make an effort of giving Full Moon different clothes once the transformation finishes. And good thing that you don't see this transformation sequence every single time (like on Sailor Moon...)
Overall, the art quality is really clean, and the animation is very smooth. And everything is just so upbeat.
Rating:
Sound
Voice acting is pretty good. Everyone does a good job, but nobody really stands out. Mitsuki's voice is better than I hoped, in that it's not overly high-pitched and annoying (though it does get annoying when she yells). I think Takuto's voice is probably one of the best in the cast, because he is good at getting his emotions across.
Music
The music is pretty good and fitting for the series. Full Moon's songs are nice, and it is believable that they
could become hits, except that there's only two songs that she sings over and over again. The first opening
("I <3 U") is well-suited for the series by being upbeat and energizing. The second one ("Rock'n
Roll Princess") is good as an upbeat song, but I don't think the theme of the lyrics fit the series too much.
The ending songs are those songs by "Full Moon" (Changin' My Life), which is nice, except you already hear them so much during the series that you kind of get tired of them. Especially "Eternal Snow", this song is repeated so many times that I think by the end, you get more than enough of it. There's also so many versions of it (seems that everyone wants to sing it), including one that plays from a music box. That version, as well as the scene where someone stares at the music box, is repeated waaaay too many times for its own good (by the end I was ready to smash the thing...). Yes it is special and important to the story, but there's a limit to that.
Another problem I have with the singing is that Mitsuki's singing voice doesn't sound like her talking voice. Her talking voice sounds like a twelve-year-old (like it should be), but her singing voice makes her sound like she's in her 20's, so it's a bit inconsistent there.
Rating:
Presentation
Overall it was a cute shoujo series, with a bit of sadness and inspiration. The balance between seriousness, emotional moments, and humour is pretty good. The characters are pretty likable, though they do get annoying at times.
The biggest downside to this series I think is its length. I don't think it needs 52 episodes to tell the story. I think they can get it done in 26 just fine, by cutting out a lot of unneccessary material and focusing on the important stuff. By having it so long, the pace gets pretty slow in the middle (not that it isn't slow to begin with), and a lot of themes get really repetitive.
Also, I don't think the story-telling and the style lived up to its full potential. It could've been much more emotional and impacts the view more, but the cute and shiny art and upbeat music sugar-coat the story and makes you forget the deeper emotions of the characters and story.
Cute and upbeat shoujo series if you don't mind sitting through 52 episodes.
Rating:
Final Verdict
6.5000 (above average)
Reviewed by MapleRose, Apr 08, 2007
Comments
-
shoujoboy Apr 10, 2007
-
Angi Retired Moderator Apr 12, 2007
another simple shoujo......
but people like it -
ender85 May 21, 2007
The only people I have ever talked to who watched all of FMWS and did not get a huge emotional impact are people who knew the spoilers or read the manga first. Don't get me wrong, the manga was good, but I've found that a person's view of the series is permanently altered, depending on whether they read the manga first or watched the anime first.
The problem is that spoilers that shock you in the anime are mentioned early in the manga, with little impact. This does not affect the manga, as the plot in the manga follows a different direction, but it destroys the impact of the anime. This is terrible because the anime, in my opinion, is the best of its kind.
I would agree with you that the series was a bit longer then it should have been, but the "cute and shiny" aspect of the anime fades as the series progresses, and without it we would never develop the attachment to the main characters that makes the series so good.
-
SukiLovesAnime Dec 23, 2008
I rly loved this anime so much,
I mean a girl that was about to die cause of her illness of her voice.
But then she mets two Shinigamis and they help her accomplish her dreams.
It's so beautiful, but I almost cried when they showed Takuto's past. -
yuyuppi Jun 23, 2009
like all of arina tanemura art
-
salmaGX Oct 15, 2009
really love it
-
SchRita Jan 15, 2010
Thanks for the review!
-
Sanisa Feb 23, 2010
Thanks for the review! Nice ^__^
page 1 of 1 8 total items
Only members can post replies, please register.