Tasuke Shichiri's father travels and sends Tasuke back different artifacts that seem interesting. This time he sends him a ring-like crystal. After staring into it a girl soon appears out of it. Her name is Shao Lin and her job is to protect her Master. However as it's been a long time since she was last released she doesn't know the ways of this world and often cause trouble for Tasuke in order to protect him from what she perceives as dangers but not to others.
By: mew1mokuba
Shichiri Tasuke is just your average teenage boy, apart from the fact that his family spends much of their time abroad while he is left to keep an entire home by himself. But that all changes once he recieves a package from his father, an explorer in China. In the package he found an ancient ring known as the "Shitenrin." Legend has it that if a person of a pure heart looks into the ring, he will be blessed with a guardian from heaven. Tasuke manages to release the spiritual guardian of the Shitenrin, a goddess that has dwelled within the ring for over 4000 years named Shugogetten Shaolin.
Only because of her long period of isolation, there is alot that she does not understand about the workings of the modern world, much of to the dismay of Tasuke. As Shaolin's new master, she is charged with the duty of protecting his life from danger with the help of the many small spirits that live within the Shitenrin, called the "hoshigami." The next day, Tasuke recieves another package from his father, only this one contains a wand that was found within the same area as the Shitenrin. While examining the wand, he accidentally summons the ancient goddess Keikounitten Ruuan. Her duty as a goddess is to see that her master is happy. Within the Keikounitten, Ruuan is able to animate various objects.
The sparks fly when these two ancient rivals begin to duke it out over who is more entitled to Tasuke, everyday objects are turned into goofy weapons through the use of the Keikounitten, and friends and enemies (?) are all caught up in a tangled-up romance net.
Rating:
An anime series produced back in the heyday of 1998, it sometimes difficult to give a clear critique of the art style of Mamotte Shugogetten. In comparison to some of today's hit anime series, it might come off to some people as being far cry from being the pinacle of computer graphic imaging; a completely incidental quality. But Mamotte Shugogetten doesn't fail to dazzle viewers with a beautiful display of CG in their opening credits and trailer segments, which is well put together and altogether makes for a lovely eyecatch. Still, the episodes that make up this great series lack such splendid CG effects, which does tend to harm the expectations of a viewer a bit if that is indeed what you are looking for.
Meanwhile, the art style of the series follows a simple, slightly-cartoonish design. The design of each character lies in accordance with the personality that they attempt to portray, with Tasuke able to appear very mature at times and positively goofy the next, Ruuan able to maintain her sexy womanly appearance right before acting like a child the next, and the resident pretty-boy Izumo always remaining pretty unless in the face of incredible odds (or annoying rivals of Shaolin's affection). In short, the character designs are appropriate for each character and nothing feels half-done or out of place.
Other features such as landscapes are well drawn and/or painted, and fine attention is given to clothing styles and other objects such as furniture to make the series seem all the more real to the viewer. Overall, it is art style that may not attempt to impress, but it will make a passing effort to the average viewer. That is, unless you exclude the works included in the opening and closing credit sequences, which I believe, are absolutely stunning.
Rating:
The soundtrack of Mamotte Shugogetten is highly enjoyable, and it manages to suit the mood of the series quite nicely. Sound effects and voice talents feel appropriate for the series, and each background music track selected matches up with events taking place within the series fairly naturally. But like the art style, the music (apart from a few tracks) are none too memorable in the way of instruments or vocals, and seem to be there to please. Only this is just another part of the charm of the series, as it keeps the focus on the storyline instead of just the music, and so I'll give it props just for that.
For yours truly, the opening track "Saa!" was one of the few songs that I had ever bothered to sit through throughout the entire series due to its catchy beat and memorable lyrics. There are very few series I have seen that hit it off with me in such a way. But don't let that get you down, because the closing theme "I Just Feel So Love Again" is a beautiful song in its own right with a set of very romantic and well-written lyrics. It really speaks out the feelings of Shaolin in the latter half of the series, I feel.
Rating:
Mamotte Shugogetten is a series that is often compared to the likes of Ah! Megami-Sama!/Oh! My Goddess!, and sometimes even called a ripoff of the series.
After watching the entire 22-episode series, I can hardly see how they compare. Mamotte Shugogetten contains a spark of comedy that Oh! My Goddess! simply lacks, which does not limit itself to collateral damage within the home or... erm... middle school. Also, with a complicated love triangle between characters (of some characters are unaware of being inside at all!), this show is bound to cross the boundaries of your ordinary love story. With a giant inflatable Santa Clause fighting a giant-sized hoshigami, how can you go wrong?
Mamotte Shugogetten does seem to be a series that would appear more to shoujo/female viewers, but with the high comedic value, I think that many boys would enjoy this series just as much. It is a wonderful series, and you'll be sure to enjoy every minute of it! So many strange things seem to happen in the world of Shichiri Tasuke at each and every turn. What is a boy to do?
Rating:
6.8333 (above average)
Reviewed by sarisasenshi, Jun 29, 2005
This is a very well-written review that I found extremely informative, given that I have never seen this anime before. One suggestion I would have is to not just summarize the plot in the Story section but explain whether the plot and characters are interesting, memorable, or if they simply work. If you want to write a plot synopsis, those should go here:
http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/24789/
Anyhow, good work! I look forward to reading more of your reviews!
Looks like there is some sort of link error but, over all not a bad review.
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