Not a badly-written review. For the story and characters section, however, you may want to write more about the merits of the story and characters rather than just writing a plot synopsis.
Himeno in her outfit when merged with Sasame!
Prétear tv Review
Himeno Awayuki was having trouble adjusting to her new life after her father remarried. She had gone from a life of poverty (her father being a classic example of the "starving author") to one of extreme luxury (her father married an extremely wealthy widower.) She's not used to phalanxes of servents and butlers, and her new family don't make it easy for her -- her stepmother harps on Himeno's (perceived) character flaws, her older stepsister constanly plays pranks on her, and her younger stepsister completely ignores her.
As she heads to school (late, as the driver has left without her) she runs into a strange young man. When they accidentally touch hands, sparks fly, literally. Disturbed, Himeno escapes to school, only to run into the young man (and 6 of his companions) later. They call themselves the "Leafe Knights", each wielding a different power (wind, water, ice, fire, light, plants, sound) that they use to fight Saihi (the queen of destruction) and her minions (the seeds of destruction.) They call Himeno the "Pretear", a person who can "pret" (blend) with the knights in order to wield their power.
As Himeno learns more about the Knights and their duty, she is swept into their battles, and before long is glad of their friendly company. But the Knights are holding a dark secret of their own. For Himeno is not the only Pretear they have served, and even the Pretear is not immune to the effects of Saihi.
Story & Characters
Himeno Awayuki is your typical ditzy-noisy girl, or shall i add emotional as well? Well, in any case we cannot avoid the fact that she's vibrant and very energetic. She's cheerful and very empathetic. Maybe its because of the loss of her mother since very young as well as having to adjust in a 'high-class' family. Her step-mother is not the typical 'evil' stepmother. In fact she's deeply in love with Himeno's father. Himeno's eldest stepsister usually plays pranks that NEVER work on her and her youngest stepsister practically IGNORES HER! However, her platantly boring life soon comes to an end when she saw red snow in which no one is able to see it except for her and encounters a strange man on the way to school. When they touched they have this 'electrical' spark that seemed to shock the both of them. This disturbance does not end there. Himeno was shocked to find the strange men and his 6 companions known to be the 'Leafe Knights' whose sole duty is to protect and safeguard Leafe, a source of energy that keeps the earth running. But in order to do so, they needed a PRETEAR-- a special young lady who has the ability to merge with them-- because their powers are too weak without the merge. Shocked Himeno happens to know that she is the CHOSEN one and realises the 'electrical' shock she recieved initially.
Thus, Himeno spends her days practicing and training to be a Pretear. The knights warn her that eventually she will be facing off with the Disaster Queen Fenryl, who wants to drain all the Leafe the world possesses to bring about the end of everything. It's not as simple as it seems though, for there are many more secrets that Himeno must unearth. What's more, Himeno finds herself gradually falling for the Leafe Knight of wind, Hayate.
A MUST-see anime? All i can say is those who love Sailormoon or Romance/Action, this is for you.
Rating:
Art
The art and animations is LOVELY! You have to give 'kudos' to Himeno's merged outfits. It is simply gorgeous! I always look forward to her outfit when she merged with Hayate. Talking about characters, this anime does not lack in Bishounen! We have the handsome, stoic Hayate, quiet, mysterious but cute Sasame, punk Go, adorable Shinn, playful Mannen and Hajime and fnally, know-it-all Kei! Himeno is pink-haired (what's up with pink heroines?!) and the thing i love about her character design are her eyes! She has such beautiful, big eyes that seemed to shine whenever she's happy and also, when she cries.
Okay, back to the outfits. The outfit style used matches with the concept of the anime. Simply because when you hear 'Pretear' first thing that comes to your mind is 'Princess', 'Gorgeous' and 'Pure'. True to that, Himeno's outfits are that of Royalty and Pure (especially when she merged with the Snow Leafe Knight) I simply love her Chinese clothes that she usually wears in the series. Now i am wondering, do they have a fashion designer for this anime to design their clothes?
If you ask me about the scenes of the anime, i must say it looks like Harukanaru Toki no Naka de. What i mean is that the scenes looked 'water-coloured'. Soft colours and quite blurry to an extent.
Rating:
Sound
The moment i saw and heard the Opening of Pretear, 'White Destiny' i was like, "Oh my god!! I have to find this song!" It is really intriguing i must say. It attracts your attention and you will feel like hitting the rewnd button to see/hear it again! First of all, its sung by Ishida Yoko who happens to do 'Towa no Hana' for Ai Yori Aoshi. She has such a wonderful voice! Second of all, the tempo is just right for this series. Its fast inititially and then it will slow down. You have to love this!
The ending theme 'Lucky Star' is sung by the Seiyuu of Himeno. A very cute and high-pitchy song. I don't quite go ga-ga over this song unlike 'White Destiny'. I mean it is nice but its too boring for me. To hear this song everyday will be a dread!
Seiyuus!! I practically HATE Himeno's seiyuu. She tends to exaggerate when she's sad or happy. To me, it sounds so high-pitchy that it sends shivers down my spine! *I might be exaggerating* but seriously, to do a heroine role, you need a strong voice, say maybe Araki Kae who did Miaka in Fushigi Yuugi or Tanaka Rie who did Gundam SEED/Destiny. Well, i am sure there are mant other female seiyuus that suits her. I simply LOVE Takahiro Sakurai!! His voice is just so, so, gentle and warm! Overall, there is no mistmatch of voice. (well, maybe except for Himeno)
Rating:
Presentation
One thing about this anime is the hilarious Tanaka voiced by the ever so talanted Koyasu Takehito!! He is short, middle-bald and seemed to know the 'park' that the Awayuki family have. Noy exactly 'park' but more to a jungle. They have bears, crocodile, extinct birds and whats WEIRD is that these animals adore Tanaka!! Their signs of affection includes; biting his bald shining head. Koyasu's voice is so coical!
There were several sad moments especially the episode whereby Hayate finally revealed his feelings for Himeno**spoilers** It is just so touching! The final episode whereby **spoiler** Himeno managed to become Pretear herself witout MERGINNG with the kinghts will make you go, "HAAAA!! Sugoi!!"
In terms of enjoyability, i'll rate it 3/5. There were scenes that will make you yawn and wished that this scene will be over already!!
To conclude, Pretear is an anime that you can afford to skip. If you watch it you wont regret it but if you missed it, you wont regret it either. This anime to me is too 'safe' and will not be a HIT like Gundam SEED/Bleach/Naruto etc
Rating:
Final Verdict
5.8333 (average)
Reviewed by cagalli88, Nov 30, 2005
Comments
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shinsengumi Retired Moderator Nov 30, 2005
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Sakuyai Dec 01, 2005
Pretear;s a really good anime. ^_^
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PookyAlert Dec 02, 2005
LOL! A well-written review, although I agree more discussion on the characters would be a cool addition, this is really a character piece, parts of the plot are very formulaic, but that's sort of intentional, you don't work on the plot so much because it's the characters who are supposed to be showcased. :-D Whether or not you think that was well-done is left to the opinion of the viewer. LOL!
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fawna-chan Dec 03, 2005
You er...write good. it all seems so very interesting and yeah, you might want to add more about the characters. And good work with the descriptions.
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Ilona Dec 04, 2005
That was an interesting review... even if I feel it's sometimes quite harsh... but maybe cause I really like this anime. Me too since the moment I heard the op, I did want to have it... but the other music doesn't sound really interesting and I really like Sasame's voice. Actually I didn't like much the main paring, the other one was more touching.
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chichiri1907 Dec 05, 2005
Great review, but i didn' like the grade you gave it, I thought it should be around the c- area, but thats just me because i love that anime series :D
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merelie Dec 05, 2005
that's... a little harsh, no? :sweat: this isn't a series to really take all that seriously. it makes fun of magical girl series as a genre. it's fluffy and lighthearted and it's certainly nothing to swoon over, but i found it enjoyable enough :)
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Toshie Dec 12, 2005
I can see that u are very emotional, haha but yet this is quite a gd review. I`m glad to read your review before watching the anime!
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SYMONE15 Dec 22, 2005
Personally, I love Sasame. *_~
merged: 12-23-2005 ~ 06:49am
Sasame is way cuttier than hayate. I knew hayate and himeno were going to fall in love from the start because, you know how people fight, it means they like each other.merged: 12-23-2005 ~ 06:51am
yea Toshie! Oh, and himeno becomes the white pretear and she looks so beautiful and is so sweet and powerful. -
emodude Feb 22, 2006
this show is kool. i just don't like himeno. I mean she can steal 2 guys at once! can u belive it?T_T
merged: 02-22-2006 ~ 12:05pm
i also don't like himeno because she's to preppy. scary. *huddles in corner* black...dark suicide...must not think preppy preppy bad...preppy scary. SCARY!AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHAAHHHHHH(...) away* HAPPY PLACE! MUST FIND HAPPY PLACE!merged: 02-22-2006 ~ 12:07pm
whoopsie. it meant runs away not (...) away. now if you'll exuce me i must huddle on the corner of my room.
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