Well, after my short hiatus from Mahou Shoujo (ok, so I guess like 3 days doesn’t count as a hiatus), I felt that I needed to add another review…  So today I’m going to review a recent title from Yoshizumi Wataru, creator of the classic shoujo title, Marmalade Boy.  So here it is, a review of the Mahou Shoujo, Ultra Maniac.

            Tateishi Ayu is an 8^th grade girl who is respected as the “cool beauty” of the school.  She is a member of the tennis club and all of the girls look up to both her skill and the way that she always keeps a level head, no matter what.  At least that’s how she is perceived…  For a long time, Ayu has admired Kaji Tetsushi.  A popular boy and the star of the school baseball team, Kaji has many admirers.  Ayu would do anything to make him notice her, even change the way she acts.  Her calm and cool attitude is a result of her adoration for Kaji.  This is Ayu’s life, or at least it was, until a strange young girl named Sakura Nina transferred to her school.  This anime starts you right off in the middle of the action, Ayu and Nina have already met and are, at the very least, friendly to each other.  Nina seems to act a bit differently then the other girls, and the reason is quickly revealed.  In reality is not human, she is actually a witch, or more a witch in training to be precise, who traveled to the human world from the Magic Kingdom.  She is very inexperienced at her magic, which she attempts to utilize with the help of her magical item, a pocket computer.  She always tries her best for Ayu’s sake, attempting to help her in any way she can, but more often then not it turns into a disaster for them both. 

Between the antics of Nina’s magical companion, Rio (who usually takes the form of a cat), and the Committee Chairman who is determined to prove that Nina is a magical girl, the girls have their hands more then full.  As if that weren’t enough, Nina has her own needs to attend to.  The truth is, she left the Magic Kingdom and came to the human world for the sake of collecting 5 Holy Stones.  These Stones have the power to greatly increase magical power.  However, Nina is not the only witch after these stones.  Orihara Maya, another girl in Nina and Ayu’s class, is also here from the Magic Kingdom and after the same Holy Stones!  What secrets lie within the hunt for the Holy Stones?  As they chase after the stones, the girls will make many discoveries about themselves and those around them.  A charming story of personal growth and romantic comedy, Ultra Maniac is a great viewing experience from start to finish.

            A few other notes about this show:  The character designs are probably, quite frankly, my favorites in any anime that I have seen (or at least very close).  Offhand I cannot think of any that I prefer.  The art in the show is fantastic all around, obviously it starts with the great character designs, but the backgrounds and the facial expressions as well just meld so well with the show.  Besides the animation, the music in the show (particularly the opening and ending themes) is great as well.  This is another example of a show where I don’t enjoy the soundtrack quite as much without actually watching the show, but the opening and ending are rather catchy (although the opening sometimes sounds like it’s bouncing around inside of my head… and not necessarily in a good way.).  I like the voice acting for the most part, all of the voices mix together to create the right mood.  I think that Nina’s voice is probably my favorite from the show.  Her VA just fits her perfectly in my opinion. [Note: Whenever I talk about voice acting, I mean the original Japanese.  I don’t tend to watch dubs…] The characters themselves are extremely interesting, learning more about each of them is half the fun in the show.  Besides Ayu, Nina, and Kaji, Tsuji Hiroki (Kaji’s best friend) and Orihara Maya are two other well written characters.  What I’m trying to say is you’ll find no shortage of deep characters, each with their own story to tell.

            Featuring an amazing assortment of comedy, romance, and magic, Ultra Maniac makes a wonderful addition to any collection of Mahou Shoujo.  I will mention briefly that it is a bit different from many Mahou Shoujo in that the magical girl herself is not the main focus of the show.  While Nina is certainly central to the story, it is just as much about Ayu and all of those people that surround the two.  Ultra Maniac, which is 26 episodes long, is currently being released by Geneon on 7 DVDs and its manga counterpart is available from Viz in its new Shoujo Beat.  For me, there is no denying that story and characters of Ultra Maniac are charming and loveable.  I was going to rate this show a 7, but the wonderful character designs and well executed storyline have caused me to bump it up a notch.  I’m sure that many fans of Mahou Shoujo and just as many fans of comedy will find something to love in Ultra Maniac.

Ultra Maniac rating:

(This review was made by throughhim413)