Anime: Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran

The first review of an anime that took nearly six years from its initial TV airing to a full English-translated release. I'm still new to the AniDB reviewing world, so any comments, compliments, criticisms, etc. are appreciated.

Animation: Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran (hereafter SG) has an animation style all its own, the likes of which we haven't seen before or since. This of course can be a good thing or a bad thing. Much like the Shibuya teen/fashion "kogal" culture it centers on, SG's art is loud, garish, and colorful. Character designs are heavily stylized to the point where you'd think that boys and girls really were different species, since the females of SG are graced with super-skinny limbs and big heads to the proportions of those bobble-head dolls. The males, on the other hand, have more realistic bishounen looks to them, especially Rei, Yuuya, and Tatsuki. So in essence, there's no eye candy to be found for the guys.

The actual movement quality in the series varies from scene to scene, though it's never great--there are plenty of stills and speedlines, and stock background footage, but there's generally enough budget for mad dashes and spirited fights to be animated throughout the 52-episode run. We also get plenty of 1990s gimmicks like "heart eyes" and chibi characters (as seen in the "mini-gals" that hold up notes on the slang used by the characters) Again, SG's art is in a class by itself, though "different" does not always equal "better."

Sound: The OP starts out like a James Bond opener, though it quickly lapses into typical anime pop fluff. It's fun and full of energy (like the series itself), but still fluff. The ED, on the other hand, is a relatively depressing ballad that really doesn't fit with the tone of the series at all--it doesn't even work as an "ironic contrast" piece like Elfen Lied's "Be your Girl." I wound up skipping it in most episodes. In truth, the series's best song might be the "Junior Detectives" theme sung by Ran's little sister Sayo & friends in several versions throughout the series.

The background music follows the "less is more" philosophy, which might be better for the viewers since it gets repetitive and irritating from time to time. Still, there are some decent bits in the "This is intriguing" scenes and the "Cry now, damnit!" scenes.

The Japanese voice acting is effective in capturing the spirit of the teenaged characters, from the aloof Rei to the snobbish Mami to the fragile Aya to the demure Miyu. Ran's VA deserves attention for pulling off the downright masculine way that Ran speaks for most of the show, and switching to traditional-submissive-Japanese-female mode in some scenes where the story or mind-control effects require it. I also particularly liked Miyu's voice as it varied from the cutesy "refer to self in 3rd person" style to the more brash tones of Miyu's earlier days.

ADV's English dub for the first half of the series had the task of adapting the culturally-dense dialogue, and opted for something in the realm of American "SoCal" series like Cluless, The OC, or Beverly Hills 90210. While some of the humor is Americanized, it still works if you're willing to be open about the translation not being 100% accurate, which in the case of SG isn't entirely feasible anyway. Luci Christian pulls off another good "angry girl" role as Ran, and the other main highlights of the dub are the aloof Chris Patton and the plaintative Greg Ayres as Rei and Yuuya. While it's not the best English dub I've heard, I did miss having it as an option in Rightstuf's Japanese-audio-only release of the second half of the series.

Story: Ratings-wise, the weakest part of SG, mainly because there is no true main story. It's just the adventures of Ran Kotobuki and her minions as they hang out in Shibuya, attempt to shop on limited budgets (often convincing/coercing the male leads into buying food and accessories for them), deal with boys, bicker with rivals like the Tan-Girl gang and over-the-top ojou-sama Mami Honda, and fight for their right party--I mean, fight the evil conformist system of teachers, schools, and the pressure (in Ran's case) to follow the family tradition and join the police force. Especially later on, the laws of physics get thrown out the window in order to allow Sailor-Moon style "platform boomerang" attacks and other outlandish forms of battle. Almost every episode is a standalone incident that conveniently wraps up in 22 minutes (quicker than usual!), often with a "Sailor Ran Says" moral lesson about being true to oneself and following the "ironclad rules for Gals." The standalone format works well in shorter series like Shinigami no Ballad or Kino's Journey, but when you get 52 episodes with only loose connections to each other, there's nothing that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the next episode.

Character: So, without a story to keep a viewer interested, the job falls on the shoulders of the characters. Luckily, the characters in SG are plentiful and diverse enough that it's easy to find one(s) you like, though the characters are much more interesting in the early episodes while they're still being explored and developed. Foremost is the title character, Ran Kotobuki--while she doesn't change much over the course of the series, she starts out with a striking, unique personality, set on doing things her own way, no matter who she pisses off or how many creative excueses she has to make to her (harried, yet ultimately caring) teacher. The rest of the "core" characters, Aya, Miyu, Rei, Yuuya, and Tatsuki, each have their own life and love agendae, though some of them eventually get "locked" into specific roles as the series moves into the later episodes. Of them, I found Miyu's circumstances and evolution to be most interesting--I wouldn't want to give spoilers, but I shed more tears over her than for any of Ran's escapades. (Then again, I'm a sentimental sap, so take that with a grain of salt.) Tatsuki(chi) is off-the-wall enough to match Ran, especially his bouts of random Engrish and supposed "Machida Black" psychic powers.

And as if that weren't enough, there's also an array of secondary characters whose antics and issues often inspire dedicated episodes. There's Li'l Sis Sayo and her friends' obsession with the "Detective Kudoh" TV series, to the point of imitating dramatic scenes while playing Detective themselves, Mami Honda's conflicts between wealth, love, and her teenaged identity, Big Bro Yamato's efforts to hold Ran in check, Ran's father's unending coercion on Ran to join the police force, and a host of others that benefit from 52 episodes worth of time that needed to be filled. Even one of Ran's "I just see her in school" friends gets her own episode, which turns out to be one of the most moving and heartbreaking episodes of the whole series.

Value: Have to downgrade a little bit here, just because there isn't anything epic or compelling about SG. And since I fall out of the teenaged-girl target audience, the fashion/hair/clothes/makeup/boys elements aren't effective for me. While some episodes were great, others fell into the "how much time left?" category. And the lack of the English dub for the second half means there isn't a different option for rewatching those episodes. While I do plan on rewatching it, it's not a priority. Nonetheless, I did find it worthwhile enough to get the second-season thinpack and the single DVDs (all with helpful notes) for the first season -- the whole show should be purchasable for less than $70, which is a pretty good deal for 52 episodes.

Enjoyment: While it wasn't the greatest show ever, SG was still fun to watch, and was enjoyable on several levels: social commentary (to some extent), drama, comedy, romance, and for its actual target audience, SG should be enjoyable for its fashion/girl elements, a la Clueless. (See AMV Hell 3.) While some parts were boring, the sheer fun and energy of Ran and the other characters won me over early on, and despite the lack of a story, SG made for a good marathon watching as I did find myself wanting to see what those crazy kids would get into next. And as I said, I even enjoyed the "100% Attitude" English dub, and will check out more of it on the next viewing.

Recommendations: Recommended for fans of shoujo anime that's more or less grounded in reality, such as Peach Girl, Paradise Kiss, Marmalade Boy, and Boys over Flowers. Also, recommended for males who might not like shoujo, but are secure enough in their masculinity to give something "girly" a chance.