Anime: Binzume Yousei

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Bottle Fairy is a lot of fun. It is short, sweet, innocent, and cute. It may have been originally intended for Japanese children, but as an American adult, I found the series quite satisfying, if only because I learned a few things about Japanese culture while watching it.

The plot is rather simple. Kururu, Chiriri, Sarara, and Hororo are bottle fairies; magical creatures from magical land. They have come to Earth to try to become human. Under the care of Sensei-san, a high school student who is seen in the series only as he is leaving or coming home from school, these four little fairies spend their days learning what it means to human. This plays out when the fairies make-believe, imagining fascinating scenarios for commonplace customs or events that they don’t understand. For instance, Sensei-san tells the fairies that he is going to his school’s graduation. What is graduation? The fairies come up with several unique and surreal ideas, including battle scenarios and dating game simulations that may or may not have anything to do with what a real graduation is.

The animation for Bottle Fairy is surprisingly good, given that it is basically a kids TV series. Bottle Fairy uses very few still frames, preferring fluid scene transitions and character movements. The fairies themselves are absolutely adorable. I literally wanted to reach out and hug them whenever they were on screen, which is most of the time, thankfully. Watching the fairies at play is similar to watching a cat playing with a ball of yarn; cute, heartwarming, and adorable. From the fairies, to Sensei-san, to their kindergarten neighbor; each character is animated beautifully, with an almost overwhelming cuteness. The animation is definitely one of the high points of Bottle Fairy.

The sound is as cute as the animation. The opening theme sounds like your average children’s song, but it doubles as an explanation of the series’ basis. The song tells about the four fairies, Sensei-san, and basically whatever else the audience needs to know before the episode starts, which means they won’t be seeing any boring recaps at the start of each episode. The sound effects work well, adding comedic touches or extra cuteness to scenes. While the sound never detracted from the series, it doesn’t add enough of an emotional punch for me to give it too high a rating. Not influential enough for a nine or a ten.

The story is simple enough. The four fairies are living with Sensei-san, in the hopes that what they learn from him and those around him will help them become human. Each episode, the fairies learn another little tidbit about life in Japan and its customs. The fairies attempt to put the pieces together by acting out different roles. In other words, they have the words, but not the music. In their attempt to find the “music”, the fairies act out different scenarios as they play make-believe. Very simple and direct storytelling; perfect for a children’s series. As an adult, I was never bored, thanks to the constant translation notes by the fansubbers, which explain the different activities the fairies were playing out. Each joke and situation that has its basis in Japanese culture is mentioned in translation notes at the top of the screen, which I found very informative. For instance, I didn’t know that in Japan, there is a festival every time the day and month share a number, such as February 2nd, August 8th, etc. Many different Japanese foods, customs, and holidays are mentioned in the translation notes. Bottle Fairy is not only an adorable light-hearted comedy, but it also serves as a learning experience for those interested in Japanese culture.

As I said before, the characters in Bottle Fairy are adorable. Their personalities are deeper than I anticipated, with each fairy having a unique (though occasionally cliché) personality. The green fairy, for instance, loves to eat more than the rest, and is a bit “spaced out” in most situations. The gray haired fairy loves Samurai tales, and often re-enacts a Meiji era fantasy when it is her turn to portray a make-believe event.

Unlike the fairies, Sensei-san is not very interesting, and could easily be replaced with a cardboard box. However, he isn’t given much screen time, and with a runtime of only 130 or so minutes, his existence as someone the fairies revere matters more than his presence. Their neighbor Tama, a young elementary school student, is often the one responsible for sending the fairies into a tizzy, when she gives them a less than satisfactory explanation of a Japanese (or simply human) custom or event, leading the fairies to imagine make-believe scenarios to fill in the blanks.

I enjoyed Bottle Fairy very much, which came as a pleasant surprise. I went in expecting to be a bit bored by it, what with its lackluster rating on the Anime Database. What I found was a light-hearted comedy with some occasionally moving scenes that left me wishing there were more episodes. Bottle Fairy is a short ride, but an enjoyable and educational one, which I recommend to both adults and children alike.

Bottle Fairy...one of the best kawaii! shows of the year 2003. Very koge donboish, but subtle and unique at the same time.

Animation: Well it's from Xebec, so of course the animation must be above decent. Characters move, running animation isn't choppy, and reused cels are used sparingly. I liked how each of the fairies had their own little quirks and looks, and I also liked the bright and cheery colors used througout the anime.

Sound: The OP song is sung by four of the most famous seiyuus of Japan, so of course it must be good. The BGMs are also beautiful, each befitting to the atmosphere the anime's portraying. The last two eps were the most emotional, and the orchestrals played in the background amplified the scene to the point I was almost in tears. Very powerful and gripping.

Story: There isn't much of a story, just 4 bottle fairies living in the human world and learning the ins and outs of Japanese culture. This anime offers a nice glimpse of what the Japanese does each month of the year, so you can actually LEARN something from watching this anime!

Character: The strongest part of the anime. Each of the six characters offer great development and drama. Hororo, Chiriri, Sarara, and Kururu all of their individual quirks that makes them even more kawaii then ever. I liked how they seemed to act out everything through a childs eyes, and I liked the way the anime fleshed out each of the characters. (like Hororo as the slow dumb one, Sarara as the warlike one, Kururu as the leader, and Chiriri as the emotional one). Nicely done.

Value: Bottle Fairy was a nice short series dealing with very human things, such as their culture and lives built around friendships and the sadness of parting. The last two episodes was an emotional roller coaster, and had me in tears towards the ending.

Enjoyment: Since I really liked kawaii man-shojo shows, this didn't disappoint. Watch this and get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. It's sure to cheer you up.

Hororo was the best! Become humans!