I've finished watching Narue, and while I still stand by my earlier statement ("It's fluff, but entertaining fluff"), it had some suprisingly deep moments in there.

Amongst other serious topics, the show covers:

* Time dilation as one approaches the speed of light
* Political terrorism
* Divorce, remarrying, and the effect it has on the children
* The death of a parent
* "Latchkey Kid Syndrome"
* Mixed marriage
* Cosplay

...but understand! At no time does it whack you upside the head with serious moralizing or preaching. Instead, Narue works these topics (and more) into the plotlines almost without notice, and you enjoy it the whole time. There is almost no angst to speak of, and other than episode 6 ("The Mind-Controlling Robot Episode"), no instances of "mistaken situation leading to lover's spat".

The artwork is crisp, clean, bright, and remarkably consistant from episode to episode. I noticed only one moment where character appearance wandered from the baseline (in the final episode, natch).

My complaints are few. A promising character, Kazuo (our hero)'s sister, disappears after the one episode she was in. Too much time is spent with the trio of harpies, a/k/a Narue's classmates, before they disappear as well. The dub is particularly grating, even moreso than normal.

My main feeling about the show is that it is innocent. Even the fanservice (and yep, there is some) is innocent. The characters are HAPPY! Sure, there are some glum times (particularly the subplot about the 'latchkey kid'), but even they aren't all that bad. The series ends on a slightly dark note, but that's dispelled by the final few minutes.

If you're into angst, things exploding, violence, mecha or things of that ilk, avoid this show like the plague. However, if you're into a really good show that actually will make you smile (something that's perishingly rare in anime these days), this one is for you.

Innocent. Happy. FUN. I give this one four stars out of five, and a hearty recommendation, particularly because it's inexpensive!

(Update 5/19/06: Welcome Chizumatic readers!)

Posted by: Wonderduck at 04:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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