Ranked #518

Super GALS

Upon first hearing about "Super Gals, " I remember thinking to myself: What could this be about, super hero females that save the world from destruction? Hahaha, but no it is actually far from it!

Story: 8/10
Despite the story and characters taking place in Japan, they actually give off a much more "American" style of flavor. The story is all based around life as a teenage gal in Shibuya in the late 90’s, so you know its all going to be about the platform shoes and loud accessories. Now there is no over all plot to this series, it ranges between slice of life, action and comedy. Basically we watch 17 year old Ran Kotobuki (main character) living life as head of all Shibuya’s turf. Its kinda interesting actually, because while she does run the show in town, she isn’t in any particular gang. Or neither is anyone else (with the exception of two) for that matter, as it is more implied or referred to. Having an actual title that acknowledges gang activity, probably wasn’t in their best interest to do. Anyway, as the story progresses she ends up having two school members; who later become her most trusted friends, join her in the mean streets of Shibuya. Despite this title not taking itself series in the very least, (its all about the over the top comedy) there is actually great chemistry between the characters, as love triangles and rivalries abound. And can range from the girls defending their turf from outsiders, to helping one another with family affairs, to just having fun by the pool side. One good thing can really be said about the story, the enjoyment comes from no one character alone, as they all have their own antics that keep the story entertaining. Still, as I said before there is no over all plot, and it soly derives from a plot by plot basis. The ending to this is okay, but since there really is no over all story going anywhere, the only difference between the first and last episode is the new characters they actually meet. Super Gals contains little in the way of offensive material, other than bad language which mostly comes from Ran herself.

Art: 8/10
I swear this is one of the most colorful titles I have ever seen in an anime. While the characters and environment just scream sharp, colorful, and well detailed distinctness. Some viewers may find it a bit too much on the eyes, as its all one big bright rainbow of colors and flashy loud outfits, which can be seen as a negative. Over all its great in the art department and defiantly gives detail to every piece of background it can, I just feel they may have gone over board a bit with the color scheme.

Characters: 9/10
Truly, Super Gals greatest heart comes from its characters, all of which are lovable in their own way! Considering this is definitely an over the top comedy anime, you may be surprised that the characters themselves know how to act series and calm when they want to, in fact many scenes have the girls going through some inner turmoil in their lives, whether it be their love life, family problems, situations at school and so on. They really do a fine job of taking you through many touching moments along with the comedy. Which you honestly don’t see that often in titles like these. You’ll also be pleased that all the characters are given their own unique personalities, from crazy, to moody, to strait faced.....its all here in one package. That along with great back stories that play every few episodes, you really get to connect with them and feel what they feel! While I don’t feel it ever reached its utmost potential, the characters are no doubt lovable and fun to watch!

Soundtrack: 7/10
Certainly different than most music tracks you’ll hear in an anime, as its all about a mix of Disco and techno styled par par, which play throughout the episode in the background! And once again it ranges from a loud hyperactive opening j-pop theme, to a suttle closing where the girl are in the rain seeming to contemplate life. While its definitely a mixed bag as to whether the whole par par disco theme is actually a good thing, most will agree that it fits with the anime style. Some of the actually voices in the Japaneses version, seemed to not match their personalities as well as they did in the dub. Which is pretty rare. Its an overall good soundtrack, but does have some negative things that hinder it as well.

Bottom Line: 9/10
While Super Gals won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, its excellent for those of us that are looking for a good laugh, and love the over the top comedy mixed with tender moments. Which truly is this title’s strongest feature. Seriously, I both laughed and cried (don’t tell anyone) while going through this anime. However, for those who prefer an actual plot with there viewings, or maybe prefer a more toned down comedy title, it would be best to avoid Super Gals, as it contains none of those two whatsoever! But if you dig this style of humor and sincerity in your series, then it is truly a satisfying experience! read more

Super Gals Review
Writen by: Erisu

Story:
Ran Kotobuki is the self-proclaimed world's greatest gal, and she lives to shop, eat, and have as much fun as possible. But she's not all faux nails and Hawaiian jewelry; in the midst of all of her goofing off, she protects Shibuya from all manner of undesirable people, and she often devotes herself to helping both friends and strangers out of trouble, big and small. Of course, she'd rather be eating free food and scoring good deals on clothes, but getting someone out of a big pinch can be just as fun for her. Because of this, she's widely respected by the denizens of Shibuya, and although she may look (and even act) a bit shallow, she's got a big heart and a sense of justice that could put her Police Chief father to shame. But she's not interested in that line of work, much to her family's dismay. All she wants is to hang out with her best friends Miyu and Aya, and continue being the world's greatest gal.

The story from Super Gals is if you ask me, very original. How many times do you see a kick-ass shibuya-gal like Ran Kotobuki? This proves that girls aren't ''weak'' and can do more than you think. While watching this, I laughed very hard and loved Ran's personality. It does contains bad language and there are some random episodes but to be honest, I enjoyed every single bit of this.

Animation
About the animation, it isn't ''outstanding'' and not everything looks perfect, but I think that you should just be satisfied with it. After all, this is an 2001-anime. When you judge it as an 2001-anime, this is pretty good. Super Gals also has an manga, and when you compare the anime with that, the anime looks better, doesn't it? Than, the characterdesigns. The main character is obviously: Ran. Her design is nice, and her hair is ''original''. We also see her with long hair later in the series, which looks better if you ask me. Anyway, Ran wouldn't be Ran if she isn't as she looks like. We also have Miyu and Aya, Ran's best friends. Their designs are also very well made, and I must say that they may look better than the main character, Ran. But you'll probably love Ran because of her personality, just as I did. Conclusion: The animation gets an 8 from me, the people who made this tried their best and did a really good job.

Music and Sound
Super Gals has one opening-theme and one ending-theme. It stays the same from the beginning to the end. The opening-theme, Aitsu is sung by Jungle Smile and is a song which you'll get easily addicted to. It was a very good song to choose for this anime. The ending-theme, Dakishimetai, also sung by Jungle Smile was again, a very good song. I must say that I got addicted to the ending-theme to, but... I didn't saw the relation between the ending-theme and the anime. Well, I wasn't really disturbed by this fact, the song is nice so... not something to make a fuss about. Anyway, the soundeffects for this anime are good and I agree for with the backgroundmusic they chose for some scenes. I think most of you won't have something to complain about.

Characters
Finally, the best point from Super Gals. I really loved them! Especially Ran was outstanding. She had everything and she showed me that girls aren't weak and can do something. I think that all of you will notice something in her: She hates school, never does her homework, makes up silly excuses why she didn't do her homework and her whole life is about fun! Shibuya's number one Gal. Every single familymember of Ran is/was an policeofficer. But Ran herself has no attention to become one, much to her parents dismay. She has an little sister (Sayo) and an older brother (Yamato). Yamato is Miyu's boyfriend. Yuya likes her but Ran is too dense to notice his feelings. After a while she gets into a relationship with Tatsuki which she calls ''monkeyboy''. Their relationship is more like an big comedy and you will laugh from the beginning to the end. Ray also seems to like Ran, even though Aya is in love with him. Well, now we go to Miyu, a very sweet girl with a very hard past. She was an gangleader and got into a fight with Ran. The winner will get Shibuya, Ran won. They both got into the hospital and when Miyu wakes up, she sees Yamato by her side (she met him earlier when she got arrested, Yamato is an policeofficer) and fell in love with him. Miyu let her criminal-life behind her and started again, thanks to Yamato. And than, last, Aya. At the beginning, she is a nerd who dates older men for money until she meets Ran who is willing to be friends with her. Ran saves Aya from her life that's only about getting good grades and learns her how to have fun! Aya joins Ran's Gal-group and starts to hang out with Ran and Miyu. Later she falls in love with Ray. Ray is known as ''number one'' and is loved by alot of girls. He meets Ran when she tries to steal his purse which she wanted, haha. He's a bit sarcastic but what he says is true. Who he really likes is revealed somewhere at the end of the series. Than, his friend, Yuya, called ''second place'' by Ran. He ended up second after Ray and also has alot of female-fans. His actions of trying to get Ran's attention are very funny! Wow, this is getting very long, I'll talk about one more character, Mami. She's Ikebukuro's number one Gal and sees Ran as her enemy. She picks up fights with Ran alot.. In reality, she lives in a huge maison and is the only daughter of the Honda-family. So, END! This lasted like forever, but I loved every single character of Super Gals.

Enjoyment
Isn't it obvious already? I enjoyed this very, very much! I wasn't bored even one episode. What you guys may not like is watching the English-dub. I did watch the English-dub and must say it was really good! Trust me, I hate English-dubs, I really do, but this was really good. If you can find the Japanese version with subs than that's fine too.. What I must warn you about is the bad language, I guess. If you're very formal and don't like words like ''dumbass'' than I don't think you should watch this. I wasn't disturbed by this at all, without it Super Gals wouldn't be just as good! Anyway, that's my opinion. You'll also see voilence in this, like people getting kicked KO, but when Ran kicks them, it rocks! ;3 This is one of my favourite animes ever, so... a 10!

Overall
Think I mentioned everything that was important by ''Enjoyment'' but the overall note stays a 10! Ran remains one of my favourite characters ever and she'll always have a special place in my anime-heart! XD I hope that you'll start watching this and enjoy it as much as I do.

Thank you for reading my review! read more