Alternative Titles
Narutaru ~Mukuro naru Hoshi·Tama taru Ko~
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 7, 2003 to Sep 29, 2003
Duration:
20 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 6.651 (scored by 835 users)
Ranked: #21662
Popularity: #880
Members: 1,711
Favorites: 12 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama horror |
SynopsisDuring her summer holiday at her grandparents house Tamai Shiina, a young and cheerful schoolgirl, meets a strange looking creature. They befriend each other and Shiina names it "Hoshimaru - The Round Star". When Shiina returns home efter the summer to go back to school she starts meeting other kids that also have befriended a strange creature like Hoshimaru. But she soon finds out that not all these creatures and their masters are as friendly as Hoshimaru. (Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Shadow Star
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Recommendations
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Both series from the same mangaka so there is alot of similar things.
Character types, themes, approach, the structure of the story line.
Shadow Star Narutaru and Bokurano share the same general atmosphere of fateful horror. The same creator is behind both series and it shows. Children caught in a recurring pattern of violence and death form the basic premise of both series. The issue of the value of life is prominent in both, as is the role of responsibility. These series are character-driven and extremely dark; Bokurano focuses on the destiny of the whole planet, while Shadow Star Narutaru deals primarily with the cast itself, but in both cases children are pushed to the limit, making for agonizing situations that are masterfully handled.
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Both of these series have a cute exterior but are darker at heart.
They also have a similar feel to them and involve young girls/children and alien-like creatures that fight.
The opening animations and the first few episodes would lead some to think that these two are merely lighthearted shows about kids with cute aliens. Beware the Trojan Horses!
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Reviews
| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
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Sep 7, 200813 of 13 episodes seen 6 of 10 people found this review helpful This short television series is only granted enough time to briefly introduce its setting and characters. It ends with a vinette that leaves a lasting impression on the lead character, but also leaves the viewer asking 'where is the rest of this story?' Obviously one would expect to find it in the manga, which is exactly where you should go if the description of this show appeals to you.
Shadow Star Narutaru revolves around an elementary schoolgirl and other children in her school... and hometown. She discover a supernatural doll, and the existance of dragons. The first 9 or so episodes illustrate experiences she has with other humans who control these dolls, as well as their varying personalities and relationships. The last few episodes are a short story in the same vein, but one that has lasting implication.
The main character is cheerful, optimistic, and strong willed. By contrast, most of the supporting characters are exceedingly timid and insecure. A great deal of dialog in this anime amounts to stuttering, muttering, and deliberate hesitation. The story is told in a serious manner that relates issues like death, betrayal, and even pregnancy. There are also circles of other doll-controlling characters who plot and scheme to change the world. These characters are continually villanized whenever they are on screen. A number of bizarre situations also unfold for these characters. In one instance, a girl falls unconcious. She is then immediately bathed and redressed by one of the guys. Nearly all of the adults in the story are unreliably single dimension characters, and are incapable of distilling even a grain of wisdom for these children.
Narutaru has an unmistakably interesting premise, and even a handful of surprising moments. But as far as the anime is concerned, you aren't missing anything. Your time could be better spent reading the manga, or simply doing something else. read more
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
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Jan 29, 200813 of 13 episodes seen 12 of 20 people found this review helpful Narutaru, overall it was a fairly interesting show. It had a couple of "Hey, get that creepy thing of the screen" moments, which is pretty positive from my point of view, I've been looking around for something like that.
I don't have anything except that to add about the show, so lets move on to the ratings.
PS: Don't be hating too much on this review, it's the first one I make in at least 2 years.
Story
Yes, the story.. It started wit...h some quite interesting arcs, but during the last couple of episodes it felt pretty much completely off the main story. Which was really boring.
I have to say, that last arc was really interesting BUT, it would've been much better if they continued with the same events it started and had that one later. Maybe the show should've been longer than 13 episodes?
Score: 6
Art
Well, the art. It was, to be honest, really poor. At some moments it was even awful. Though the dragons or dragonets were well made; I can't really complain about them.
Score: 5
Sound
The opening song and the ending song were really good ones in my opinion. The background music was alright, the voice cast could've been a bit better, but I still think they did a fairly good job. I must at least say, the sounds were one of the better points of Narutaru.
Score: 7
Character
I can't say much about them, some were just really boring, mean while some were pretty interesting. But overall I can't say that any character made me pay much attention to them.
Score: 6
Enjoyment
I actually enjoyed this show a lot, even though it was poor in many aspects.
I'm having a hard time to think of an example here, so you'll have to forgive me for not writing anything other than this for enjoyment.
Score: 7
Overall
Like the first thing I stated; Narutaru was a fairly interesting show, definitely unique. It had many things I've never seen before, which is a very positive thing. The creatures that appeared were all different looking, and some were really cool, too! Mean while, some were obviously.. Horrible.
But yeah, overall it was fairly interesting, and if you have time I'd say it's definitely worth checking it out.
Score: 6 read more
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| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
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Dec 4, 200713 of 13 episodes seen 10 of 22 people found this review helpful Ah Narutaru. One of my first "killer loli" anime experiences...except it's not really killer loli...it just gives off that really creepy vibe. However it never really achieves the effect that it tries to create.
Story: Storyarcs. There are a couple of them, all of them about pain and suffering. The first one really doesn't count all too much, but the second is where they show what they want Narutaru to be. However it comes off as immature, they try to create a distu...rbing aura, an effect that Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni achieves perfectly, and it falls flat on it's face. The problem is that the stories are shallow and don't really shown too much real pain, they explain things too simply, they skip over alot of the details that create that painful emotion and sense of sympathy with the characters.
Art: I did not like the art all too much. It was bland and did absolutely nothing to support the mood of the piece. The character's designs are also deceiving, but definitely not in a good way. They seem like nice and kind, not necessarily innocent-looking, and then they try to change and warp other characters into being in alot of pain, which doesn't work. The worst character design is the dragon creatures. They're just there.....the good thing is that they don't remind me of pokemon or digimon, but they're still....terrible. There are some that are meant to be "evil" but they just look stupid.
Sound: The sound is creepy, the only emotion I felt in this entire anime was due to being manipulated by the music. They definitely did a great job on the music and leading to some tense moments (music-wise).
Character: Boring, Flat, 2-D, Shallow. Those are the best adjectives for the characters of this series. I found myself not caring about them at all, it was always "Wow, this girl hates herself (that's not a spoiler...that's pretty much every character) see how little I care!" Every character was just so incredibly annoying and stereotypical that I wasn't entranced by them at all.
Enjoyment: In case you can't tell already, I didn't enjoy this anime at all. 13 episodes of pain. After watching it and thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that the creators were just too lazy to put a serious amount of work into this anime. I guess that people who enjoy the whole cute girls killing sub-genre might enjoy this.
If you watch this and aren't satisfied, which I wasn't, and totally write off this deeply frightening genre, don't. Watch Higurashi no Naku Koro ni instead. It does a MUCH better job at being supremely frightening and disturbing than this does. Narutaru pulls punchs, softens things down, makes characters shallow, which greatly diminishes the effect of the entire piece. read more
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Opening Theme"Nichiyoubi no Taiyou" by the-Neutral
Ending Theme"Kairo" by biniou
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Related ClubsScary Girls Club, Noto Mamiko Fanclub, Mohiro Kitoh, seinen & josei, hardcore violence and gore, Dark Anime Club, Creepy Anime/Manga Club, Horror Anime Fanclub
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