Ranked #2331

Narue no Sekai

I recently purchased the collector's boxset of this for a very good price, having not seen a single episode before. I was able to get through all 12 eps in a day; for someone who can barely stand five eps of anime per day sometimes...well, that says something I guess. Now, let's get down to it.

Story 6/10
Nothing really new here. The World of Narue is, at first glance, a rather bland romantic, high-school comedy involving 14-year olds. The difference here lies in simple execution; each episode brings something new, but adds a nice degree of continuity to the story as a whole. As it develops, Kazuto and Narue have to deal with a lot of obstacles as a new couple; the biggest of which is Narue's status as an alien. As in any rom-com, they meet new friends, learn new lessons, share new experiences, etc etc.

Art 7/10
Can't really compare the manga since I haven't read it, but Studio Live's anime production does a decent job to say the least, with 3D help from Gonzo (who seem to always do well when they're not PRODUCING shows). I didn't notice any major issues with the animation.

Sound 7/10
Takayuki Negishi (Card Captor Sakura) offers his music-making talents for the show. The show benefits most, however, from the rather famous music production studio of Lantis, who have worked on dozens of notable titles.

Character 9/10
Like most romantic comedies, the biggest key to success is characterization, and development of such; relationships, motivation, plausibility, etc. I believe this show does an oustanding job of showing how two people have to overcome various hardships due to their ethnic diversity (not just one example in it, either). I almost melted more than a few times at various scenes with Kazuto and Narue, especially with Mamiko Noto's usual A+ performance as the heroine. Being an alien must be tough, though...

Enjoyment 8/10
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a romance that actually WORKS. I enjoyed pretty much every episode of this to an extent, despite how cliche-riddled it can get. It should definitely get filed on any anime enthusiast's shelf as a good "pick-me-up anime."

Overall 8/10
This show is probably severely underrated. Simply put, if you like these kinds of shows, then you're welcome to join me in Narue's world. Download the 12 episodes of it, or buy it at a very reasonable price (should be just over $20 on DVD Pacific). read more

An alien girl landed on Earth and I want her. So cliche....

The anime plot is pretty basic. Girl saves boy, girl is alien, girl and guy get in to wacky adventures. There are no plot twists and from there it turns into a slice of life. There isn't much sci fi going on and the most confusing part is a girl that's really a ship. Yeah, you read that right, she's a ship girl that wants to get it on with her boss. This story's highlight is the magical girl cosplay episode and that's about it. The 12 episodes end so abruptly. There really isn't an ending and I checked my box set and it really was just 12 episodes.

The art is nothing special. There are no great fight scenes, no amazing romantic kiss scene...everything is just mediocre. The characters all look as plain as day and the only character that somewhat stands out is the girl with the camera. In short, make sure to drink some coffee before you pop this in the DVD player.

The dubs are crappy. I have to admit the Japanese voices aren't that bad and the last episode has a really nice track. Sadly, the last episode isn't enough to make up for the whole series. It seems like in the English dub, Narue is made out to sound like a goody toe shoes to the point that her voice annoys you to no end. The Japanese track is a 6, the English track is a 5.

The characters aren't that bad. The camera girl, Yagi managed to piss me off which is good in an anime. You know a character is good when they can give you a rise. Everyone else is dislikable. How nice can Kazuto be? Let me scratch that, how much of a wussy can he be? Narue, the titular character, also manages to be nice. She's so plain looking that you can't see what everyone else in the series is fawning over her for. Bathyscaphe is kickass. She makes up for everyone else. She's a ship woman. A fucking ship woman, how can you beat that?

I can't say I enjoyed this, noe would I recommend it. Maybe if you're into alien girl + boy romance hijynx I say go right ahead. But to all my hardcore Otaku, it's hard for me to recommend it to ya without you flippin' out.

Pros:
- The side characters make up for the main characters in an epic way.

Cons:
- Lame audio track.
- The art is very mediocre.

This anime gets 6 "AN ALIEN GIRL? IN MY WORLD!?" out of 10.
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