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Allow me to admit outright that the only reason I started watching this show was because the main character, Kirari, is voiced by a member of one of my favorite music groups, Morning Musume. Because I'm a huge fan of shoujo, this was just chocolate frosting on the cake.

Unfortunately, Kirarin Revolution is full of cliches and predictablity. The only things "unique" about it that I can tell is that you basically watch an idol's day-to-day workload, with a tiny smidge of reality cushioned by the usual anime antics. Kirari does not become an idol because of a magical interference (think shows like Fancy La La or the manga Cyber Idol Mink), and she is not thrown into it with little or no problems. She actually has to work at her goal and overcome obstacles on almost a daily basis, learning it's not enough to simply stand around and look cute.

There is very little development in this story, and for every "useful" episode you will find several fillers. Every now and then you'll also get a "conflict" that takes 2 or 3 episodes to resolve. I know you should expect it to be that way for a series that's over 100 episodes, but this makes it very slow going. For instance, I have never seen a romance stretched out for this long before. It's enough to make even the most patient hopeless romantic scream "Just get together already!" (for the sake of spoilers, I won't tell you anything else).

The music in the show is catchy, but Kirari is a bad singer and pretty much squeaks her lines. Prepare yourself.

As far as the animation, the quality might have you shaking your head at times because of how OFF the characters can look. I've also heard that later episodes adopt a computerized 3D look - however, I haven't gotten that far and thus can't comment on it yet.

It's definitely a cute and fun show, and I do get enjoyment out of it (I am a firm believer in Hiroto's powers of awesome), but it's mostly a light, fluffy romp with not much else. I'm sure the young girls it's aimed at adore it (how else would it have gone this long?), but if you're looking for something with more substance (and half the length), look elsewhere. If you love to give all shoujo a chance, need something to kill time, and/or you just want to find a harmless guilty pleasure, jump right in. read more

Mahoujin Guru Guru is probably the craziest, wackiest anime I've ever seen. Slapstick is constant - nothing is ever serious for more than a minute, if that long.

In Plain Old Village (that's actually the name), Nike has been undergoing "training" since he was very small, as his parents are adamant that he become a dashing hero someday. Conveniently, just as the boy has grown old enough to take care of himself (age 13), that's when all the trouble starts. When his dad finds out that the king is looking to recruit a hero to deal with this resurrected evil, one thing leads to another and Nike meets magic user Kukuri. Though cute, soft-spoken, and pretty much idolizing her new friend, she has a bit of an attitude and struggles to learn the Guru Guru circles. This leads to a lot of bizarre "oopsies." You'll just have to watch to understand.

Along the way of their journey, they'll meet many interesting characters. And by interesting, I mean insane. There's an old man dressed in a hula skirt who pops up at the most inconvenient times to do a disturbing dance. A sprite who wears a loin cloth. An incompetent hero wanna-be who couldn't fight a butterfly with a flame thrower. And that's just to start! Nike and Kukuri themselves frequently act the complete opposite of what their position implies.

The artwork is adorable and fun, drawn completely "chibi" style except for a few instances. This can, however, make it hard to guess how old a character is at times. While most anime shrink the characters down for exaggerated emotions, this show actually grows them up to "normal" size.

Overall, this is a very, very silly show in a universe that you could wake up in and think you'd eaten some bad cheese. If you're a fan of a good fantasy story and/or have ever played an RPG, you will definitely appreciate the jokes. If you like romance, there's a bit of that. If you like random and nonsensical, there's enough to choke a horse. Basically there's something for everyone. Highly recommended!

WARNING: There is a little innuendo that might startle some people (especially parents). Nike is a bit of a pervert ;) read more