Mahou no Princess Minky Momo: Yume no Naka no Rondo

This anime was of favourite of my little sister and I for a number of years and having recently re-watched it I was happy to find that it was still just as charming, interesting and FUNNY as it was when I was young. In fact I found there were new jokes and puns I hadn't known about as a girl because I was too young for them.

If you're looking for a new magical girl series or other shōjo related material then Gigi and the Fountain of Youth will be right up your alley. It's cute enough that younger kids will like it, but ... the pace, story line and humor will probably keep adult viewers happy also. And while the plot won't carry the depth of say, Sailor Moon, it does have a nice, albeit simple story line with a nice message and no more romantic aspects than say Peter Pan would.

I would highly recommend it for those who enough anime such as Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Tokyo Mew Mew, Nurse Angel Ririka or Sailor Moon. I personally gave it an 8 because of my ability to re-watch it so frequently, but for an overall grade I would probably give it a 7.

For those of you who aren't used to it please keep in mind that this is definitely an 80's anime (the hair alone will clue you in), so the art style might be a little dated for you. Personally I love older animation styles, so this was no problem for me but I realize that in this day and age many of the viewers just don't have the patience for anime that isn't flawless somehow.

The music in this movie was a little campy at times, but overall I felt it was exactly appropriate for the style and mood of the anime. I am particularly happy with the ominous fighting sequences and the cute song from Gigi's dream.

When you get down to it Gigi is a fantastic example of what makes a wonderful shōjo anime, particularly the dubbed version. Usually I find that English voice actors, or seiyuu, don't put a great deal of thought or imagination behind their characters which often makes for a flat or completely misguided character. However I didn't find that to be the case here, in fact even many of the side characters became favourites of mine because of their voice actors ability to give them a soul. I love the character of Fuzzy!

Overall I found this to be a lovely, enjoyable show that I could watch as many times as I was asked to, which isn't often the case with anime of this genre. So, whether you're watching the sub or dubbed version of this anime it makes for a wildly entertaining show.