Special A (Special A (S.A))

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Alternative Titles

English: Special A (S.A)

Synonyms: S.A., Special A Class

Japanese: スペシャル・エー

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 24

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 7, 2008 to Sep 15, 2008

Premiered: Spring 2008

Broadcast: Mondays at 01:30 (JST)

Producers: Showgate

Licensors: Sentai Filmworks

Studios: Gonzo, AIC

Source: Manga

Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shoujo

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.58¹ (scored by 140,783 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1328²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #436

Members: 278,794

Favorites: 3,010

7.58

Ranked #1328Popularity #436Members 278,794

Spring 2008TVGonzo, AIC

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Episodes: /24

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Synopsis

Hikari Hanazono has always been able to do things that normal people cannot. As a child, she assumed no one could beat her—until she met Kei Takishima. Thinking she would win, Hikari challenged him to a match. But things didn’t go as planned; she lost not once but each time she rechallenged him. From that point on, she has sworn to best Kei at everything, ranging from academics to athletics.

To achieve her goal, Hikari enrolls in the same school as Kei—Hakusenkan, a prestigious institute for the wealthy. As a pair, they hold the top two rankings in school and are among seven of the academy's best students in a class known as Special A.

While Hikari treats Kei as a rival, she is completely oblivious that he harbors hidden feelings for her. Together, the members of Special A deal with competition, friendship, and just a bit of love.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

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Related Anime

Adaptation:

Special A

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Takishima, Kei

Main

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Hanazono, Hikari

Main

Gotou, Yuuko
Japanese

Karino, Tadashi

Main

Shimono, Hiro
Japanese

Tsuji, Ryuu

Main

Horie, Kazuma
Japanese

Yamamoto, Megumi

Main

Takagaki, Ayahi
Japanese

Toudou, Akira

Main

Nabatame, Hitomi
Japanese

Yamamoto, Jun

Main

Yonaga, Tsubasa
Japanese

Saiga, Yahiro

Supporting

Taniyama, Kishou
Japanese

Takishima, Sui

Supporting

Shimizu, Kaori
Japanese

Ushikubo, Sakura

Supporting

Kuwatani, Natsuko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Miyao, Yoshikazu

Director, Episode Director

Iida, Satoki

Sound Director

Tsuda, Naokatsu

Episode Director

Nishouji, Yoshito

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

#1: "Special Days" by Hitomi Nabatame, Yuuko Gotou, Ayahi Takagaki (eps 1-12)
#2: "Gorgeous 4U" by Jun Fukuyama, Hiro Shimono, Tsubasa Yonaga, Kazuma Horie (eps 13-24)

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Ending Theme

#1: "Hidamari no Gate (陽だまりのゲート)" by Jun Fukuyama, Hiro Shimono, Tsubasa Yonaga, Kazuma Horie (eps 1-12, 24)
#2: "Special☆Gyutto Good Luck! (スペシャル☆ギュッとGood luck!)" by Yuuko Gotou, Hitomi Nabatame, Ayahi Takagaki (eps 13-23)

More reviews

Reviews

Sep 27, 2008

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

shadowraze (All reviews)

202 people found this review helpful

Special A is primarily a Shoujo Rom/Com that starts off slow but gets better as you go. Based on the inability of Hikari to understand Kei's true feelings for most of the plot. Normal laws of physics are generally ignored by the seeming superhuman duo of Kei and Hikari, who also are both at the top of their school academically.

The story isn't the most original story ever, relying on the interaction of the seven members of the Special A (SA from now on) class and not involving many other characters. While somewhat predictable, it still manages to be entertaining most of the time if not frustrating because of the general lack of development between the main couple's relationship. (The anime does have several minor changes in its adaptation of the manga's story)

The art style is pretty normal for your typical shoujo. The character models are somewhat odd in their unusually elongated limbs, but it's nothing that should ruin the show for you. The scenery and colors are good, if nothing fantastic, and I particularly liked the animation of the romance scenes where they would employ a pastel like color scheme which enhanced the scene.

The sound, much like the art, is, for the most part, good while not great. The background music appropriate and never seemed to get annoying or repetitive. The OPs and EDs have mixed opinions. The first OP and ED didn't really go over well with me and i doubt anyone would mind skipping right over them. The second OP and ED didn't seem to be much better at first either, but surprisingly they grew on me and ended up being pretty catchy. I don't have any complaints about the VAs, they all seemed to fit their characters and Kei and Hikari's VAs particularly were good, bringing out the same character that was seen in the manga.

The Characters were developed well, with the other members of the SA getting their own spotlight at times. While the main focus is on the Kei x Hikari pairing, there are a few other pairings that show up and will get episodes developing them. Obviously, being the two main characters, Kei and Hikari are developed the most and are both likable, though you might want to strangle Hikari a few times for being as stupid/ignorant as she is. Still, she definitely has her own great moments and you should be able to mostly ignore her own shortcomings and cheer her (and Kei) on.

The enjoyment varies as the series goes on, starting off somewhat weak compared to its peak later on in the anime. The comedy of the anime compared to manga is just as good if not better than the original. The romance on the other

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Sep 18, 2008

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Master10K (All reviews)

108 people found this review helpful

Special A is a Shoujo, Romantic, Comedy, Drama about the extravagant lives of some prestigious individuals and the romantic endeavours some of them pursue. It contains some side-splitting comedy but tends to fail when circumstances get too serious.

The story… well it sort of has one and sort of doesn’t. For the most part, the series follows the random antics of an elite group of students known as the S.A (Special A). This usually involves any random theme you can imagine, be it competitions or festivals, whilst exaggerating the wealth of these students. This brings about some truly hilarious slapstick comedy moments, which varies depending on the character delivering the joke nevertheless some jokes can become really repetitive. Then there are times it focuses on a specific member of the S.A, providing the viewers with some much needed back-story on one the characters and developing them further. However the transitions between the comedy & drama relies too much on clichés that it becomes tiresome very quickly. Not only that but a lot of the character arcs were completely ruined during the transition from manga to anime. It also doesn’t help that the main romance between Kei & Hikari is constantly prevented from moving forward and in the end you probably would have lost interest.

Speaking of Kei & Hikari, they certainly made an interesting pair; Kei being the typical cold & calculating guy (Jun Fukuyama perfect for the job ^^) and Hikari being a sort of naïve, brutish girl. Strange combination I must say. Then there are the 5 other members of the S.A who have their individual personalities and traits, making them all an integral part of the story. They each have their own funny, intriguing and annoying side, so it just depends on which has the biggest impact on you.

The animation is exactly what you can expect from your typical shoujo anime; lustrous environments that go well with the wealthy theme and slender character designs to appeal to the standard shoujo viewers. The comedy is certainly executed well on the other hand the romance would have been perfect without the annoying effects (especially when things go artsy for a brief moment). The music here is nothing special and can get very repetitive, along with some of the dialogue. It’s only the voice actors that do a good job in bringing out the most from their characters, allowing me to give the sound department a decent score.

Overall I though that Special A began as a really great Rom/Com that could compete with something like Lovely Complex, but the countless amount of clichés and cheesy moments failed to have a positive effect on the romance and drama. The fact that the story is rather inconsistent and the characters don’t have the same feel as in the manga, will certainly disappoint the fans of the manga but those who can ignore the numerous faults will be able to enjoy this great anime for what it is.

^_^

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Dec 21, 2009

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

inkmouse (All reviews)

98 people found this review helpful

Special A was anything but special. It was very cliche, but it's hard to avoid that in shoujo anime. There was nothing mind-blowing about neither the music or the art.

The story is pretty basic. In all honesty, I don't really think there is such a thing as orginality, but it's up to the people writing or directing to make it seem real. We know Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet off a book someone had already written. How many times have we heard the story of 'I must defeat him...oh, wait I just found out he loves me?' but the issue isn't whether it was original read more

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May 19, 2008

24 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Dreameress (All reviews)

61 people found this review helpful

Delightful anime.

From the very start you are drawn in. Hikari is not the usual clumsy, slightly dumb, female protagonist. She's a warrior basically. Learning the art of wrestling from a young age, she defeated everyone. Then she meets Kei and he is the first to defeat her. Her mission in life becomes defeating Kei in every aspect of life.

Fast forward several years.

They are both in High school apart of "Special A" a class of nine students who are the top 9 in the school. Hikari, of course, is number 2 which she hates because the number one spot is held by none other than read more

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	Poll: Special A Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Di27 - May 30, 2008	58 replies	by E_Creator »» Sep 1, 5:39 PM
	Poll: Special A Episode 14 Discussion ohmiharu - Jul 6, 2008	48 replies	by xeonite »» Feb 2, 7:21 AM

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