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).

I watched the fansubs from AnimeJunkies and ANBU, here's thanks to them b4 I start my review.

Synopsis: This is a story of Narue, a half-alien living in human society. She finds a boyfriend and have various encounters with both human culture and alien elements.

Story:8
A very unique story. This series concentrates on mainly trans-species/planetary love and slice of life and school life. This is in contrast to DearS and Chobits, where the non-human knows nothing and act blur, needing a human guy to teach em stuff while they act cute. Narue and her companions from space seem to have blended well into human culture (a little ... too well in fact).

The story is quite focused on romance, and have about 3 pairs of couples included, instead of the usual 1. All 3 are not human-human relationships and therefore there are obstacles that occurred. However, romance was formed a bit too easily, more emphasis was placed on how the guy and gal cherish each other. Therefore, if you are looking for a build-up to romance story (eg. ToraDora, Lovely Complex) this series may not be for you.

Slice of life was quite unique, given the supernatural equipment that the characters had. Somehow I felt the slice of life elements to be similar to Wagaya no Oinari-sama. School life was portrayed in quite an interesting manner, but in the later episodes school was not focused much upon.

There were hardly much action scenes, and I felt that the producers made the right decision. The action scenes featured were somewhat of a lower quality compared to slower scenes.

The ending was kinda un-conclusive (according to MangaUpdates this anime is until vol.4 of the manga) which can be understood. However, there isn't much of a closure (which B Gata H Kei managed well) as well, which is a bit disappointing.

Animation:6
The colours were a bit dull, even though this show was produced in 2003. Also, the action scenes were a bit... in slow motion and doesn't look very realistic. But the art was consistent.

Sound:8
Not a great variety of sound effects (eg. bgm) featured. However, the bgm was used well, and helped to create the mood for the scenes.

A highlight of this show is the OP AND ED.

The OP "Shooting Star" by CooRie was done amazingly, and is definitely one of my fav OPs ever (It tells of the determination of a person to treasure and maintain a relationship despite difficulties)... one that can match the level of "Shooting Star" by Kotoko in the series Onegai Teacher.

The ED "Ice Cream" by Saeko Chiba is a sweet song about romance, about how the person accidentally fell in love without being mentally prepared first.

Both were so great that I watched all the 12 eps' OP and ED without skipping, which is seriously rare.

Character:6
Characters were slightly less spectacular in this series. Some character development and character interaction were done, and done well, but I felt that too little emphasis was given to Narue and Kazuto (her bf).

The content was spaced out quite evenly among the main characters and some extra characters, but Narue is supposed to be the most important character in this series. Yet, there wasn't that much content about her. Narue's sister had some unfinished development as well.

The characters' personalities were done well. Unique traits were emphasised over and over again. Eg. Narue being very very thrifty (money-pincher?) Most importantly, the personalities they had were put to good use

Enjoyment:9
After the first few eps, which were kinda slow, I began to be addicted to the series. There were tons of emotional and touching moments. But, some problems were resolved a bit too easily... The romance in this series is really unique and great as well, similar to Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, although this series has more couples being focused on.

Overall:7
Take note that this anime is NOT MEANT TO BE CONCLUSIVE as it only ends at vol 4 of manga. While I'm writing this review, I believe the manga is still ongoing at vol 7. This anime is sweet and light, but at times a bit tear-jerking.
I recommend it for people who enjoyed romance series like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, where there is little build-up to romance but more emphasis after the boy-girl relationship is formed.

One of the reasons why anime has become jaded and bland is the same reason series like this anime get released. It’s not so bad to have anime clichés in your anime, it’s how you use them. This series uses them in the most boring manner imaginable.

The anime plot is pretty basic. Girl saves boy, girl is alien, girl and guy get in to wacky adventures, guy wants to pork said alien. Shocker, the boy is a fucking otaku and the girl is a walking doormat. Narue is the alien and Kazuto is the bitch, I mean boy. There are no plot twists and ... from there it turns into a slice of life. There isn't much sci-fi going on despite its premise. If I had to compare this story to any other anime it would be Oh! My Goddess. The girl is a reason why the I’m not completely opposed to the feminist movement. She’s exactly the type of girl meant to appeal to otaku fetishists. Not to mention the mechaphiles. There’s a ship that turns into a woman. Feel free to stop reading the review now if that was enough to seal the deal. The only people that are going to be watching a show with a story like this are either otaku idealists or young girls who find this show cute. The biggest problem with romantic comedy/slice of life type of shows is their endings. This anime takes the cake. It just…ends. In the same vein that I hated Kare Kano for just ending. How does it end though? In the most otaku’s wet dream imaginable. A cosplay contest to please her man.
The art is nothing special. There are no great fight scenes, no amazing romantic kiss scene...everything is just mediocre. All the characters look like stock anime characters. In short, make sure to drink some coffee before you pop this in the DVD player. I looked up the character design and it looks like some guy named Takaaki Hirayama did the character designs. What else has this guy done? Motherfucking Mamotte Shugogetten, another “let me please you because I’m willing to do whatever for you” anime.

As far as sound goes, this anime goes nowhere. Narue’s soundtrack sounds a lot like that of a visual novel. It’s pretty bland and does nothing to bring up any emotions. The Japanese track for this is not half bad. A lot of the seiyuu aren’t high-pitched annoying, just there. I knew I’d heard Kazuto’s voice somewhere before though..somewhere bad.. MOTHERFUCKING MAMOTTE SHUGOGETTEN! Mr. Daisuke Sakaguchi is just one of those guys I will never ever accept his voice after series like this. As for the English dub, it’s flat. Nothing special, it gets the job done for a series like this.

I hate everyone in this series. Everyone. I hate to rag on series as if they’re terrible, but everyone is so mediocre. The only highlight of this whole series is the ship woman. She wants to get married. If you had to see one episode of this series, it’s the ship relationship episode. I for one do not condone mecha-human relationships. It’s wrong and immoral and God would not stand for it.

I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. It’s not that this show is bad, it’s just mediocre, and mediocrity is what really sucks. However, I know people will watch this because of its‘ moe♥moe kyuun aspect. However, those people don’t read my reviews..well no one really does, but you get the point. Don’t buy it, don’t download it, just pretend you never read this or even heard of the series.

You can read more of my reviews at kanjiiz.wordpress.com