Reviews

For all you girls out there: Have you ever dreamt of strutting around in your town, driving away the wrong-doers and spreading some better karma around? Have you had to juggle your family expectations, your friends, your love life, your academics and everything else in between? Do you believe in female solidarity? Do you enjoy kicking some butt when there's some drama brewing? Do you love shopping, dancing and eating (a lot!)? Then you might just qualify to be the next super gal. The anime Super Gals tells the story of three best friends (or, you could say "gals"): Ran, Miyu and Aya, who pretty much run the town of Shibuya. Through their ups and downs, they live a very fun and eventful life, which was very entertaining to watch. Although I felt sometimes the characters seemed a bit shallow, and yes, some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy, but the overall story of Super Gals kept me engaged, and I really enjoyed the random drama in each episode. Note that this is a pretty standard shoujo comedy/romance (so if you're looking for something new and different, don't expect to find it here), but I'll still explain why I liked it.

Story: 8/10

At the start this really did look like a typical shoujo storyline: three girls who decide to be close friends, and who see each other through the trials and tribulations of a typical teenager life (whilst shopping, partying and making more friends along the side of course!). And in a way, that's exactly what you get for the rest of the series - 52 episodes of Ran with her aggressive happy-go-lucky attitude, Miyu with her lovey-dovey almost-wife-like romance with Yamato (Ran's police-officer brother) and Aya's gentle, yet hardworking, way of managing things. But, there is a subtle build-up throughout the episodes. Some fall in love, some fall out of love, and I guess some learn their life lessons through their relationships with each other. By reaching the end of the anime, I really felt like I'd experienced another year in the crazy, glamorous and hectic (but fun) life of a highschool "gal".

Art: 7/10

I scored the art a little lower than I scored the other categories, mainly because I personally have a higher standard in terms of fluidity and style for shoujo anime. But having said that, I was still satisfied with the way the characters were drawn - they had cute expressions and the outfits really fit the retro vibe of the anime.

Sound: 8/10

Again, along with the art, the music was quite retro (I mean, the type of music you dance to in an aerobics class if you were in the 80s/90s). I actually really liked it! Maybe because I personally like that kind of para-para music and dance, but it certainly added a bit more flavour to the anime.

Character: 8/10

I have to say, as with most anime, the characters here are what kept me watching the rest of the anime. Ran's tough, but still extremely feminine, personality really drew me in - she shrugs off all expectations other people have of her, paves her own path and fights for the people she loves. She acts as an inspiration to most of the other characters in the anime, and should act as an inspiration for people watching the anime. The only problem is, she is still in highschool gal mode, so some of the things she said seemed pretty ditzy and shallow - especially how she only lived in the present and always seemed to want boys to treat her all the time. But hey, can't expect a highschool gal to be perfect, I still thought she was worthy of being the protagonist.

I also liked the fact that the three girls had very different personalities. Ran's was by far the most established; Miyu and Aya started off almost as side-kicks, and then grew to be more comfortable with who they were by the end of the series.

The boy troubles were so much fun to watch - especially with Yamato, Rei, Yuya and Tatsuki. The way Yamato secretly loves Miyu, the way that Yuya laments over Ran (who barely sees him as anything other than a friend), and the crazy lovey-dovey antics of Tatsuki add the romantic element to the anime. Sometimes, you get a glimpse through the boys' eyes, which is refreshing. My favourite boy out of them though has to be Rei. I don't want to spoil anything, but whilst he seems cold and distant, he pushed Aya to become more than she was.

But the action doesn't stop there: Ran also has mutliple rivals, Naka-sensei, her family of devout police-officers, and several other friends who add adventure to the storyline. Yes, towards the end there were still new characters being introduced, which was kind of annoying to keep up with, but I feel like it was still worth having a whole host of characters rather than focusing on just three main ones.

Enjoyment: 9/10

So I'm finally up to my favourite part: telling you how much fun this was to watch! This is just one of those girly pick-me-ups that is so easy to watch. There are funny moments, and sad moments, but altogether, Super Gals was extremely entertaining to watch, even if some of the episodes were a little random. I will admit, this is a pretty stereotypical high school comedy. But this is the genre that I like, so this anime rated well for me.

Overall: 8/10
So overall, if you're looking for a comedy with lots of girl power (in a not too cheesy way), Super Gals might be worth a shot.