Like tsunderes? Like magic? Needless to say, this anime has all of them. Familiar of Zero was an anime that despite being released in 2006 hasn't caught my attention until much recently. A lot of people seem to claim Familiar of Zero as the sister anime to Shakugan no Shana due to their similar traits or that it is a blatant ripoff of J.K. Rowling's greatest written literature of all time. Is this anime overlooked because of these aspects? Well then, let's find out.
Watching the first episode, I can immediately tell where all the inspiration came from to build the base of the anime. A magic academy in a fantasy world, uniforms with capes, the dinning halls, some character similarities, it can all be traced back to the ever popular Harry Potter. My first impressions were that I thought this anime was going to copy the exact same formula and become this blatant ripoff that everyone was talking about. While this anime did copy these traits to some extent, luckily not everything was ripped and everything diverged very quickly from what everyone speculated to be. The story's main character Louise (one of the four tsundere wonders) is a mediocre mage who can't seem to pull off a single spell without it resulting in an explosion. Because of this, everyone calls her "zero". Time and time again, Louise got frustrated for each failure and got ever determined, even during the familiar summoning test. To Louise's surprise, she succeeded in summoning a familiar but not in the way she turned it out to be. Her familiar was a human commoner named Saito and despite her disappointment, unfortunately Louise cannot undo the summoning so she is stuck with him. Saito however is not just any commoner, he's a Japanese boy sent from his world by Louise's spell and has a special trait within that she doesn't know. This is where the Shakugan no Shana similarities fit in. Louise: a tsundere, and Saito: a useless male protagonist with a hidden trait, are stuck living together under unusual circumstances and developing a relationship. While I will agree that Familiar of Zero is in fact the sister anime to Shakugan no Shana (considering that both were made by J.C. Staff), it is no direct ripoff of Harry Potter because each trait in Familiar of Zero is unique and doesn't copy the exact formula (yes, I do watch Harry Potter). The moment I pressed through the anime, everything turned out completely different And I was pleased with this outcome. The story is actually well-put together despite some cliches you'll find along way and it will definitely keep you engaged throughout the whole anime. One complaint I have with the story though is that the action scenes are too short and rarely lack emphasis, making them dull. The whole focus seems to mainly shift to the relationship between Louise and Saito rather than keep the balance among everything else. At least Shakugan no Shana attempted action and kept everything in check. Nevertheless, the story is still good and engaging and it will keep you wanting for more.
The character designs of Familiar of Zero by Eiji Usatsuka are very eye-pleasing to look at and each character is perfectly detailed right down to their shaded screen tones. Although the hairstyles of these characters are somewhat awkward, to me it is a bonus because they are being portrayed realistically. An example of this is Louise's hair style which is shown with natural flows rather than shown perfectly smooth like most anime. The background scenery is also very well done and as an artist myself, landscape artwork always puts a smile on my face. The combination of very good character designs and superb background art makes this anime one of the most beautifully designed anime I have ever seen. Nothing is to light or to dark, just right. The animation is also good with everything running smoothly to the frame rate. One thing I will question though are the flashy transition effects throughout each episode. Was it really necessary to use them every time during a scene break? To me, that was just overkill and I think the anime would've been better off without them in my opinion. Despite this, Familiar of Zero still has good quality animation.
The music that plays in Familiar of Zero were in my eyes somewhat reminiscent to the music of Rozen Maiden as some songs bear a striking resemblance whenever I listen to them. Although I do not know if whether or not they were done by the same composer, the music may have been influenced from Rozen Maiden as the songs gave off a similar vibe with their melodies. The music in fact gave me a nostalgia effect as I was watching and each song matches their scenarios quite well (well somewhat I guess). This was still good music nonetheless. However I wish I can say the same for the opening and ending themes. I do not think they're bad but they just didn't appeal to me that well. This may vary however for different people so you may have a different opinion of the opening and ending themes. The voice acting is yet where another similarity of Shakugan no Shana can be found as Louise is voiced by Rei Kugimiya (Shana) and Saito is voiced by Satoshi Hino (Yuji). Similarities aside, most of the characters had good voice overs with a couple of few exceptions. Although I wish the voice overs for the familiars would've been more realistic as they sound so obviously like a human imitating an animal. It could've been far more better if the familiars had realistic sounds that were edited and therefore could've improved the anime and made it better in terms of voice over quality.
Familiar of Zero has its mixed bag of likable and unlikable characters. The majority of main characters like Siesta, Henrietta, and Kirche all have very likable personalities and each one has a unique development over the course of the anime. Louise however has the most heart-warming development among anyone else as she gets closer and closer to Saito with every passing moment. Even Saito himself shows a display of development from his obliviousness to his good heart to protect. This anime does not disappoint when it comes to likable characters. Now for the unlikable kind. There are a lot of minor characters who fall under this category but I will point out the major offenders. To start off, Guiche just drives me up the wall because I can't stand pretty boy personalities. Lastly are the two main antagonists (whom I won't spoil). One antagonist is way too cliched while the other is not just unlikable but a very hate-able character at that. This has been the first in a long time that any anime has spawned such a hated character that I literally despise. So far, Familiar of Zero has managed to pull off a treasure trove of character personalities ranging from the good, the bad, and the most hated.
Familiar of Zero to me has been a fun overall experience and I think this anime deserves more credibility than it already has. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good anime experience. If you have watched Shakugan no Shana and/or just like tsundere love stories in general, than this anime is definitely for you.
Final Evaluation: Give it a try.
-Dedicated to Noboru Yamaguchi: the creator who passed away on April 2013 after his long battle with cancer. R.I.P.
