A lot of people seem to like comparing this show to Pokemon, and while I can agree the concept of a single person who has a group of beings fighting for them is similar to the trainer/Pokemon relationship, I'd say that's where the similarities end. Unlike Pokemon, the show does not put a huge emphasis in "collecting" Sekirei. Sure, there are Ashikabi (humans with unique genes that allow Sekirei to "emerge"; I'll be getting into it later) that have more than one, but there's never a point where you feel it's better, or even necessary to have multiples. Even Minato, the male lead, rarely openly expresses an interest in actively searching out for more Sekirei, and in the end only has four. Sekirei also can, and do, act independently, some to the point where we rarely ever see their Ashikabi.
Regardless, I actually liked the concept of the show. It might not be a completely unique idea, but there is a certain degree of depth added by the fact that each Sekirei has a unique ability they can utilize during battle, as well as the presence of a sort of tier system that indicates a Sekirei's overall power. Basically, the girls are all given a number. The closer that number is to being #1, the more powerful the are considered. It's a simple concept to be sure, but the show does place a lot of importance on it, in much the same way Claymore did.
Unfortunately, as much as I like the concept, its also what enables my least favorite part of the show, the whole harem aspect. While Sekirei can fight on their own, they become much stronger after they "emerge". The only way they can achieve this is to form a bond with an Ashikabi. There's no limit as to how many Sekirei can undergo this bond with an Ashikabi, so long as each of them undergoes the contract, which requires the two to swap mucous. In other words, (surprise, surprise) kiss. As horribly cliche as that is, it's not the part I hate the most. No, that distinction lies with the group of Sekirei that follow around Minato, our resident failure of a human turned ultra-stud for no apparent reason.
To understand my dislike, let me shed some light on my feelings about the harem genre. While it would be easy to say if you're watching a show tagged with harem, you should know what to expect, that is in no way true. Sure, there are those shows which contain the stereotypical harems which involve a group of several women who all are in love with the one man. Think: Campione! Girls Bravo. Those are the types I typically dislike. Then there are the shows where the girls are actually realistic enough to see that the guy is a tool and/or simply isn't interested in them. Think: Is This a Zombie?, Love Hina. Those I do actually like since the girls generally aren't living with or around him because they want to, and for the most part, there is only one main love interest the lead has.
Sekirei falls into the former, in the worst way. Minato is quite possibly the most useless of all the male leads I've seen in a harem show. He's failed his entrance exams twice, and evidently that's enough for him to outright give up on trying to further his education. But after losing his apartment, and getting his allowance cut from mommy, he's got to get a job...which he is fired from. But hey, he's living in an evidently rent-free apartment that takes in Sekirei, and who can be bothered with things like responsibility what with giant, unclothed tits flying around all over Tokyo?
Speaking of giant breasts, let's go into the art for this show. For what it's worth, this is a pretty well animated show. The environments all look surprisingly clean and are generally pretty colorful. The rather impressive level of detail given to the effects tied to the Sekirei's unique powers make the battle scenes pretty flashy and fun to watch too. Character design is...inconsistent in general. It's really wierd; one moment, the girls bodies look pretty much realistic (aside from their impossibly gargantuan racks of course), and the next they'll look like walking, talking hourglasses. And I mean that literally, there are several moments in the show where one character will go from having a believably proportioned body in one scene, to having a six inch waiste the next, only to go back to normal later. It's actually creepy in a way...
But I digress; you may be wondering why boobs made me think of the art? Well...I can't lie, the boobs in this show are shockingly detailed in comparison to those I've seen in other ecchi shows. And with mixed shame and pride, I have to say, I've seen my fair share of animated boobies as the ecchi genre is a guilty pleasure of mine. There's just something about their nipples, it's kind of hard to explain really. You'd have to actually see it to really know what I'm talking about.
Sooo...ahem...yeah...
ANYWAY, back on track, sound isn't special really. Aside from the op, which is actually really uplifting and pretty epic sounding. I've heard a lot about the Japanese vo work being pretty bad despite having some pretty big names attatched, and while I can't comment on that, I can say that the English dub isn't bad, though it's not great either. There's a few well known names involved, and they do decently, but that's really about it. If you're trying to figure out which way to watch, I'd recommend you just go with what you usually prefer.
The worst part of this show is hands down the characters. To sum them all up in one word, I would say "generic" would fit the bill nicely. You have the overly devoted, and overly loyal airheaded boobs, the hard-ass, pushy boobs, the nerdy boobs who for some reason wants to fondle all the other boobs, the catty twin set of boobs, the tomboyish boobs, the loli (and that's as awkward as it sounds when you consider she's a Sekirei that becomes emerged during the course of the show and that means her and her Ashikabi kissed in a way that enabled their mucous to come in contact), and the utter drones of men they serve (except the tomboy, who's Ashikabi is actually a girl).
And the girls all adhere to those labels to a tee. There's absolutely nothing dynamic about them and there's really no depth to any of them, in fact, in the case of the loli, she actually degraded as a character in my opinion. Before emerging she's depicted in an almost mystic way, reaching out and speaking to Minato in his thoughts, yet once she becomes one of his Sekirei she suddenly barely speaks and starts randomly wearing animal costumes, communicating in what is supposed to be cute sounds and facial expressions.
Overall, I'd really have a hard time recommending this show to anyone; there's simply not enough going for it. Sure, the concept behind the Sekirei Plan is kind of interesting, and the fights are enjoyable to watch, but in every aspect of this show, I could easily recommend other series that does it much better. In fact, if you're into the whole harem thing, I'd actually recommend the previously mentioned Campione!; as much as I disliked that show, it still has a lot more going for it than this show does, and it's got more than a few similarities.
