Special A. You could think that this is an ordinary Shoujo anime - which isn't really a mistake - but It actually has some really interesting used elements what makes this beloved anime for girls really more enjoyable for us.
You might wondering why I would recommend this anime? If you're a guy, I would say that you're just on the wrong place, provided that you like typical shoujo romance anime, Gomen'nasai. Look, if you are just bored and don't know what to watch, this anime would be fitting your situation. It is really simple minded and not a really deep story.
The main element which is high ranked in this anime is character development. Besides the whole storyline this is the most important thing in the anime. Beside that it is all about our typical rival/love standard en some side characters.. Lets take a look at the story.
So it is about a girl named Hikari. She wants to beat her rival, named Kei. He is better in almost everything she is good in. (Only thing he can't beat her is in cooking the worse, for sure) The only reason that she comes to their school is to beat Kei.
In school they have different "levels" that are based on scores. So you have F to A and the "best of the bests" are in class Special A. They count seven pupils. Each one has his or her own rank place. The best is first, the less best in S.A (Special A) is of course seven. And well.. Guess what? First place we have Kei Takishima, and second place "Miss Rank Two" is Hikari Hanazono. So her biggest "dream" is to beat him and become first place.. But it is easy to say, hard to exercise.
The story is really easy, but easy isn't always something negative. The romance is probably a good thing about this anime. It is really based on it and the main genre, I think. It is good executed and I loved each pairing in this anime. Our main pairing, Hikari and Kei was really cute and how their relation developed was cute and interesting in many ways. But I have to confess something, their were two couples in this anime I liked more than our main couple. But that is personal taste in developing, so let's give it not that much spotlight.
I also laughed alot of times. I love slapstick in animes and this anime has a lot of this kind of comedy. Well.. What else can I say? I cannot complain about anything.
ONLY thing I have in mind is that some characters do have a lot of development (Kei, Hikari, Yahiro, Akira) and some of them have a little bit of it or really weak development (Mainly talking about our twin, actually) and I wanted more interactions with them instead of too much screentime for our main two. I mean.. In MAL they are labeled as main too.
The art isn't make me mad in a good or bad way. It is just an ordinary kinda Shoujo rom/com. The character designs do fit their personality and are just good. The colouring is great and I loved some of their special effects besides the original art. Only problem - I know many of us have the same problem - is that they look ways too skinny and have really strange legs. But hey, like I'm better in drawing and animating? No.. Just no. So I don't have to complain because it is something I cannot reach, even not in thousand years with my zero percent talent in drawing.
The sound was mostly really fitting the situation. You has some really funny and energetic mentions and funny but quiet beautiful piano pieces, but nothing special. I loved both openings and endings, mainly because it is sang by the characters itself. I was later mentioned it, so not only that was making it funny. Just the songs are really catchy and cool, I just loved them. But as I said again, it was not blowing me away or something. Just great.
Probably my favorite part, the characters. I can say I have good feelings about this one. The characters in this anime are really likable and I can't really name a girl or boy that really do pissed me off. But YES, I have an opinion about some of the characters. Because I didn't like everyone with the same passion.
Let's start with Hikari. She is the main girl character. She is this really kind, energetic girl and is really competitive. She always cares for others and her dream is to finally beat Kei. I liked her, but not with a big passion. Her relation with Kei was really adorable too, as I mentioned before. Sometimes her situation was just kinda overdramatic and I just couldn't put myself in her shoes. And her voice was annoying sometimes too.. But besides that, nothing wrong with er.
Our second one is Kei. Okay, to be honest sometimes I am just not a girl. Of course I watch shoujo romcoms, but not for "the hot guys" and.. I have a strange opinion about what kind of guys I like. Kei was that type of guy that is not really interesting, just made labeled "hot".. wel.. In my opinion. Of course everything was cute and stuff, but I wasn't really attracted to him or did really like him. But of course I did not hate him.
The twins was a point of cuteness. I loved them both and Megumi is so adorable. I also loved her relationship with Yahiro in the end. Although it was kinda out of nowhere, I did enjoy it. Yahiro was another hot view to excite the female readers and watchers, but he was not a really cool character actually. Meh, I did not hate him but I didn't feel bad for him either, I just didn't care about him that much. Tadashi was our comic relieve, in my opinion. Just there in the show to make me smile. I also really loved him and his relation with Akira, but I saw it coming so I was shipping it since the first episode. Then we have Ryuu, our animal lover. He was really cute, although he had not that much development and was the less interesting and important character in the anime. DON'T ATTACK ME FANGIRLS. And at last we have Akira, she is this typical tsundere character, and really loves (almost in a romantic way sometimes) and I can't help loving her. But that is personal taste, because I totally understand why you would hate her. Because she is really fast pissed off and always sulks at Kei and Tadashi. But I really liked her.
Well.. As you noticed, I really enjoyed watching this anime. It was just simple and my favorite genre is romance. Because I am really passionate in it, this was giving me an enjoyable area and I have only watched this anime with a bright smile on my face.
If you love shoujo romcoms with likeable characters and development, this anime is our perfect match! So.. I definitely would recommend this anime.
