Story: 6, Rave Master's story isn't anything revolutionary for the anime/manga medium. However, it does a pretty decent job of executing its rather simplistic approach to story-telling. Basically, Haru must gather the four rave stones in order to destroy the evil of the world, HOWEVER, the story, while presented in such a simplistic manner, actually manages to complicate itself quite a bit. It does so by incorporating the other main characters, Elie and Musica--these two both have their own goals, Elie finding her memory, and Musica finding a ship/weapon known as the Silver Ray. Both of their personal goals manage to add a significant amount of complexity to the story. Unfortunately, while you've heard a decent amount of praise from me for the story thus far, this is where it'll start to run out. Most of the times in Fairy Tail the climactic battles are a bit too obvious because they all follow the same pattern, and while we are lucky that Rave Master doesn't always fall victim to the classic "the power of friendship" bullshit, it still has a rather repetitive nature. On the bright side, unlike in Fairy Tail where Natsu always manages to save the day in the end, the other characters in Rave Master actually help overcome some of the major conflicts, which means everything is not riding on Haru 100% of the time, like it does with Natsu in Fairy Tail. Lastly, as mentioned before, the anime doesn't cover the full story, which is annoying enough, but worse is the fact that they don't even attempt to give it a level of closure with the final episode. The final two episodes actually just spend their whole time setting up the future arcs, which you can only experience through the manga.
Art: 6, While it started airing in 2001, Rave Master is basically a 90s anime in terms of its animation. The quality definitely isn't anything great, but at the very least it is consistent. Perhaps if I was rating this when it was aired this section of the review would go down a bit differently, but the simple matter of the fact is that its just not a very good overall quality, when compared to much of the art out there today. Additionally, the fight choreography is lack-luster at best.
Sound: 7, On the bright side, the English Dub OP done by Reel Big Fish is catchy as fuck, on the downside its the best song in the entire anime. The OST's are pretty generic, and the English Dub voice cast is exactly what you'd expect from this era of dubbing anime. It definitely down plays the experience towards a younger audience, but honestly it doesn't feel that far off from the original target audience simply due to the over-the-top, ridiculous nature of the show.
Character: 7, Plue is best character for simply being so goddamn adorable, and Griff is the worst because he's annoying and sounds like spongebob. All jokes aside, the characters are kinda like Fairy Tail in terms of the quality of characters however on an individual basis, they're a lot more hit and miss. There's definitely a lot more flat characters in this series, but the main trio, Haru, Elie, and Musica definitely give me that Fairy Tail vibe to the characters, and I genuinely mean that as a compliment. While I personally consider Fairy Tail to be subpar in terms of story/plot, in terms of quality of its characters, Fairy Tail will always earn some praise from me. The cast is enjoyable (minus griff, seriously fuck him) and is probably the greatest redeeming factor for the show as a whole.
Enjoyment: 7, Rave Master is best as one of those shows you play in the background while you play games on your phone or switch, or atleast that's how I got the most enjoyment out of it. It is by no means unenjoyable, but it simply lacks the depth for me not to get atleast slightly bored if all I did was watch it. It's quirky, goofy, and ultimately if you don't have a stick up your ass, you should be able to get a decent level of enjoyment out of its ridiculous nature.
Overall: 7, Rave Master was pretty decent all things considered. Do I think I will ever rewatch it, or go on to read the manga? I can rather confidently say, probably not. Am I going to sit here and insist that you watch it? Definitely not. While I managed to rate Rave Master a 7 overall, and I would normally say, "Heck, give it a try", Rave Master is pretty unique, and if the description of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and Fairy Tail's child doesn't sound like something you'd be interested in, then you might want to pass on this.
