Shuffle was the 4th anime I had ever seen(school days being first, boy was that a mistake, and a few really ecchi ones). I came in looking only at the romance factor and the 18 and over rating. What I got on the other hand was an anime that would forever live in my "Hall of Fame" Animes so to speak.
Story - 10
The story was unexpected, and that I believe made it even more magnificent. Prior to this I had seen titles like Omamori Himari, Kiss X Sis, and HOTD. They were animes that didn't lack a story line, but didn't have a suprising or "hanging-on-the-edge-of-your-seat" story line that Shuffle! has. It made me realize that anime isnt just big boobs and panty shots. I also like the fact that its all HUMAN emotions. The drama, the romance, the joy that they all experience is all realistic and I could easily see it happening in real life(except the whole angel demon thing). I also re-watch it and LOVE the fact that he choses a girl in the end. No the crap in every other harem in the world where he decides that he'll just love all of them equally.
Art - 10
I am no art expert, but I thought it was done really well. The characters were well done and are all rather unique. The backgrounds were well done and everything looked crisp. Its exactly what I look for in "good art" in an anime.
Sound - 10
Once agian I am no expert. But I found myself listening to the OP and ED when the episode began and ended. By about episode 14 I had most of the OP memorized and decided that I had to have it on my iPod. I listen to it to this day(I watched this about 1 ago ago).
Characters - 10
The characters were by far my favorite part of this anime. Just about everyone had an amazing backstory.They were all compelling and a couple of them brought tears to my eyes. The main character is your run-of-the-mill super nice guy who helps everyone and is to dense to realize six beautiful girls love him. But theres something about him that makes him different, maybe the way he talks or the way he does thing makes me like him even more. All the other characters seem to be once agian your overused and cliched(tsundre, loli, childhood friend, shy girl, energetic)characters. But they put a twist on all of them. And by twisting these cliched personalities, you get somthing unquie. Something that makes you want to know more about them and why they ae like that, all of which are answered.
Enjoyment - 10
I enjoyed this anime immensley. It brought joy, saddness, and the wonder if there would be something as great as what I had just watched. It opened my eyes to a new horizen of anime. No longer stuck in the "if its ot ecchi, its not good" phase I went through.
I reccomend to anyone, no matter what genre your into.
Team Sia for life!
