Full Moon wo Sagashite is a series that does not receive
the credit it deserves. On the surface, it appears to be simply another magical
girl series. When I watched it, however, I found it to be so much more than that.
It went from being yet another anime series, to becoming my all time favourite
series, and earning a permanent place in my heart.
The
anime is based off a manga by Tanemura Arina. It's about 12-year old Kouyama
Mitsuki, who wants more than anything else to become a singer, and find the love
she lost a couple of years back. Through various happenings, her wish is granted,
but with a catch. The wish is granted by a couple of Shinigami, named Takuto and
Meroko, and Mitsuki has only a year to live. I could go much more into the basic
concept of the series, but that could take awhile.
As
for technicals, this series varies. The character designs are very lovely, but
the art suffers under the Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne curse. Sometimes the episodes
just aren't up to par. By the end of the series, however, it seems like the artists
pulled themselves together, and the final few episodes are beautiful.
The
voice acting is, in my opinion, very good. Mitsuki's voice isn't like a typical
anime girl. Some people may like it, some may not. It took me a bit, but I grew
to love her voice within one or two episodes. The music is, also in my opinion,
very nice. As the series is a music series, it focuses heavily on the songs played
throughout the episodes. Both openings are performed by The Scanty, and
aren't particularly my favourites in the series. However, the endings, which are
also Full Moon's songs, are very pleasing to the ear. They have a tendency
to be overplayed, however.
If one is looking for
a good shoujo series, then I really recommend this one.
