Ultra Maniac

2 reviews - 6.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (3.3)

2. Qian Wan

This is an example of a typical mahou shojo (magical girl) series. Nina Sakura is a witch from the magical kingdom and in order to obtain some magical stones she is sent to the human world. Nina quickly befriends Ayu Tateishi and shares her secret with her. This series is pretty lighthearted and focuses on the funny things that happen to Ayu and Nina's premature magic skills. Being a typical shojo anime, two bishounen (pretty boy) are packed and ready to help move the story along with the two girls.

While there are a lot of funny moments of Nina and her messed-up magic that seem to worsen any situation, as a guy I can't bring myself to comprehend and enjoy such a rosy anime. I am especially bothered by the filler transformation scenes that resemble CCS. The ‘serious' main plot is the magic stones. There are other witches who are hunting for the same stones and when all the stones are collected, something ‘magical' will happen (not something a guy will look forward to). Although there is romance, I think this series will appeal to younger teenagers and lighthearted anime fans. If you can bear and enjoy the first few episodes then rest assured because the series is likely the right one for you. Needless to say there is a happy ending and a pretty satisfying ending I may add. It was a worthwhile watch and if I am a teenage girl, I could imagine liking this anime.

High: Cute, magical, and happy. A promising anime for girls.

Low: Nothing original, transformation scene, no provocative real plot (magical stones? Don't make me laugh.)

Bottom Line: I consider myself tolerable of shojos, but this one is pushing it :-)

1. Tempy

Nina Sakura is a magic user student from the Magic Kingdom. She's currently living in the human world to study, and to find the Holy Stones. She's not the brightest one out there, but her heart is pure and she's quite a cutey. Ayu Tateishi is her best friend and the only human to know her secret. Ayu is cool, and all the girls at school think she's the bestest, but that's just a mere façade which Ayu created to get the attention of Tetsushi Kaji. Together Nina and Ayu try to fix all sorts of magic mishaps (mostly caused by Nina herself at first, but later on by other mischievous persons), struggle with love interests, and fight Maya for the Holy Stones.

After watching the Ultra Maniac OVA gift for Ribon readers, I was glad to hear that they decided to make a TV series. Ultra Maniac is a shoujo series featuring young teenagers, but seemingly aimed at girls a few years younger than that. There are tons of cute moments and some dramatic moments, though nothing too serious, and gladly bereft of any stifling angst. It's definitely not a sophisticated show - with a simplistic plot and average production qualities, it's something most people won't even consider watching; yet I found it an amusing and enjoyable enough viewing experience with likable characters and hardly any annoying factors (well, except for Sebastian and Nina's grandfather). And who doesn't love cute chameleon mascots named Lulu?