From Hina With Love!
jsmthng | 10/22/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Mao-Chan is a 2nd grader whose grandfather is the Chief of Staff of the Ground Defense Force. She has been trained to become a valuable member of the force since she was born. When she turns eight, she, together with her friends Misora and Sylvia, form the elementary school self-defense team. Mao protects the land, Misora, the skies, and Sylvia, the sea. These pint-size girls do their best to protect Japan from "cute" alien invaders.From the creative team behind Love Hina! Original story by Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina), Directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Love Hina, El Hazard) and scripted by Yousuke Kuroda (Please Teacher). Featuring seven bilingual 15 minute episodes per disc with both dialog and signs-only subtitle streams! Volume one also features the non-credit opening to the series and a reversible cover."
Cute and Upbeat with a Clever Military Bent
jsmthng | Irvine, CA USA | 02/09/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"(Disclaimer: I have never seen Love Hina.)Watching this series makes me happy! The entire premise is based around cuteness -- I've never heard the *characters* of an anime say the word "kawaii" so frequently (I watched this subbed) -- but I don't think it's cloying or excessive. The fact that there's a definite military aspect to all of the magical girl action makes for some amusing jokes that the normal elementary-school-aged viewing audience is likely to miss. The young characters are likable (the adults less so, though I think Sylvie's grandfather is pretty amusing).Volume 1 contains some enjoyable, quick episodes and introduces the characters. The DVD itself doesn't (iirc) have particularly interesting extras, but the show content is sufficiently worth it.If you hate small children and think they're whiny, you'll probably dislike this, but try it if you can appreciate "the delight of viewing the world through a 2nd-grader's eyes", or cute things, or meta-humor about cute things, or cute things defending Japan from cute things, etc."