The Familiar of Zero

I decided to watch Zero no Tsukaima because I wanted a leave-your-brain-out-of-the-equation sort of show, one I could sit back and watch without worrying about a negative outcome or depressing and/or disturbing complications. (Yes, for all my talk about artistic integrity and such, I do watch things for pure and simple fun sometimes.) Zero has most of that, but only to a point, and in the end I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of depth this show manages to pull out of nowhere. I went in expecting another Nanoha, or the first season of Shakugan no Shana all over again, and what I gotwas something more akin to the comedic romance and character development of Love Hina supported and sustained by the political intrigue of Last Exile or Simoun. Plot: An incompetent mage summons as her familiar a young man from contemporary Japan, and hilarity ensues. It isn't quite as simple as that, however. Despite an early focus on slapstick comedy, ecchi, and outright silliness, Zero quickly introduces a thin political thread, providing bits and pieces of flavor to make the world seem more alive. This thread smoothly escalates into a significant driving force of the show's events, perhaps more powerful, even, than the central romance. And speaking of that central romance, it moves along at a nice pace -- neither too slowly nor too quickly for a 13-episode series. Exactly how it develops is for you to discover, but rest assured that it does not remain stagnant for long periods of time, at least in this season, as in Shakugan no Shana and its sequel. Characters: The cute, borderline-sadist lead; the busty, libidinous rival; the surprisingly forthright maid; the bookish, quiet Nagato Yuki clone -- these may seem like stock characters pulled from the harem romance pool, and they certainly begin as such. As in Love Hina, however, we discover that these characters have histories and unforeseen connections, sometimes in far darker ways than I expected of this show. What's more, many of these characters actually change over time, as characters in a story should. Sure, the cast seems a bit crazy at first, but give them a chance. It's worth it. And the male lead. Oh, the male lead. Saito's personality is what makes him simultaneously hilarious and divergent from the usual harem romance/datesim beta-male loser. We get the impression that he checks out every girl who crosses his path not because he's hopelessly desperate, but because he's a healthy teenage boy. Not that he's relegated to the role of lecher; he has his human and hero moments, too. Setting: Our story begins in your average Harry Potter-inspired magic school, complete with magic wands and quirky professors, but soon expands outward to encompass an alternate-history, magically-endowed Europe plagued by the class politics of magocracy -- that is, magi over non-magi. Though the central country of the show is fictional (apparently located roughly in the Aquitaine region of France), several real-world European powers have fantastical equivalents, often bearing the Latin names of the modern countries they mirror: Gallia is France, for example, and Germania is Germany. This becomes clear when we see a map of the fictional land. This world maintains interesting links to our Earth, but I'll leave it at that for fear of dropping spoilers. It's ultimately a surprisingly cohesive fantasy setting, and one to which I wouldn't mind returning. Art: Zero's art is reminiscent of Shakugan no Shana, also produced by J. C. Staff, and to a lesser extent Pani Poni Dash. It's a style that grew on me when I watched Shana. If you're a fan of more realistic art in your animation, however, be warned that you won't find it here. Sound: Despite being largely digital, Zero's music never quite descends into full-on cheesiness, as Shana's music did at times, nor does it overwhelm you with anachronistic elements unsuited to the vaguely Renaissance-inspired fantasy setting. The opening theme is quite catchy, for a reason I can't place, and as a fan of Kugimiya Rie and Hino Satoshi, I have trouble finding serious fault in the voice-acting. Verdict: I didn't think Zero no Tsukaima would end up being the kind of show I'd be quick to recommend, but, to my pleasant surprise, it did. If you're looking for a tale of politics and romantic comedy, and don't mind that the ride isn't entirely serious from beginning to end, give this one a shot.

This is my second review of an anime series. Please spare me. xD; I don't do many reviews on shows but I would like to review on this one. Since this series touched me a lot and its my childhood. :P One of the series that expanded my variety of anime after Inuyasha and Shana. Story: You have Louise, your mage that possess terrible magic and a boy that came from another world. He has to deal with the customs in Louise's world and has to face many obstacles; and with war, I'm not gonna spoil. Or I will try not too. This series is a comedy, so itdoes have some harem/ecchi involvement. Though, I think this series would be better off without the ecchi and the harem. That way, the characters have room to develop. So I would give the story an 8/10. Art: The art is very beautiful to look at. I love the character designs of the show; which made me want to continue to watch it. The fighting scenes was well done; with the graphics. I wish more anime would have art like this; and the art also reminded me of Shakugan no Shana. With Saito resembling Yuuji. :P" So yes, 10/10 for the art. 8D Sound: Some of the music in the anime was really pretty, I liked how it worked well with the show. But I could NOT stand the ending themes. The opening themes were more--enjoyable. But I liked the second seasons opening the best overall; so the sound I would give 7/10. Characters: The characters could use a little bit more development in the show. Like everyone else has said; I think Louise should START to trust Saito more instead of beating the poor guy senseless; and Saito should try to control himself more around the women. But then again, he's a 17 year old boy and pretty much the only guy other then Guiche. But what disappointed me, some of the characters you don't get to know about. And they're just there. Like Siesta, Kirche, Guiche, Montomorency. I probably spelled her name wrong, so shoot me. Lot of characters like those are so undeveloped, it makes me a bit sad that you never know anything about them. The only real characters that are actually developed are Tabitha, Julio, and Agnes. I'm not saying that Saito is undeveloped since he does get stronger within the series and doesn't remain, "weak," throughout. I just wish they would give more bio on Saito; like his past. Etc. But what puzzles me, I remember him in the first season saying he does not have a family. So that makes me wonder about him more. But overall, the characters COULD use some improvement. To make a better series. So I give a characters a 6/10. Enjoyment: The series kept me watching until the very end. So despite the negative things about the show; it still made me want to keep on watching more and was sad about the end of the series. The season I liked the best was the second and the fourth season. Since characters started to develop more then; but you still wish to know about them. :P So Enjoyment overall in Zero no Tsukaima. 8/10.

Warning: Minor spoilers (that don't really ruin much at all), as you'll see the majority within the first two episodes. This is a review for all four seasons, posted here to warn you of how much pain you might be coming across. I've watched some pretty bad anime but Zero no Tsukaima and its sequels are very high up. I was spurred to finish it by the suggestion of a friend saying it got better and because I can't stop what I've started. Note - This is my first review and my opinion, think of it as you will. Story 4/10 Over four seasons half the 50 orso episodes could probably be considered fillers. The storyline itself jumps from one sudden and convenient issue to another with not much really linking it together. Zero's subplot of the apparent romance between the Mage and her familiar attempting to progress yet the situations they pop up in are beyond repetitive and dull. Art 6/10 Nothing amazing and nothing awful, nothing about the art really bothered me nor drew my fascination. Sound 6/10 See the above Characters 3/10 Here's the best bit. Within most anime that have two MC's, you'd hope to like at least 1 of them. Nope. As shown in the synopsis, Louise is a mate whose powers are lackluster. Her apparent talent that is picked up involves the overused "explosion" spell that is seen at a minimum of 3 times an episode. Her other talent is kicking the other Mc in the balls, as well as being an unsympathetic, trust/confidence lacking, angry, wannabe tsundere who never fails to be annoying. Saito, realistically, is just as bad, as someone who got transported from Earth to a different planet/universe, and immediately treated like shit (or a plebian) he, throughout most of the series, can be seen as someone without a backbone, who is probably a masochist considering he's so loyal and loving to a bitch that assaults him. Worse still, the 'assault' gag is so overused he just becomes a complete pushover whose only motive is to 'protect' someone who struggled to even comprehend his situation of being in a different world, and can't actually reciprocate his love 95% of the time. Funnily enough the best characters (with spines!!) were the supporting cast, Siesta, Jessica and Kirche, who actually had a personality and were enjoyable to watch. Later supporting characters are too, won't reveal names, but they somehow make you wish Saito picked a girl that, I don't know, actually and obviously likes/loves him. (P.s, this should have a harem tag instead of romance). All in all, don't get too attached to two boneheaded mc's, you'll be disappointed. Enjoyment 3.5 I did like some of it, mainly when the supporting characters were largely involved with pissing off Louise as a team, otherwise I struggled through this when I usually finish a season (12 eps) a night rather than taking me two, dreadful, weeks. Overall 4/10 Please be careful watching this (though hopefully I've put you off), don't expect anything to get better, Saito will always get caught being with someone else and the most overused gag ever will waste your time.

I can’t say I liked Zero no Tsukaima as much as hormonal, pre-teen male otaku out there. Plot-wise, I’d say it’s a revamped version of Maburaho. Other than being produced by JC Staff, the two series have other things in common. First off there’s the setting – both series are set in a magic school. There’s also the harem anime aspect – Louise, Siesta (my favorite!) and Kirche are all fighting over the token loser male character, Saito. Finally, there’s the ecchi. It’s a good thing that the ecchi in Zero no Tsukaima isn’t as heavy as Maburaho’s. It was a stable ride for me duringthe whole series. There were no high points and low points. Let me reinforce my first point by saying that if I were a guy I would probably like Zero no Tsukaima more. Louise’s tsundere antics would probably captivate me, and Kirche’s presence would probably get my temperature rising, but that will probably never happen. As for Saito, he didn’t really catch my attention. I did love watching his fight scenes but when he’s not fighting, he’s quite bland. Tabitha is too reminiscent of Yuki Nagato for me, but she’s not as cool. As expected of JC Staff, the animation was good enough to satisfy me. Everything was very cutesy though – from Louise’s pink hair (as well as the bevy of pastel color schemes throughout the series) to the Pokemon-ish familiars (except Saito, of course). The CG was lukewarm, and it’s a good thing they used CG minimally. Apparently most of the voice actors of Zero no Tsukaima also worked in Shakugan no Shana. The most notable name would be Rie Kugimiya, Louise’s seiyuu, who is known as a tsundere seiyuu. She was Shana in Shakugan no Shana. There’s also Satoshi Hino, Saito’s seiyuu, who was Sakai Yuuji in Shakugan no Shana. Other name worthy of mentioning is the very well known Yui Horie, Siesta’s seiyuu and Takahiro Sakurai, Guiche’s seiyuu. I like the music too. The opening and ending themes were both j-pop-ish, which can be a good thing. Both songs were very cutesy and catchy, and I liked both. As for the BGM, I’d say they were decent tracks. The BGM was fitting to the mood and feel of the series, but I don’t think it’s THAT good. While I wasn’t that pleased with it, it wasn’t so bad after all. It started and ended on the same note and consistency is a good thing for me. I might watch the second season just to see if I’ll like it more.