 "One of the best animes I've seen" | 2006-05-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3P5TF7Q5P7IZN |
| I've totally fallen head over heels for Pretear. It's a great blend of several different fairy tales. There are elements of Cinderella (new step-mother and two evil step-sisters), and Snow White(evil queen bent on destruction and seven knights instead of dwarves). All in all, it's a brilliant work. I watched the entire series in one sitting with some friends, and then set out to buy the series for myself. If you like empowered women and fairy tales, be sure to check this out. |
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 "Somewhat Similar, Somewhat Not-" | 2005-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
If you have ever read the manga of Pretear, you'll see that there are actually a few major changes between the anime and the manga. For instance, the character, Kei, looks terribly different. His hair became longer, and it seems his skin also got darker. All of the knights outfits changed in some ways. Sasame's hair is actually rather flatter (by that, I mean that it doesn't stick out so much), and so did Goh's.
The storyline had also sort of changed. You'll know what I mean if you both read the manga and watch the anime (all of it, that is). I liked the manga better than the anime, because the storyline got changed in the anime, and there are only 13 episodes (there are only 4 volumes in the manga, 18 chapters).
* The opening theme is -White Destiny- for those who want to know* |
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| "This show is so cute it makes me sick!" | 2005-09-05 |
| - Reviewed By sharingan18 |
This show is one of the cuter shows I've seen. It's not terribly deep, but it is really entertaining to watch. I've always thought of it as Sailormoon in reverse :) You've got a bunch of good looking guys and one cute girl saving the world from an unknown evil.
I'm sure the only reason you are reading this review is to find out whether or not you should take a chance and buy it. I think that if you've enjoyed shows like Sailormoon, Fruits Basket, Escaflowne, Trigun, and Fushigi Yuugi then you would absolutely love this one as well. |
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| "Hail the Princess of Light" | 2005-07-12 |
| - Reviewed By djhamlow |
"Leafe-it is the source of life. Leafe-it's a power all living things have."
I have to thank Melissa H. for turning me onto Pretear. This fantasy/action/romance anime has some elements I find endearing, and is the second anime series I saw from start to finish. Himeno Awayuki is an energetic and sometimes ditzy high school student whose father, a widowed romance novelist and sculptor, has recently married the wealthy widow Natsue Hojo. As a result, she finds herself living on a wealthy estate and near a city where the nearby businesses are all renamed after her father's surname. However, Mayune, the long pink-haired stepsister, is a meanie with an obnoxious and loud laugh, who specializes in ridiculous practical jokes against Himeno, most of which backfire on her (e.g. a gigantic tube of mayonnaise). The introverted and soft-spoken stepsister Mawata, on the other hand, is somewhat withdrawn and indifferent to Himeno. This is different from the original manga, where Mawata was actually as bad as Mayune. In the anime, she is someone to be pitied, not hated.
Meanwhile, the seven Leafe Knights of the world of Leafenia, are out to stop Fenrir, the Princess of Disaster from conquering the Earth with her demon larva. When mature, they are huge slug-like monsters with tentacles and demonic reptilian eyes, absorbing the Leafe from all living things to feed Fenrir. Trees and flowers blacken and wilt when touched by a larva. The Knights' powers are limited, so in order to combat this menace, they need a chosen woman to "prêt" with, a Pretear, the Princess of Light. A Knight and the Pretear merge together, where the Pretear defeats the demon larva with weapons created from leafe, energy from living essence. Well, Himeno is the chosen one, and she is overwhelmed at being needed by the Knights, as she is still trying to find her place in a new family, home, and school, where she is shunned. Each Knight has a special power, be it ice, fire, wind, sound, etc. The child Knights, Mannen, Shin, and Hajime, take to her and even call her "naychan" or big sister. The dashing and quiet Sasame is an isle of reason and kindness, helping her in her training or being someone with a sympathetic ear. He's empathic, hosting a radio program, and replying to postcards, among them being from Mawata. However, the brooding Hayate arrogantly dismisses her, saying that she doesn't have what it takes, saying that they don't a Pretear, which isn't the case. Himeno's not that crazy about him either, and a state of mutual contempt exists between them. That starts to thaw by the end of Episode 4, though Hayate gives her a funny nickname based on her hairdo-"tulip head," which she isn't too chuffed about.
When Himeno prets with a Knight, there is a transformation scene complete with fanfare, where she is surrounded by coloured bubbles, reemerging with a colourful costume. Kind of a throwback to Sailor Moon, but minus the "moonlight crystal power makeup" schtick.
Once, I noticed the full title, "Pretear-The New Legend of Snow White" and it made a lot more sense. Think about it-Himeno's stepmother is mean, with two stepsisters. Then the Leafe Knights number seven. Aha! But there is an environmental message as well, on protecting the Earth from things that threaten to drain the life and life force from living things. Plus, the Knights also detect the presence of the larvae through their jobs, ever alert to a high level of depression in conversation.
Pretear also sports a host of well-known voice performers. Mikage the kindly maid is voiced by Yui Horie, best known as Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket and Naru in Love Hina, while Yuji Ueda, who is Kaoru, acted opposite Horie in Love Hina as leading man Keitaro. Satsuki Yukino (Mayune) was also in Love Hina as Mutsumi, but also in Ai Yori Aoshi as the energetic Tina Foster. Himeno's voice actress, Sayuri Yoshida, also sings the catchy ending theme song, "Lucky Star," but it pales compared to the energetic techno opening theme, "White Destiny," sung by the one and only Yoko Ishida. And Takahiro Sakurai (Sasame) is also Kamiyama in Cromartie High School. Finally, Kikuko Inoue (Natsue) voiced the landlady Hibiya-san in Chobits.
A great start for the 14 episode series.
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| "It doesn't get any better than this" | 2005-05-09 |
| - Reviewed By badger@infinet.com |
Magical Girls, handsome Magical Knights, an evil Queen . . . haven't we seen this all before?
That's the magic of Pretear - you've seen all of it before. However, you've never seen it quite like this. Pretear deconstructs and reconstructs the magical girl/harem-of-guys anime concepts into a tight, serious, and emotional plot.
Himeno should be happy - her father's remarried a rich window. But money really can't buy happiness, even though it also brings two distant sisters and a mother. A ghost in her own world, Himeno wonders if she even matters.
However, she does. A strange evil threatents to draw the life from the world, and she's one of the rare people who can stop it - a Pretear. She has the ability to enhance the powers of the Leafe Knights, a mystic order that guards earth's life energy from predators. But everything comes with a catch - each warrior becomes a part of her as they fight, and when she's hurt, they pay the price . . .
Warning: This series pretty much is a rewrite of the manga. Though they have the same characters and ideas (mostly), this series interprets much of it differently. That being said, both are qutie good. |
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| "A Beautiful Rarity!" | 2004-08-16 |
| - Reviewed By lilandra44 |
Here is the first volume in the beautiful and superbly executed Pretear series. As someone who owns the entire Pretear series, I can honestly tell you that the hype surrounding it is all true. Pretear is a strong character-driven story with adorable humour and real heart that not only makes sense, but is captivating and exciting as well. The English voice acting is very good, but the Japanese dub is brilliant! If you are looking for non-stop action (mecha or martial arts) then you need to look elsewhere. Pretear combines elements from the fairy tale "Snow White" with a wonderful, innovative story idea. Combine that with the exquisite animation, beautiful character and costume designs, and interviews with the english voice actors (spread out over all 4 volumes) and you have a classic work of anime.
In volume one of Pretear we meet the heroine, sixteen year-old Himeno Awayuki, who literally got transplanted into an entirely different lifestyle when her father, Kaoru, fell in love and married the fantastically wealthy Natsue Hojo, who happens to own and control the entire town in which they live. Natsue is so deeply in love with Kaoru that she changes her last name to Awayuki and renames the entire town after him. Now, Himeno lives in a castle-sized mansion along with her father, step-mother, and two step-sisters Mawata and Mayume. Despite her new found wealth and family, she feels alone and unloved, and starts to wonder if she could disappear.
While in the backyard of her new home feeling she has hit rock bottom, several handsome male strangers come to Himeno and introduce themselves as the Leafe Knights. The Leafe Knights are the protectors of the world's Leafe, the energy that sustains all life. Each Knight has his own special power such as sound, fire, water, etc. The Leafe Knights are searching Japan for the girl who is the Pretear, the Princess of Light. The Pretear has the special ability to Prete, or combine Leafe or souls, with each of the Leafe Knights to turn into a powerful warrior with enhanced abilities of the Knights she Pretes with. She is also the only one with the power to defeat Fenril, the Princess of Disaster, who has broken out of her prison of 16 years. If she is not stopped, she will destroy the world by draining it of its Leafe. The powers of the Leafe Knights alone are not enough to defeat Fenril, which is why they search for the lengendary Pretear. And it seems that they have found her...in Himeno.
This first volume of Pretear is funny and light-hearted. It has all of the magical-girl elements: clumsiness, newly discovered powers, new found love and friendship. The story itself is original and engrossing, and centralizes around the human heart. Pretear is one of the best anime series I have ever watched, hands down! I would definetly place it in the top 3 of my list of anime favourites. But don't just take my word for it. Watch volume 1 for yourself and see what all the praise is about.
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| "magical girl but not" | 2004-05-19 |
| - Reviewed By tweedldum65 |
| Pretear is a magical girl show yes but then its not it has al the regualar transformations and everything but its not your typical magical girl show. This show fits into many genres one of which is comedy the show is so funny especiall Mayune. This show is a must own for every anime fan. The animation is good the dubbing is great and the story is great their is almost nothing wron with this series. Anyone that likes anime should order this right now. Beleive me you will not be dissapointed. Every minute you spend watching this show is worth it. So put aside the fact its a magical girl show and watch it. |
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| "Lives up to the reviews and expectations!" | 2004-04-22 |
| - Reviewed By hodgemo2 |
| This is a DVD that I stumbled upon randomly and, after reading the reveiws, decided it was worth a shot. And was it ever! For lack of a better comparison, it kind of reminds me of a (loose) cross between X and Sailor Moon. The magical girl aspects are definitely there, but the whole idea of the Pretear, and of preting (spelling?) in general, is very unique. It was slightly reminiscent of X the movie and TV series because of the 7 knights and the fact that each battle is blocked from harming the outside world. However, it is fairly fast paced, and doesn't seem to fall victim to the standard enemy-of-the-day routine that is always lurking around anime such as these. (or at least, it hasn't in the first DVD!) All in all, I think that Pretear is a nice combination of many things. The fight scenes, and the practice fights, are very nicely done. Himeno's pretear outfits are beautiful, and the animation in general is far above average. The music is very nice, and the opening theme is very catchy. There is enough humor to keep things light hearted, but enough story-line to keep things from getting stale. And the english dubbing is very well done. I would recommend this to any one who is a fan of shoujo anime, or anyone who is willing to watch anime that doesn't take itself too seriously. I can't wait to get the next volumes! |
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| "It's about time!" | 2003-12-13 |
| - Reviewed By ladyknight1980 |
| This is my very favorite anime ever done, and I was so excited when it was finally brought out in the U.S. For those who enjoy the "chick-flick" animes, this one is incredibly charming, from beginning to end. It subtley combines a couple of fairy tales, but goes far, far beyond merely that. The subtitle for Pretear is "Legend of the New Snow White," but it begins as a sort of Cinderella story. The main character, Himeno, has just obtained a stepmother and two stepsisters -- one of which is as nasty as the typical wicked stepsister is supposed to be. Himeno finds herself shunted to the side, hardly noticed, and she wonders how she can find a place in her new life. Then she meets the Leafe Knights. And she becomes Pretear, protector of the world and life. There are seven Leafe Knights -- much like the "seven dwarfs." The story strays from any fairy-tale-esque elements until near the end, but I won't give the ending away QUITE yet. ;-) This too-short show is nevertheless perfect, the story is sweet and romantic, while at the same time getting darker as you go along. But you'll love Hayate especially, and Sasame is great. Kei is strange -- he seems so effeminate, but at the same time he's so dully serious! It makes for a unique combination. And the kids are simply darling. You'll fall in love with this anime! This first volume of Pretear has only the first four episodes, out of thirteen. I can only assume that there will be three other volumes, with three episodes each. This first volume is enough to hook you on it if you aren't already. The final show on this particular disk is a very strange one, I'll warn you about that. But the DVD is beautiful, the picture is clear, and there are options to watch it either dubbed (which I would NEVER dream of doing, the original language is so fabulous), or Japanese with English subtitles. This is a fabulous show, no anime lover should go without seeing it! I can't wait for the next episodes! |
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| "GREAT Magical Shoujo series!" | 2003-11-30 |
| - Reviewed By likalaruku |
| I liked this series WAAAY more than the manga, 'except' for the character development of Sasame. The important thing is that Himeno isn't a sissy whiny meek girl like most shoujo stars are. She's extremely ammusing & manages to overcome her personal fears with anger rather than cry to her girlfriends. She hangs around with gorgeous Uniforms (men & boys). The Uniforms are such a cool, unique twist! They themselves transform into her suits! & she never has to wear the same suit all the time^.^ In the end she tells off this self-centered woman that the whole world doesn't stop because she's miserable. I think this anime has a positive message for young teen girls about overcoming fear & not beeing such a sissy^.^ I also reccomend Magic Knight Rayearth & Shoujo Kakumei Utena. I also reccomend avoiding the Rayearth OAVS & the Utena movieO_o |
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