Every plot element of a typical magical girl series is in here; a perky young girl who gains magical powers, complete with a cuddly talking animal and funky costume, a nasty rival and lots of silly monsters to fight. The difference is that this series if based on the famous Tenchi Muyo universe, and thus re-casts all the Tenchi characters in this new setting, with Sasami taking on the role of the young heroine. The result is a series of highly entertaining videos that are a cut above most other Sailor Moon wannabes.
The Pretty Sammy series is cute, bright and fluffy, but with a pretty zesty kind of humour behind it. For instance, the second episode features a great parody of Bill Gates with world-dominating desires as Sammy's enemy. Other running gags such as Ryoko and Ayeka's violent rivalry to get their hands on Tenchi, or the completely freaky character of Sasami's mother (and her junkie-like addiction to karaoke) make this seem like a slightly more sharp and thought-out comedy than the standard, child-oriented magical girl shows. Also note a lot of in-jokes and references that anime die-hards will surely appreciate (such as an Evangelion pastiche in episode 3 that is laugh-out-loud funny if you get it). The plots of each episode are also more intricate than a run of the mill magical girl filler episode, and this being OAV-quality animation, it also looks much better than most TV-based shows of this genre.
It's cuddly and innocent enough to draw in very young children, who will feel right at home with the bright and cheery characters but the more intricate humour can and will appeal to many older viewers. As such, it makes very good "family viewing" (though I utterly hate using that term), and proves once again that all of anime is not made up of Akira-style gore and violence (because there are -still- people out there who haven't gotten that point).
Overall highly recommended to fans of cute and comical anime, and those who can appreciate Japanese-style fluffy and funky nonsense. The character designs are lush and colorful, with good, solid animation to go. Adorably cute as well as hysterically funny, this series is always very entertaining to watch.
The Pretty Sammy series is cute, bright and fluffy, but with a pretty zesty kind of humour behind it. For instance, the second episode features a great parody of Bill Gates with world-dominating desires as Sammy's enemy. Other running gags such as Ryoko and Ayeka's violent rivalry to get their hands on Tenchi, or the completely freaky character of Sasami's mother (and her junkie-like addiction to karaoke) make this seem like a slightly more sharp and thought-out comedy than the standard, child-oriented magical girl shows. Also note a lot of in-jokes and references that anime die-hards will surely appreciate (such as an Evangelion pastiche in episode 3 that is laugh-out-loud funny if you get it). The plots of each episode are also more intricate than a run of the mill magical girl filler episode, and this being OAV-quality animation, it also looks much better than most TV-based shows of this genre.
It's cuddly and innocent enough to draw in very young children, who will feel right at home with the bright and cheery characters but the more intricate humour can and will appeal to many older viewers. As such, it makes very good "family viewing" (though I utterly hate using that term), and proves once again that all of anime is not made up of Akira-style gore and violence (because there are -still- people out there who haven't gotten that point).
Overall highly recommended to fans of cute and comical anime, and those who can appreciate Japanese-style fluffy and funky nonsense. The character designs are lush and colorful, with good, solid animation to go. Adorably cute as well as hysterically funny, this series is always very entertaining to watch.