Narue no Sekai

I watched the fansubs from AnimeJunkies and ANBU, here's thanks to them b4 I start my review.

Synopsis: This is a story of Narue, a half-alien living in human society. She finds a boyfriend and have various encounters with both human culture and alien elements.

Story:8
A very unique story. This series concentrates on mainly trans-species/planetary love and slice of life and school life. This is in contrast to DearS and Chobits, where the non-human knows nothing and act blur, needing a human guy to teach em stuff while they act cute. Narue and her companions from space seem to have blended well into human culture (a little ... too well in fact).

The story is quite focused on romance, and have about 3 pairs of couples included, instead of the usual 1. All 3 are not human-human relationships and therefore there are obstacles that occurred. However, romance was formed a bit too easily, more emphasis was placed on how the guy and gal cherish each other. Therefore, if you are looking for a build-up to romance story (eg. ToraDora, Lovely Complex) this series may not be for you.

Slice of life was quite unique, given the supernatural equipment that the characters had. Somehow I felt the slice of life elements to be similar to Wagaya no Oinari-sama. School life was portrayed in quite an interesting manner, but in the later episodes school was not focused much upon.

There were hardly much action scenes, and I felt that the producers made the right decision. The action scenes featured were somewhat of a lower quality compared to slower scenes.

The ending was kinda un-conclusive (according to MangaUpdates this anime is until vol.4 of the manga) which can be understood. However, there isn't much of a closure (which B Gata H Kei managed well) as well, which is a bit disappointing.

Animation:6
The colours were a bit dull, even though this show was produced in 2003. Also, the action scenes were a bit... in slow motion and doesn't look very realistic. But the art was consistent.

Sound:8
Not a great variety of sound effects (eg. bgm) featured. However, the bgm was used well, and helped to create the mood for the scenes.

A highlight of this show is the OP AND ED.

The OP "Shooting Star" by CooRie was done amazingly, and is definitely one of my fav OPs ever (It tells of the determination of a person to treasure and maintain a relationship despite difficulties)... one that can match the level of "Shooting Star" by Kotoko in the series Onegai Teacher.

The ED "Ice Cream" by Saeko Chiba is a sweet song about romance, about how the person accidentally fell in love without being mentally prepared first.

Both were so great that I watched all the 12 eps' OP and ED without skipping, which is seriously rare.

Character:6
Characters were slightly less spectacular in this series. Some character development and character interaction were done, and done well, but I felt that too little emphasis was given to Narue and Kazuto (her bf).

The content was spaced out quite evenly among the main characters and some extra characters, but Narue is supposed to be the most important character in this series. Yet, there wasn't that much content about her. Narue's sister had some unfinished development as well.

The characters' personalities were done well. Unique traits were emphasised over and over again. Eg. Narue being very very thrifty (money-pincher?) Most importantly, the personalities they had were put to good use

Enjoyment:9
After the first few eps, which were kinda slow, I began to be addicted to the series. There were tons of emotional and touching moments. But, some problems were resolved a bit too easily... The romance in this series is really unique and great as well, similar to Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, although this series has more couples being focused on.

Overall:7
Take note that this anime is NOT MEANT TO BE CONCLUSIVE as it only ends at vol 4 of manga. While I'm writing this review, I believe the manga is still ongoing at vol 7. This anime is sweet and light, but at times a bit tear-jerking.
I recommend it for people who enjoyed romance series like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, where there is little build-up to romance but more emphasis after the boy-girl relationship is formed.

I recently purchased the collector's boxset of this for a very good price, having not seen a single episode before. I was able to get through all 12 eps in a day; for someone who can barely stand five eps of anime per day sometimes...well, that says something I guess. Now, let's get down to it.

Story 6/10
Nothing really new here. The World of Narue is, at first glance, a rather bland romantic, high-school comedy involving 14-year olds. The difference here lies in simple execution; each episode brings something new, but adds a nice degree of continuity to the story as a whole. As it develops, ... Kazuto and Narue have to deal with a lot of obstacles as a new couple; the biggest of which is Narue's status as an alien. As in any rom-com, they meet new friends, learn new lessons, share new experiences, etc etc.

Art 7/10
Can't really compare the manga since I haven't read it, but Studio Live's anime production does a decent job to say the least, with 3D help from Gonzo (who seem to always do well when they're not PRODUCING shows). I didn't notice any major issues with the animation.

Sound 7/10
Takayuki Negishi (Card Captor Sakura) offers his music-making talents for the show. The show benefits most, however, from the rather famous music production studio of Lantis, who have worked on dozens of notable titles.

Character 9/10
Like most romantic comedies, the biggest key to success is characterization, and development of such; relationships, motivation, plausibility, etc. I believe this show does an oustanding job of showing how two people have to overcome various hardships due to their ethnic diversity (not just one example in it, either). I almost melted more than a few times at various scenes with Kazuto and Narue, especially with Mamiko Noto's usual A+ performance as the heroine. Being an alien must be tough, though...

Enjoyment 8/10
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a romance that actually WORKS. I enjoyed pretty much every episode of this to an extent, despite how cliche-riddled it can get. It should definitely get filed on any anime enthusiast's shelf as a good "pick-me-up anime."

Overall 8/10
This show is probably severely underrated. Simply put, if you like these kinds of shows, then you're welcome to join me in Narue's world. Download the 12 episodes of it, or buy it at a very reasonable price (should be just over $20 on DVD Pacific).

Story (5): The story was pretty basic and didn't really go anywhere by the last episode. The adventures Narue and Kasu had we're entertaining, but that's literally it. The episodes felt like filler and didn't follow the story synopsis very much. The adventure part yes, and the "fighting space invaders and androids" for like 2 or 3 episodes. The rest of them were just random episodes of them just doing different things.

Art/Animation (7): For it's time this was pretty good. I like the colors, and animation was decent! I will say that the characters designs were pretty generic though.

Sound: (7): I enjoyed the ... ambient piano soundtrack through the series. The OP and ED were solid aswell.

Character: (5): These characters aren't very interesting unfortunately. They get the job done i guess, but personality wise and design wise, they just kinda fade into obscurity. Quite forgettable! Hajime was probably the most entertaining character due to her being obsessed with exposing Narue for being an alien and was funny. BUT 100% I absolutely thought that the 3 school girls who we're bullies with straight up annoying. I hated seeing them, luckily only for a few episodes.

Overall (6): i can't really recommend anyone to watch this due too the fact that it doesn't have enough going for it. Not much story, the villains are one-dimensional and barely there, characters are forgettable and are okay for getting the job done. It has some funny moments and the show is still entertaining to watch, just don't go into it expecting a ton from it. It is still a cute show but it has it's own issues.

6/10. It is fine.