Created with the historical fairy-tale of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in mind, Pretear proves to be a mediocre and lacking tale of one school-girl's journey to save the world with the aid of seven, note-worthy adorable, magical young men.
The story takes place in the present-day world, where magic and special powers are nothing but intriguing elements in fantasy novels. The main protagonist, sixteen year old Himeno, is initially presented as an ordinary girl with her share of problems. However, almost as immediately as she is introduced, it is made clear that there is more to Himeno than meets the eye.
Fast paced at
...
first, the story does not dawdle with introductions to all the characters, complete with biographies and a run down of their personalities. Its plot is pretty much revealed during the first few chapters, and it is made painfully clear that while a few unique attributes are present, there is hardly any sort of depth to the storyline - Something disastrous is about to happen to the world, and in order to prevent it seven mythical beings must locate Himeno, who will fight with them to battle an evil element and secure the fate of the world. It's pretty run-of-the-mill, with the regular 'a la sailor moon' transformations as Himeno physically connects with her newly acquired friends, so as to access and use their combined powers for battle.
While the seven magical beings, who appear to be human boys with varying ages, are accustomed to their powers and the battles to secure life in the world, Himeno is completely new to the task and has a bit of difficulty adjusting. Then, as if engaging in daily battles against evil is not hard enough, she has to get accustomed to her " Seven Knights", while dealing with a new family that is anything but warm and comforting. Himeno's conflicts at home affect her greatly, as the situation prompts her to question her self-worth and capabilities, thus resulting in a bumpy ride as she seeks to eliminate evil.
As the story progresses, it becomes so overly saturated with repetitiveness - mostly pertaining to Himeno's emotions - that it becomes quite annoying and a chore to read. The fast pace seen in the first few chapters, disappears in the middle, only to reappear near the end in order to produce a very rush-felt conclusion.
The Art is commendable, but not particularly exceptional. The character designs are consistent, facial expressions are readable, and the background is solid. The story deals a lot with nature, so there are many trees, flowers, landscapes...etc. These are averagely drawn, which is unimpressive especially for a fantasy tale where such things are usually exaggerated and more defined. The one solid disappointment resides in the battle panels, which are pretty hard to decipher. However, this doesn't really take away from the story as Himeno and her Knights are usually battling seeds and vines without any sort of creative moves or skills.
Character-wise, the princely characteristics displayed by the knights make them quite likeable. It is sad that there is hardly much of a development with them. The younger boys are shown as simply adorable. the preteen struggles with his spot in the middle where he is no longer very young but not yet old enough, and the older guys are gorgeous, caring, skillful and potential heartthrobs for the heroine.
As for the heroine, it is not possible to say that she is a " kind-hearted and warm" individual, because she flip-flops from being selfish to seemingly understanding, then back to selfish and annoying in almost every page. This is especially annoying as it's obvious that the author wants her to be seen as a kind hearted girl who genuinely cares about others above all else. When she speaks with what is suppose to be a genuine heart, it's hard to not see her selfishness. She makes every situation about her, and it's hard to believe that she really takes anything away from the lessons learnt.
Another character that is hard to appreciate is Himeno's younger step sister, Mawata. The author would clearly like the readers to feel pity for Mawata, but it is hard to do so when it's not shown in the story that she really "needs" to be pitied. or has encountered situations that call for such an emotion.
The other characters, such as Himeno's Dad, step mother, second step sister and best friend, are pretty much on point.
Overall, the story was not enjoyable. The heroine started off with a positive light, and then came across as very shabby until the tale ended. Each volume of the manga saw fit to waste its pages, ink, and the reader's time (in this case mine) by recapping the union of the heroine and her knights, as well as her wishy-washy emotions which consumed every other page. The battles are monotonous and uncreative. Then to top it off, when the final- and only - confrontation with the real evil source came about, I for one was disappointed because the brief moment spent between 'it' and the heroine, was so VERY uneventful, that it's indeed possible to miss.
The only enjoyable thing about Pretear is the character design for the seven knights. They are nice to look at, and the relationship between them is the only high point and interesting element in the entire series.
My advice - Watch the Anime as it does a far better job than its original counterpart.
 Alternative TitlesJapanese: 新白雪姫伝説プリーティア More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 4
Chapters: 18
Status: Finished
Published: May 30, 2000 to Jul 18, 2001
Demographic:
Shoujo
Serialization:
None Statistics Ranked: #48272 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #4301
Members: 5,174
Favorites: 85 Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 6 / 6
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Aug 30, 2008
Created with the historical fairy-tale of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in mind, Pretear proves to be a mediocre and lacking tale of one school-girl's journey to save the world with the aid of seven, note-worthy adorable, magical young men.
The story takes place in the present-day world, where magic and special powers are nothing but intriguing elements in fantasy novels. The main protagonist, sixteen year old Himeno, is initially presented as an ordinary girl with her share of problems. However, almost as immediately as she is introduced, it is made clear that there is more to Himeno than meets the eye. Fast paced at ... 
Dec 23, 2007
If you have heard or read of the usual fairytale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", then this anime will certainly resemble that old story from the past. Except this time, the princess isn't all cute and friendly. She's got a short temper and lives in a hard situation with her family - introducing, Miss Himeno Awayuki. This girl only wants to live a normal life, but finds herself wounding into the strangest situations - a great twist to the original "Snow White" story.
The manga art is quite sketchy, and at times the lines are so thick that the visual alone is blurry and difficult ... 
Feb 25, 2014
Remember the pretty stories of Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, you think of a little damsel in need of rescuing. You rarely think of the damsel being the one able to help save the knight in shinning armor but that’s sort of the feeling about this. Such a pure and sweet little girl with a heart of gold; YA RIGHT! This little princess isn’t as pure as the story but she does have a small sad story to tell. With an alcoholic Dad who didn’t really bring money in with his books, she pretty much had to grow up fast and take care of
...
Jul 13, 2011
This manga is a masterpiece- the anime is a different story. READ THE MANGA FIRST. The anime does not stay true to the manga IN THE SLIGHTEST. They basically turned one of the most artistic and beautiful story into a pile of fan service and an excuse of a story.
Anyway. The manga is wonderful because it does not focus on the lovey dovey party of Himeno Awayuki's life- it's about family and learning to trust your parents. The whole time, the conflict between her and her family is what drives the story, unlike in the anime, where it focuses on Hayate and Himeno so much ... 
Apr 16, 2009
It's a short series, since it only ran within one year, with 4 volumes in total. It's actually titled Prétear - The New Legend of Snow White, which I only learned when I was browsing it through (answers.com)
I was able to see the anime version of it first, and thought that it was the typical magical girl show, with the costume changes and magical powers and being surrounded by a harem of good-looking young guys. The anime and manga version of it differ somewhat, both in characters and plot, though unlike some of the manga-anime I've recently read/watched, I actually like the anime better than the ... 
Jul 1, 2010
I'm really bad at giving reviews, but please read my review.
Pretear's anime is not in it's originated form just to give y'all the heads up. I don't want y'all to get mad because no one told you. They changed a lot between the anime and the manga. Pretear has a very different image in the manga. The stories are different, but the plot doesn't change. They keep the plot, but they take out and change so many things. It's hard to believe that they were created by the same mangaka. The art is a little different from what I expected... it was also nothing like the ... |
