Pretear Volume 4 - Sequential Tart
- Sequential Tart
- Sheena McNeil
- 11/01/04
- click here
"Pretear is an amazing and beautiful anime."
"it truly stands alone ? a shining star in the genre."
Pretear vol. 4
Reviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk.
Studio
ADV Films
http://www.advfilms.com
Credits
Director: Kiyoko Sayama
English Director: Kiyoko Sayama
Distributor:
Translator:
Grade: 9
And it all ends happily ever after. While part of me wants to scream 'that's too sappy; it should end in tragedy and bloodshed like all good fairy tales', teh rest of me absolutely loves the anime from beginning to end. Four DVDs, 13 episodes, just isn't enough of this beautiful anime. In these final three episodes, Sasame and Takako make Mawata the Puppet of Darkness, the power source for the Great Tree of Fenril. Himeno, the Knights, and Himeno's family must all work together to save Mawata, stop the Princess of Disaster, and save the world.
The scene where the Knights give the last of their Leafe power to Himeno was very reminiscent of Sailor Moon. It's a very powerful and touching image of sacrifice. In fact, sacrifice is the main theme during the finale. Everyone is sacrificing, and each one becomes even greater than the last, till only Himeno, Takako, and Fenril are left. At long last I finally saw the connection to the Snow White fairy tale. The ties to it are very, very loosely interpreted; what really hooked it was a scene at the very end with the 'prince' and snow white, apparently dead.
Pretear is an amazing and beautiful anime. While it is a story in a similar vein with other magical girl and senpai team series, it truly stands alone ? a shining star in the genre. The voice acting is excellent on both sides so I switch back and forth. The animation is very nice ... nothing too fancy, just aesthetically pleasing, and the transformation scenes are some of the most beautiful of any magical girl series. The extras include voice actor interviews (which some may find interesting, but I get bored with rather quickly ? especially since they are soooo lengthy), which are thankfully separate and not over the anime, production sketches, and Japanese CD and DVD spots. This anime would make an excellent addition to any shojo fan's collection.
Posted on Monday, November 01, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, December 01, 2004)