• Title: S.A. ~Special A~
• Studio: GONZO x AIC
• Genre: Shoujo/Romantic Comedy

Ratings (out of 5):

• Story: ♥♥♥

• Animation: ♥♥½
• Characters: ♥♥♥
• OP/ED Themes: ♥♥½
• Overall: ♥♥♥ (Mmm, endless competition makes for great foreplay.)

Thoughts:
Special A is the tale of Hikari, who has spent a significant chunk of her 16-year-old life attempting and failing to beat classmate Kei at…well, anything. She convinces her parents to let her enroll in the same school as Kei attends, where he’s the #1 student, and she quickly becomes student #…2. He even begins to refer to her as “ni-san,” or “#2.”

Unbeknownst to the otherwise sweet and friendly Hikari (but made completely obvious by the end of the episode) Kei has a major crush on her. Which is good, because I otherwise would have hated him, even if he IS voiced by Jun Fukuyama (aka Lelouch). I like an arrogant assholes in some contexts, but when he’s the female lead’s crush in a shoujo, I tend to hate ‘em (see also…). Fortunately, the revelation that Kei does see and appreciate Hikari’s various charms puts him back on my “okay” list. (And Fukuyama’s voice doesn’t hurt.)

If you were ever put off of xxxHOLiC by its “noodle people” look, you may have trouble with Special A, which features people of similarly long extremities. Other than that it’s pretty decent in terms of visuals. I also like the overall style of the show, which goes over-the-top in such a…casual way, it’s kind of hard to explain. It just feels fun and not too heavy or dramatic or contrived– less dramatic than Lovely Complex, but not as out-and-out goofy as Ouran High School Host Club.

It seems to be my theme to say that there’s “nothing really new here,” but I think it’ll be a good romp nonetheless.

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