Shuffle! is another one of those popular harem shows. According to a lot of people it’s one of the better ones. The setting is a modern-like world, but in which the gods and the devils have made contact with the humans. This doesn’t really have an huge influence on the storyline though, except for creating the excuse to include some magic in the show.
The show is basically one guy who gets to have five different girls around him, who are all in love with him. The first half of the series shows us a peaceful pacing, with Rin and the others just having fun with each other. In the second half of the anime, each of the important characters gets their own airtime to reveal, explore and solve their own storylines, with Rin, of course, in the middle. I was very amused when I noticed one episode entirely devoted to two unimportant side-characters.
The problem with this anime is that all goes a bit too easy, and there are lot of events who need some kind of reason, but are based on coincidence. While other events with a reason were better off based on coincidences. Also, the fact that the characters keep telling Rin that they love him gets annoying after a while. Sure once is okay. But ten times, per episode, per character really is a bit too much.
About the individual stories of each of the characters. Some were very interesting, while others a bit disappointing. I also felt that the climax already came in episode 20. The climax itself was extremely awesome, but it did make the last four episodes seem like some sort of epilogue. The story presented in the last three episodes didn’t have the power of episode twenty, and it’s also very predictable. I also felt that, at the epiloge of episode 24, the only one who changed in comparison to episode 21 was Primula, while her role was extremely small during that period.
This show, of course, also has lots of good points. Each of the characters act very natural among most circumstances, and it’s enjoyable to watch the whole bunch just having fun with each other. The side characters all have something unique in them, so that’s something to watch out for. The drama moments are also mostly greatly executed. Overall, it was a decent watch.
Why you should watch this: If you’re into fanservice and cute girls, you will like this.
Nice anime..but cant find episode 21..already downloaded and burned out le..but my disk spoil…now want find cant find anymore..