Introduction
This is a review of two animes, Shuffle! and Shuffle! Memories, but it is written as if they are one because they are. Got that? Basically, there are two seasons of this anime, however, the second season was pretty much just a summary of the first so in my view, I can't really considered it to be two different entity. So while I was angry that the second season was nothing more than a summary, I was more than happy to have watched the first season. Before watching, I looked at some of the reviews and though there were plenty of praises, there were also a lot of negatives. Even so, I decided to give it a chance. As it turns out, this anime was not just another harem but it actually had a compelling plot and made sense.
Review
Story
When the anime was started, I thought it was just going to be another harem, a guy with a bunch of beautiful girls around him and he have to choose one. That is the case with this anime as well but it didn't stop there. With most other harems, you expect to see comedic routines and a lack of a plot (or at least an interesting one). That just wasn't the case with this anime. The plot was good and interesting with plenty of twists and turns. I am confident that you won't be able to predict the conclusion of this anime unless you have been given hints of it or been told. In fact, before I started watching, I read a review that states the ending was not your expected ending so throughout the anime, I tried to guess what the ending was. I was not able to guess it until the near ending and that is saying a lot because I do have the knack for guessing endings.
There isn't just one plot however, as there were several. Because of a relatively huge cast, they were able to create a good story for each of the cast members. Were they all great? Of course no, no anime could do that but all were at least good enough. In retrospect, this is probably more of a drama than a comedy/harem anime.
But does that mean there isn't any comedic moments? Of course not. There were plenty. You'll get your laughs but you'll also get your story (which is really what it is all about). Being a harem, there are also a fair amount of fan service. For me, it is still a little too much though since it takes away from the plot but that is fine since the plot was still good despite the fact.
As mentioned before, the second season, Shuffle! Memories was a disappoint since it was just only a summary of the first season. Being that it is a summary, it also lacks many of the details I find important. It is only twelve episodes long as compared to the twenty-four episodes first season however. Of all the episodes, only the last episode is new. However, that episode is more like a filler and seems to take place somwhere in the middle of the first season. It is stange though since the opening for each of the episode seems to provide new information but the episode itself doesn't.
Characters
I guess that makes Shuffle! stands out is that despite the large cast, it was able to completely develop most of them. All of the episodes provided something for each of the character (this is why fillers in short series are so annoying so thank the lord this doesn't have any). One thing I didn't like about the characters though were their names, well, actually, only two of them. Our male protagonist is named Rin. One of the female protagonist is named Nerine but is called short as Rin as well. I would rather they stick with Nerine as to prevent any confusion.
There was one disappointment in the character development however, While Rin, Nerine, Sia, Primula, and Asa was throughly developed, I felt as if Kaede (the other female protagonist) was under developed. It wasn't until the very end of the anime that there were really any development on her part but even that came away a little too short. Strange because for most people, she would probably be their guest for who Rin will be with (I am not saying that she is or is not, you'll have to watch to find out). And it is not like they didn't have time required to develop her either. Sia was over developed in my view so certainly they could have taken one or two episoded used on Sia to develop Kaede more.
That aside, everything else about the characters were good. Even the supporting cast was good and well developed. They all have their own unqiue personalities and because an integral part of the anime. They were on the edge between main and support because without them, the anime would be severely lacking.
Animation
Beautiful and stunning, as to be expected from an anime released in 2005. The background was nicely drawn and transition of one frame to the next was good. Characters were beautifully drawn to be attractive. I couldn't really find any problems with the animation really.
Sound
The opening theme was good but props must be given to the ending theme since I actually like it a lot more than I thought. Background music was very good as well as there were quite a few number of songs that I enjoyed listening to. The second second actually have a different opening and ending theme for each of the main female protagonist and all were pretty good themselves (some stood out like Nerine's theme). The voice actors did a good job portraying the characters personality in their voice though at some points, it should like the same voice was being used on multiple characters. However, that is probably just me.
Conclusion
The reviews I read about Shuffle! ranges from great to poor with the average being positive. Due to that, I didn't expect all that much from it especially since it is a harem. As with all harems, I only expect it to be a light hearted comedy with a lot of fan service. But I was happy that I was wrong because not only did it have the laughs but a whole lot more. It is certainly a good surprise to have. I certainly enjoyed watching this is recommends it to anyone, not just people looking for a harem, because there is a lot more to it.
Download
Below are some of the songs I was able to find for this anime and the game As usually, they are all instrumental: