Title: Super Gals! the Complete Collection (Anime Elements Edition)

U. S. Publisher: Nozomi/Lucky Penny

U. S. Release Date:07/05/16

Format: DVD  /52 episodes/ 10 discs  / 1300 Minutes

Genre: comedy

Age Rating: 8+

Overall Personal Rating: B

Synopsis:

Super Gals is about the Japanese subculture of gals (gyaru): high school teen girls who focus their life on fashion and style, either by living off parent’s money or from paid dates. Ran Kotobuki  is all into the style, but thats not all. She proclaims herself a super-gal and polices the group in a way . She comes by it naturally since police work run in her family. Her brother Yamato is a cop who is often on the beat of Ran’s territory, Shibuya, and is there to catch Ran’s antics.

There is a large group of characters, including her inner circle of friends, the cute guys to have crushes ( and friendships) with, and rivals. There are the over tanned mean girls who can’t leave things alone and are ready to start trouble.

Oh, the typical high school things go on, studying, worrying about tests, friendships, jobs , etc. But Ran is different in the way she thinks. She is not interested in her future self. All her focus is on having fun in the here and now. Instead of trying to get into college, she’d rather take a nap in class or study magazines for fashions and cute guys. If she sees the perfectly awesome bag she wants, she not above devious tactics to get it. She is a tough girl, basically eager to get into a confrontation on the streets. She is a wild child. But she looks out for her friends.

Her friends have more of the typical worries of trying to fit in, cram school, getting into the right colleges, and having to go to work.  One friend she makes is up at the top of the class. There are all the fun stuff of  high school as well, clubs, kendo, parties, hanging out with friends, eating out, etc.

Commentary:

I found it difficult to get into Super Gals!, I’m not the target viewer. The comedy is sometimes slapstick, sometimes more subtle, like exaggerating the consumer culture. And the mean girl trio are making fun of the gals who go too far into the “look”. I wasn’t connecting with the characters (although I did get involved enough to want to know how things turn out), and I’ve been interested in more dramas lately.  Now, I’m clarifying this upfront, because this series has merits and I’ve talked to people who really like it. So, I want to give my review based on both these sides.

This series is lighter for those times when you was something cute and fun, sort of time hanging out with friends.  Friendship is a major theme of the show. Although there are some serious themes mixed in, this is a comedy, including the stories, the voices and the look.

Visually this anime is engaging. It starts with the bright saturated and liberal use of color.  There is stiff animation, lots of still shots with a panning camera but still wonderful details. I was able to  get used to it and it became a non issue after several episodes. I don’t know if it is a style thing, or an issue of the age of the anime (originally airing in the early 2000’s). There is a wonderful attention to details, including fashion, accessories and hair styles. There is a pop style look to the series. The settings and backgrounds have plenty going on that add another layer. I enjoyed both the natural scenery and the stylized backdrop, like flowers twirling in the background to illustrated an emotion or attitude.

Another good thing about the series is the sound. I watched the first season in the English dub, and it was well done. It was kind enough to give us Americans note to explain the slang and the subculture. Even sending us specific jokes like “Hey look everybody, I’m Ralf Machio.” Unfortunately, the second season didn’t give that option. Japanese audio only. The voice actors both in English and Japanese did an quality job. The music support was wonderfully varied and plugged into the scenes well. The opening is quirky and Mod, but throughout the series, it could be any style to set the mood.

A final note,  it was listed as 8+, but I don’t recommend it for someone that young. There is too much cussing and some themes and attitudes meant for older teens.