Speaking as a fan of the harem genre, I went into this show expecting nothing more than fun and entertaining antics with fanservice sprinkles. Unfortunately, upon finishing the first disc, I was filled with… well, nothing. The characters were cut-outs of the usual archetypes, and the comedy ranged from slightly amusing to lame and even to downright annoying. First, we have the token gals; Kaede the 60s housewife who lives to pamper Rin, Asa the energetic childhood friend, Sia the spunky fashionable girl, Primula the kid character, and Nerine the “too shy” girl who can sing well. All of these characters fail to impress or even in being anything distinguishable from the rest. It’s comedic tropes depend largely on idiotic fanboys pestering the girls and hating Rin for being their center of attention. This just makes for situations that are beyond predictable and unfunny. Maybe if watching dense idiots do dense and idiotic things gets your funny bone, then you’ll find it to be okay.

Another detriment to the first half of this series is the writing in the dialogue. With lines like “Is it okay if I fall even more in love with you?” and “I’ll have lots of babies for you, Rin!” you may find yourself rolling your eyes and reaching for the stop button. And no, these are not the worst lines I could find, there are plenty more of the like, these are just the first two that came to mind. There are also many lack-luster and downright gut-churning confessions along way shrouded in scenarios such as ‘girl trips and falls on guy’ and ‘young girl needs a bra, lets take Rin along for bra shopping’ that are sure to get your gag reflex going, or just bore the hell out of you, whichever one comes first. Ultimately, the first half of the series is little more than the usual harem antics, just a lot more boring.

Its not until the second half of this series when things start to get interesting. Yes, if you could stomach your way through the first half, then strap yourself in, turn off the lights, and prepare yourself for one of the most unintentionally hilarious melodramatic farces you will ever see! The series takes a 180 and immediately turns a once pointless character into a plot-device (and then back to pointless), adds ‘ghosts from the past’ to another, and gives psychiatric problems to others. These twists come out of nowhere, and there are multiple times when the characters spend a majority of an episode sitting around blaming themselves for other peoples’ problems. One character gets handed a murderous psychosis right out of left field. I guess the makers saw When They Cry and tried to mimick it last second, because this psychosis has no justifiable explanation and in the end, it just goes away, poof. This segment also features a laser-guided exacto-knife. Yes, watch this far and you can see how a simple exacto-knife can transcend the laws of physics.

The one redeeming quality to this farce is that a winner is indeed chosen; unfortunately, this leads into yet another off the wall life-or-death plot twist that plays through with the most nonsensical explanations, reasons, and resolutions. Yes indeed, what started as a lame excuse for a romantic comedy turned into a hilarious melodramatic farce that is sure to have you in tears of laughter. In fact, the characterization and plot are so weak in the first half that you can probably watch the first 2 episodes and then spare yourself the gag-inducing 3-10 episodes and just skip ahead to episode 11 (I believe is when it ‘tries to be serious’) and not miss much of anything. If you’re up for it, I guarantee you will be entertained by how terrible the drama is done in this show, a ‘How NOT to do’ guide for making a romantic comedy/harem.

I’ve watched a lot of Anime lately. I have always liked the action/adventure type anime, but this is one of the first ones I’ve watched that wasn’t really focused on any sort of action. I checked it out mainly because I was tired of my daughter making me watch iCarly all the time and since we like watching TV together I set off in search of some Anime shows she might like.

I’d intended to watch just one or two episodes to see if it was too violent or suggestive. She’s 10, so I have to be careful what she watches. I ended up watching the whole series while I was at work over the last week or so. I’m not afraid to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I won’t mind watching it again with her. I wasn’t really concerned with the brief scenes of nudity in this series. It wasn’t anything more than a flash here and there which I can stomach. We’ve watched Ranma 1/2 for a long time so I’m used to the cultural differences. I wouldn’t suggest it for young children, but with supervision, I don’t think there’s anything too racy. They see worse just turning on the TV these days.

I have to say after watching shows like this that I can see why so many people enjoy Anime. The concepts aren’t dumbed down because it’s a cartoon. So many American cartoons seem to think that children aren’t capable of understanding subtlety. This series does not. The characters are deeply flawed in their own respects and make mistakes. Even Rin isn’t perfect. I have to agree with most–I would have liked to have seen a longer story. But honestly, I think this is a story you could return to a year later and still have material to cover. Plus I like the idea of telling a story from start to finish and not killing the characters over changing writers and new creative directions that happens in American series TV.

I really enjoyed this show, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something different from the standard faire. It was an enjoyable experience. Funimation has a knack for bringing us good stuff.

Beautiful high school girls, a clueless but likeable guy, magic, angst, and quite a bit of fan service – Shuffle! is a fine example of the harem genre in anime. Who would guess this anime, with its tender moments and sweet-natured plot, originated as an eroge (erotic dating game). There may be some people who approach this series expecting (or fearing) the same content as the game, including the game’s multiple alternate endings and pornographic scenes. Wrong. While the anime does take every available opportunity to flash panties and a few breasts, the series stays cleaner than your average primetime drama (think Desperate Housewives). It’s not for the under-13 set but those who enjoyed Love Hina and Tenchi Muyo will also love Shuffle!.

One thing to expect from this series is great voice acting from Jerry Jewell (well-known as Kyo from Fruits Basket) and Monica Rial (too many memorable roles to mention) as well as Funimation regulars Carrie Savage, Caitlin Glass, and Cherami Leigh, among others.

In short, there really isn’t any reason to not give this anime a try. You can even watch free episodes on Funimation’s website to see if you like it before you buy it.