Magic Knight Rayearth

It's a fun series, but after a strong beginning, it starts slowing down. Several episodes have very little point in the overall plot, and the Role Playing Game storyline just isn't complex enough to really fill 7 or 8 hours. Animation is decent, but occasionally they get cheap with it, especially when it comes to animating the big battles. Finally, the payoff at the ending just is not NEARLY as good as it should have been, especially considering how long the journey was. Not that I object to the ending, just that it seems like it could (and should) have built up to something much bigger. Probably worth renting or borrowing off a friend, but not worth buying.

I loved this plot very much. The characters are very different. Hikaru is your normal girl who is in a family that runs a dojo. She is a wonderful jumper as well. Umi is from a rich family, and Fuu is very smart. They use these strengths to rescue princess Emeraude. They all change, and Fuu even falls in love with Ferio, a mysterious boy with a huge sword. He is also cool. In one scene later on, several monsters attack him and he destroyed them all before the bag landed on the ground. He was originally small in the manga, but was given five more appearances in the anime, one episode is totally devoted to him!

I give this anime eight out of ten purely for my love of the characters. I've been a fan of anime for four years now, and this is my absolute favorite. However, I have to be honest: It's not the best.

If you want to see an anime for pure animation, go see Suzumiya Haruhi or Mai-HiME. The animation for this series is about as bad as that of Sailor Moon. It's sketchy, and there are many places where the budget runs out. The animators constantly change, and you can tell. I've seen the whole series twice and own it on DVD, so I know. In fact, I'm watching it now. The English dub is awful. Probably the best voice actor in the whole series is Bridgett Hoffman, the voice of Fuu. In close second, I'd put Terry Roberts, the first season voice of Ferio.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some really great things about this series. The characters are absolutely wonderful. Almost anyone can feel a closeness to a character in this series. For me, it's Fuu Hououji, for another, it's Umi Ryuuzaki. For another, it's Lafarga. There's someone you can love in this show. The characters are always changing and you see more and more of them. The plot is full of action, adventure, fantasy, mind games, romance and a strange twist at the end.

There's not more I can say about Magic Knights, other than I think everyone should watch it. That's about all

I just saw the 1st 4 episodes of this series and I thought it was great. Mokona's my favorite character. He's really cute. Anyways, this anime series is about 3 8th grade girls that meet by chance at Tokyo Tower on their school field trips. Their names are Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. Right after they meet, the next moment they found themselves on a giant flying fish. The fish takes them to a world called Cephiro. They must save the land from evil.

Magic Knight Rayearth is about 3 girls sent to another world, where they must gain magic in order to save everyone from evil. This is one of CLAMP's (CLAMP is a group of Japanese comic artists) best projects. Okay, it is kind of a Sailor Moon rip-off in some small areas, but most of the series is pretty original. The ending is very shocking and this anime deserves a look.