Saber Marionette J

On the surface, "Saber Marionette J" seems like the same old "many girls fawning over one loser guy" sort of romantic comedy anime, but a couple of twists give it a sort of fresh approach.

First of all, the girls aren't really human. They're androids made to look like human females. Even though the androids (the title "marionettes") are outfitted with circuits that give them human qualities, they come off more as innocent children fawning over a pet as opposed to jealous bimbos trying to pry the object of their desire away from the others.

Second, the young man in question, Mamiya Otaru, is not the same loser stereotype that is "Urusei Yasura"'s Ataru or "Oh! My Goddess"'s Keiichi. Otaru is a sort of Everyman, not too much different from the other men that populate his planet. He is fairly well-liked, unlike the other two examples, and thus, seems a much more likable character.

I've been told that there are women who take issue with the whole idea in anime of several women fighting for the affections of one man. "Saber Marionette J" IS a romantic comedy, but not quite in the same vein as other anime romantic comedies. The way the characters and situations are presented make this a must-see, even for those who think they aren't going to like it.

Awesome intro and outro songs, good Marionette design, usual excellent job by Megumi Hayashibara (the reason I got here in the first place) and good voice acting from the other actresses and actors, this show it's entertaining enough if you can close an eye on the evident plot holes and two eyes on the atrocious otaku-tailored sexist overtones behind it, albeit you see the male protagonist being saved by one of his companions at least once so that's a plus. The only interesting conceptual glimpse you might find in this one is that machines can evolve if an human (of course, of male sex since men are stupidly supposed to be the ones always in control of everything. Whatever) loves them, but other than there is no real deeper meaning to be found. Watch once especially if you're a Megumi Hayashibara fan, than move on to something better.

Saber Marionette J is an excellent series which started out as a comedy but slowly progresses into a serious drama. All of the characters are very well drawn and I can't help but liking Lime and Otaru straight away. Except for the last 10 seconds, the ending is also really good.

Saber Marionette J, in my opinion, has the best combination of all genres in film. It's got action, adventure, comedy, romance, and drama all rolled into one superbly animated package. The plot builds beautifully over the entire series, culminating in an ending that will simply blow you away. Even my friends who aren't into anime loved this series. And I think that says a lot for the quality of SMJ.

Remember Locomotion?

It was one of the best channels cable could offer in Latin America back then in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Being an animation channel aimed at adults was something pretty unique back then (It still something quite unique, as the same absurd bias towards animation still persist to this very day) and as a kid, I was always fascinated by the atypical series featured on its programming, which included plenty experimental shorts; it also included a lot of anime shows, which would not have been shown in Latin America if it wasn't for this channel.

Saber Marionette J was one of those series: A mixture of comedy, science-fiction and romance, with also action and drama, and many likeable characters.

Lime was my favorite, she had a very sweet and adorable personality.

The soundtrack was quite amazing, and had a very nice art-style and animation.

In some ways, it reminded me a bit to Samurai X wih its mixture of comedy and drama, and as the series progressed, the show started to deal with heavier and more complex themes, something which also carried to the sequel series Saber Marionette J to X.

A very good anime which I still fondly remember.

Locomotion was one of the best channels we ever had; a very artistic channel with many great shows. If only there was a way to bring it back...