Minna-san!

I know, I know, Pretty Sammy has been out for quite awhile. I just didn't 
have time to check it out, plus my neighborhood video didn't have it the 
last time I checked.

First of all, the animation quality is a real diappointment. I think 
after the first Tenchi OAV series, the animation quality has been going 
the wrong way. I suspect that this may have to do with the fact that 
Pioneer has been stretching itself too thin after the initial success 
with the original Tenchi. I can only hope that this will only be 
temporary. Perhaps, thing might change after Tenchi TV is over.

In addition, I notice that there absolutely is no new BGM. All that are 
present in the story are recycled from the Tenchi. I don't know if this 
is intended to be sort of a parody of Tenchi series. If it does, I don't 
think it has the intended effect on the audience.

Lastly, it has no story. Now, I understand that this should be the 
intended concept, since most magical girl animes also have no story, and 
Pretty Sammy is supposed to be a parody. However, in addition to that, 
there is no character development. Supposedly, all the audiences of 
Pretty Sammy should be familiar with all Tenchi cast, right? This is 
only partly true because this is also supposed to be an alternate 
universe, an alternate universe where Sasami and Tenchi are brother and 
sister, where Ryoko has no special power, where  Aeka is just a school 
council president.

Admittedly, Pretty Sammy has its moments. Some of it are actually pretty 
funny. I think many of us who don't particularly like magical girl genre 
will find the parody rather satisfying. It poked fun at things that most 
of us always think about when we see a magical girl show, for example the 
magical girl's "secret identity". I have to say that the idea of Pretty 
Sammy isn't all that bad, it's just the poor execution that spoils the 
party. BTW, why do I get the feeling that this may not be the last we'll 
see of Pretty Sammy? Well... hopefully Pioneer will get it right next 
time.

Later...

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K I R A T I   L A I S A T H I T                    kirati@u.washington.edu
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