Studio: Studio Pierrot
Publisher: Nozomi Entertainment
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
Edited by KnightAvenger
Into anime that’s about friendship and camaraderie, but don’t want a bunch of boys as the main cast? Need an anime with a bunch of girls as the main cast that isn’t super fan service-y? How about an anime with a cool 90s vibe that didn’t air in the 90s? Then this anime review may be for you! Released in their Anime Elements collection comes Super GALS from Nozomi Entertainment. Many thanks to them for the review unit!
Ran Kotobuki is a girl with a passion for boys, bags, and blissfully-bubbly BFFs. She’s the self-proclaimed number one Gal in Shibuya. She’s got the guts to prove it, too! Whether it’s fending off a horde of boys who want to be her boyfriend or defending her friends from anonymous attackers, she’s got the talent and drive to follow the rules and protect the peace without becoming a police officer. Now, if only she would do her homework. See her live and how she interacts by watching Super GALS!
Who is she? That girl! … Okay, Super GALS isn’t that old, but it’s still a great show and has aged pretty well with the times. First airing over 17 years ago, it has that 90s anime vibe despite airing two years after the 90s ended. (Close enough, right?) Regardless, the show’s aesthetics really resonated with me. The characters all have their wacky tendencies, but each has a sense of realism to them. Ran may be insane at times, but she genuinely cares for those close to her.
In addition, while the animation sucks for the most part (I mean, come on. We all know that most early anime up until the mid-2000s had horribly lazy animation compared to most of what we get today), it’s not the animation that necessarily counts for Super GALS. The character interactions and facial expressions tell the story and the voice acting in both English and Japanese feels real and character appropriate. By the time you get to end of the series, you feel a real connection to the entire cast. After all, at an episode a week, you’d have spent a year with these characters, as the entire series is 52 episodes long.
All in all, I recommend Super GALS if you’re interested in checking out a show that looks different than the majority of what we see in anime today; yet, it didn’t feel like too much of a chore to watch. For the retail price of $49.99 USD on the RightStuf store, I’d say jump at it. That’s just shy of one dollar per episode for an awesome series that’s completely worth it.
Lolinia gives Super GALS a Drastik Moé Measure of 7.8 out 10.0 (78).
