S · A: Special A

*Stares at the computer screen*

After writing the review on Fruits Basket, my face is all scrunched up because I spent FOREVER thinking about what I should write! Oh well, thoughts aside for now, let’s move on to Special A!

Name: S · A: Special A

Japanese Name: S·A(スペシャル·エー)

Air Date: April 6 2008 – September 14 2008

Studio: AIC, Gonzo

Episodes: 24

PLOT

Hikari Hanazono has always been second to Kei Takishima. When they were six years old, their pro-wrestling loving fathers introduced them to each other. Assuming that she was the best in wrestling, young Hikari challenged Kei to a wrestling match only to be thoroughly defeated by him. Ever since that fateful incident, Hikari swore to beat Kei in school grades, sporting events – anything. To do this, she has enrolled in the same school as Kei since elementary. Now she attends Hakusenkan, an ultra elite school, that costs her carpenter father a lot of money. Hikari and Kei are the top two students in the school, with Kei holding firmly to that number one position. While Hikari considers Kei to be a rival and important friend, she is completely unaware that Kei loves her. The story primarily focuses on Hikari and her constant attempts to defeat her one and only rival, Kei, and how she finds love in their rivalry.

I was too distracted by the fact that JUN FUKUYAMA is Kei Takishima *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･’(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)’･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* I love listening to his voice…it’s so sexy (๑´ლ`๑) hahaa, bless my random fangirling! I hope the rest of the girls feel the same way so that I’m not alone…Kei Takishima fanclub forever (*´ω`*)

Must. Shove. Fangirl. Mood. Away.

Any who, I heard that this series had mixed reviews so I wasn’t too sure when I watched this. First time for everything right?

First Impressions

I have no thoughts whatsoever. It was like I was suddenly unmotivated to watch this but I persevered for Jun Jun’s sake! Don’t worry Jun! I’ll continue watching this because you put your heart into this, I will not waste your efforts! I will continue! Go go go!

Hi there Kei (๑´ლ`๑)

And already, I’m head over heels for Kei ❤ I’m interested in athletic characters too and Kei is in my list of ‘Top Athletic Characters’…how sad xD but that’s because I’m an athlete myself and I love sports! Not just that, Kei is also smart and good-looking so no wonder. Who wouldn’t fall for him? If you don’t then you would be mad not to. To those who don’t like Kei…WHY DON’T YOU LIKE HIM?! What’s not to like? Come on ladies, tell me your side of the story. I would love to hear it.

Megumi is awfully quiet isn’t she? She always writes on her little whiteboard so I’m often left wondering why she does that rather than speak. Wouldn’t it be easier that way?

The S.A are like the elites of Hakusenkan. They have a different uniform compared to the other students and they can opt to skip classes. Also they have a separate building where they can relax and do whatever. The S.A building is HUGE. You don’t need that much space for seven people do you? The S.A building is a large greenhouse provided by the headmaster and can only be used by the members of S.A. It’s off limits to other students. That’s a bit unfair don’t you think? Such a large space for only seven people. It also includes a kitchen where they could make their own food and drinks. These people are unbelievably rich! Why can’t I have that much money? It would be wonderful to get whatever I want, go to prestigious schools, have fabulous parties and go on holiday a lot! The Bahamas sounds nice or maybe the Caribbean…

Midway Impressions

Typical shoujo anime with the heroine, Hikari, being as dense as brick about a certain someone. Kei forget about Hikari, love me instead! At least I know when someone loves me or not ( ಠ_ಠ ) by then, Hikari REALLY got on my nerves so I felt like slapping the girl. Maybe it would slap some sense into her? She’s meant to be smart so it could work ＼(^o^)／ Hikari is overly competitive against Kei. Seriously, I’m a competitive person too because I hate losing but not as much as Hikari; she challenges Kei whenever she gets the chance. This girl has some issues I swear. I may be hiding violent tendencies…someone hold me back before I strangle her!

Akira’s really funny though and I feel sorry for Tadashi who recieves her punishments xD poor Tadashi! She’s really protective over Hikari so she’s a really good friend, I wish my friends were like her…minus the whacking with pots and pans xD now that would hurt like hell! Akira is also an amazing cook; the food she makes for the other S.A members look so delectable I feel like I’m going to jump in and steal it all!

Ryuu is a good-looking character and I love his interaction with Jun and Megumi; he cares for them a lot like a big brother and is constantly worrying about them. He’s been looking after them ever since they were children so Jun and Megumi are quite dependent on him. Ryuu is ranked seventh in S.A so he’s only just made it. Don’t forget that the S.A consists of the top seven students in the school but Ryuu is actually really smart, smarter than Jun and Megumi however he doesn’t use his full potential because of them two. I just want to ask Ryuu someting…can you be my onii-chan? I’ll do whatever you say ❤

Yahiro is voiced by Kishou Taniyama! I’m a happy girl now! Yahiro is Kei’s and Akira’s childhood friend but he has always had feelings for Akira. They are unrequited. I do like Yahiro and I hope he ends up with someone so he can be happy, I care for him that much (^^)

Overall Opinion

What really bothered me was the character designs. Their limbs were like toothpicks, they seemed too elongated and unnatural (※థэథ)∵.*.∵

I can see why some people gave Special A mixed reviews. The story wasn’t the most original and it relied on the interaction of the seven members of S.A ignoring all other characters whether they be major or minor. While somewhat predictable, it still manages to be entertaining most of the time but also frustrating due to the lack of development of Hikari and Kei’s relationship. It progressed too slowly for my liking with Hikari realising near the end of the series how she truly felt towards Kei. I hate how oblivious she was to Kei; he made it really obvious that he loved her and yet she did nothing about it – typical shoujo I guess – I was raging all the way through the series at her xD

Moving onto the brighter side of things, the scenery was fantastic and the animation in the romantic scenes where they would employ a pastel like colour scheme really enhanced the scene and mood. The background music was appropriate and never seemed to get annoying or repetitive which you get in most animes – or so I heard. The characters were developed well, with the other members of the S.A getting their own spotlight at times. While the main focus is on the Kei x Hikari pairing, there are a few other pairings that show up and will get episodes developing them ~ I’m glad they did that! I don’t want Hikari hogging up the spotlight, the others need some showtime too ＼(^o^)／ and of course, credit goes to the voice actors! They suited the characters really well so it brought out the real them (^^)

Ahh ~ the funny moments of S.A!

SPOILER: S.A is disbanded and their building has been locked up for unknown reasons. So that Kei and his friends can remain together, Kei proposes a challenge to Hikari that if she wins, he will bring back the S.A. However, Hikari learns too late what Kei has done in order to bring back the S.A – he has already left for London for her sake. Hikari and S.A head to London to find Kei and bring him back to Japan while Kei resigns himself to not see Hikari and his friends again. Everyone, including Yahiro and Sakura, overcome the obstacles standing in the way of reaching Kei. When Hikari meets with Kei at last, they finish the challenge he issued her and express their true feelings for one another as they kiss in front of Big Ben.

In episode 19, Hikari got a fever so S.A had to go and look after her. Her fever was so bad that she requested a hug from Kei ＼(^o^)／ that made laugh a lot! She literally jumped out of a window and landed on her head to find him xD what a nutcase!

Part of me says “watch this anime” and another part says “don’t watch this” but I found myself enjoying this series as it went on. Definitely watch this if you like a dim-witted shoujo girl but I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone BECAUSE of that dim-witted shoujo girl…sorry Jun Jun! I hope you can forgive me?

I don’t know what to review next so it’ll take me some time to think about it. Please wait patiently as I whack my brain into action once again!