Although Pretear is more from the mahou shoujo genre, in each of these series an ordinary female character is thrown into a magical world that she is then expected to save. Also, in both shows, the female lead is protected by a group of seven warriors, one of whom she develops feelings for. Both Miaka and Himeno are clumsy yet strong of heart, and are able to overcome the villians with the help of their (attractive) male friends.

byspanky-sama on2011-09-04 12:29

Really awesome and sweet anime, great soundtrack and cool characters, nice storyline, i didn't like only one thing, and that Kei looked so supercool in manga but they made him look like huge gay in anime, and that's sad because he was one of my favorites u.u However, this anime is rare gem, something i'll never forget so if you have free afternoon, go and see ^^

bymay1990 on2011-08-07 22:07

I Really Loved This Anime!!!! one of my personal mahou shoujo series the characters are great there is a lot of comedy involved and the story is interesting.....A MUST SEEEEEE!!!!!

byHotaru-chan on2011-07-09 10:01

I didn't enjoy this anime for several reasons:
- lack of depth - so many interestingly-looking characters but they were given none space!
- plotline ruined by hardcore cliché scenes
- annoying main characters (Himeno and Hayate)
Pluses:
+ great opening
+ quite a few bishōnen to choose from ;)

byblue_heart on2011-02-16 19:29

Really nice anime with a touch of sweet blooming romance, some comedy, mahou shoujo, and a great story! I personally quite enjoyed watching it, but as usual, there's a one big dowside, and that would be no background stories for most of the characters. If we put that aside, I would still recommend you to watch this anime! It was really great and intriguing, especially towards the end.

bycheerios4m on2007-05-03 19:09

I heard it was supposed to be really good but I thought it was sorta bad. lol.

people made it sound like people should check it out if they were never into magical girl, but I don't think it'll change their minds. the whole thing that was supposed to be special was some relation to fairytales but that didn't help that much.If you do want to be convinced not all magical animes are bad watch akazukin cha cha.

there are some problems but I still enjoyed, I enjoyed the comedy and some other moments

Sound
the opening is catchy and the ending song is nice too. voice acting was on-point

Story
The story threw me off with the magical girl plot it seemed like they didn't explain enough like I'm thinking of like how sailor moon has such a complex plot and they explain it a lot and you'd have to know to get the anime; but this show justseemed random with monstersand fighting them... there wasn't enough background/explanation about the leafenia and monsters and all that jazz.

The last episodes were bad to me, it just seemed to drag on and the whole thing about friendship and love and hate and etc just wasn't working for me. it was cheesy sorta like in wedding peach if you've seen that.

The fight scenes were mostly bleh... they could've made them more exciting.

somewhere along the line it got alittle too silly or ridiculosu for me, at times and whatnot.

I liked the comedy it got sorta repetiive after a while.

The romance element was sour for me, it was random like it was just one moment i hate you than i love you and not convicning.

I found the ending to be unsatisfying it's just too... predictable.

Character
Characters were alright, something about them don't work.

Himeno was like typical the loud-mouthed, etc, etc. she sorta reminded me of usagi from sailor moon except she's not a crybaby. I do prefer usagi over himeno

Hayate and Sasame stood out in a way, the rest of the leafe knights aren't really developed and they come off sorta flat.

The other characters were okay considering they're not main, towards the "end" they act pretty unrealistic which bothers me...

Value
I'l agree with other people about it's lack of originiality... so value loses there. I mean it sorta bothered me when I was watching but I wasn't really aware so i guses it's not that irritating (love hina is)

All in all value is like worth watching once if you're into this kinda anime but it wasn't worth it forme maybe a ltitle for the comedy. i feel stupid/embaraseed for wtaching this actually.

bylele on2004-12-15 10:31

Shin Shirayukihime Densetsu Pretear is basically an offspring of ‘Snow White’ and ‘Fushigi Yuugi’. Don’t think so? Watch again. I don’t even need to explain it in detail, one look at the show and you’ll agree. There, end of review.

...still want to know more when you know all you need to know? Ok, might as well fill up this review space.

Animation
The animation sequences are very good and fluid, visuals are clear and colorful, making this show very enjoyable for the eyes. Character designs are not bad, but one can get sick looking into the glassy eyes for too long...and they’re big too!This is a shoujo flick, which means all the guys are supposed to look good one way or another, so get used to it.

Sound
Nothing impressive here. The opening and ending are alright and the background music for the whole show is suitable. The voice-acting is something to take note on. The creators have put in an effort to get a good cast who give personality to each character, enhancing them enough for us to enjoy the show and make the characters likable. There IS one annoying voice though, but it’s expected from that KIND of character ;)

Story
Here’s a summary of the contents of Pretear.Please do not read this if you don’t like spoilers

Snow White – yes, main character
7 Dwarves – yes, as 7 Leafe Knights
Prince – yes, take a guess
Evil Sorceress – yes, with a good twist too
Barbie Fashion Show - yes
Fluff – yes
Romance – duh!
Morals on love, friendship and kinship – yes
Monsters – yes
Transformation sequence - yes
Corniness – yes
Cliché-ness – yes
Happy ending – what do you think?
Mind-blowing plot – NO
Originality – on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say 5, so they pass!

Overall, the story’s well executed and concluded for a 13-episodes series. There is a slight, or rather, big emphasis on the theme of ‘wanting to feel needed, thus it’s ok if I’m being used’. Don’t forget, of course, that the first theme is overlaid by the moral of ‘love’. This is actually a decent plot and would have made a very powerful drama if the creators have explored a little more on this. 13 episodes are not long. There’s only so much you can do with 13 episodes, added to the fact that you have to give the characters depth as well.

Character
Apart from the main character and a few other characters, the rest are shallow. I suppose that’s ok since many other animes did worse. It would have been better if they had shown all the powers of each Knight or gave a bit more depth or background to them. Nonetheless, in a span of 13 episodes they managed to give life to a few characters which animes of 26 episodes could sometimes fail in doing. Also, although Pretear is similar to Fushigi Yuugi in terms of the girl needed by a group of guys as their savior, Pretear breaks away from the tradition of having most or all of the guys falling in love with the main girl or that most or all of the guys are teenage hunks *coughHarukanaruTokinoNakadecough*. Thank god.

Value and Enjoyment
Despite all the cheesiness and flaws in this anime, I enjoyed it immensely...until I turned on my brain again after it ended. That’s when all the questions come in. If you’re looking for a mindless, light and short entertainment with a plot, give Pretear a shot (hey, at least Pretear still has a decent story). It’s a great way to pass time with and share among your girlfriends with its romance, comedy, drama and fantasy. I’d say action if they were worth mentioning, but... Anyway, shoujo lovers, you may want to keep this and capture any close-up of the cute guys for wallpapers. Other than that, you can just borrow, download or rent. This is a recommendable anime for females of all ages.

byrequiem on2004-04-29 23:35

Despite what it first looks like,Pretear isn't exactly an anime to pin down.

Himeno, Leafe, Knights, and ugly monsters that need to die.

Well Himeno starts her new life, now that her father has married a beautiful new mother for her. Life seems pretty lonely at first, since everyone ignores her with her new "status."

Starting gentle and as a silly comedy, this series alternates constantly between humor and drama. As a whole it proves its point, so I won't complain about that. Still, because this anime constantly reverts between these two emotional atmospheres, I felt as if it couldn't make up it's mind and wouldn't ever come to completion. This gets extremely irritating in the last 3 episodes, with a conclusion that doesn't even stand out for 5 minutes to make me feel glorified in the victory.

I agree that conclusion is entirely positive, but I actually liked it. The anime as a whole seems to get sadder and more depressing as more and more lame things happen to the main character and her buddies. Then almost immediately it has a sudden change of course and closes on the happy road. I wish there was more to the conclusion, but it suffices in finishing the story, so it's no big deal.

Typical male characters. Great shoujo!

Himeno actually could be one of the most universally balanced mahou-shoujos that I've seen, since she isn't incredibly violent (like Lina fromSlayers), she isn't uber-kawaii (like Nina fromUltra Maniac TV), and she isn't too paranoid (like Yume fromSomeday's Dreamers), but still she manages to take a step into each of those personalities. Also, I felt like I have the same thoughts and feelings as she does when it comes to social life; feeling carefree of all of the bad associations she had with many people before, but overall looking for friendship with everyone. I really like that attitude...

On the other hand, I wasn't too touched by the guys - especially Sasame. All of a sudden he changes, as one will see, and it's really quite irritating how shitty the transformation for him works, since I didn't even have the chance to expect it. That's another thing -Pretear is somewhat unpredictable, as in often times I would have no clue what the hell is going on; especially with the characters' minds.

The minor cast supports the anime - but they are mostly silly side characters that do dumb things to make the show more charismatic.
As for the romance involved, it does get pretty deep and does take a significant portion of the story, but it doesn't really take over. There is enough going on to keep the watcher interested in characters' intimate relationships, fortunately.

Decent animation.

No ecchi, but there is a little bit of sexual innuendo here or there. As a mahou-shoujo anime, it's obvious that her male counterparts have to be bishounen - it's an unwritten rule. Nobody in the series looks ugly, except the monsters of course.

Drawings and designs are strangely appealing. The outlining of characters looks like that of 90's animes, with bold looking lines, but in the case ofPretear, mixing the old with the new makes the characters stand out very clearly from the rest of the animation. The smoothness is pretty average, and the recycled frames are kept to a minimum.

More importantly -Himeno's transformation isn't annoying! Because she can transform into many different suits, it's always exciting to learn what vivid costume will magically put itself onto her next. :-P

Music,seiyuu: Decent.

Nothing too much to say about the music. The opening theme is a catchy tune, but it's nothing that I would aim to download. Background music is somewhat limited and thin, but does suffice the mood of the story altogether. The ED is good, too, but once again, nothing I would bother getting.

As for theseiyuu, I don't really recall any annoying ones, but I did find Himeno's stepmom to have a exceptional "classy-sounding" speaking voice. Everyone's voice seems to fit well with whatever character they are playing, meaning that there must have been much work done with theseiyuu casting and production.

Overall: Like magic? Like cheesy romance? Like happy endings? Get it!

With a high recommendability, I could point this title towards newbies, young teenagers, and otakus who have a thing for comedy-dramas. The only people who would look down on this are those who despise mahou-shoujo anime, particularlySailor Moon orPrincess Tutu. Also, people who thrive on intense action wouldn't really get a fix from this one, either.

High rewatchability. Strange, eh? I'm not one who easily rewatches, but I've found myself checking out scenes here or there, and even burning it to CDs to let friends borrow and such.Pretear is something you watch for relaxation, and keep around for the hell of it, well, cause...it's good. :-)

byPetriW on2003-06-11 08:04

Shin Shirayuki Hime Densetsu Pretear is a story about Himeno, a girl who can become Pretear by joining her soul with one of the knights of the earth. Together they try to protect the world from evil which tries to steal its life energy.

While the art may sometimes be a bit subpar the animation is nice; the characters have great individual expressions and while the sound is not that spectacular it's typically high quality anime sound.

The story is pretty good, I liked it a lot and it also matched the characters and their development. Himeno can really make you laugh, helping up the general impression of the anime greatly. The fighting is generally a pretty short thing, no outdrawn story killing fights here which is awesome. :)

When I watched this anime I was really stuck, only took two breaks to make some tea but beside that I was completely into it, if you like a bit of romance then you'll probably like this, even the stuff that I often feel is overdone to the point of embarrassment fitted well. So, if you want to see an anime with drama, friendship and romance mixed with some magic then take a look at Shin Shirayukihime Densetsu Pretear.