Report No.: 75
Date of Report: July 17, 2007
Time of Report: 11:22 AM

Subject: Shuffle! Memories the 12th
Age: 25 minutes
Sex: Unstated. Tests report “Yes, please”
Race: Japanese animation

Background: Known history of insanity in family, especially in earlier Shuffle! generations 1 through 12. Fanservice abuse often common through the years, leading to unhealthily low amounts of plotline and occurances of Type-II (a.k.a Hit or Miss) Humor. Suffered from Beach Episode Disease.

Cause of Death: Appears to be natural causes. Many suspicious suspects, better known as “main characters”, are currently being investigated as possible contributing factors to death, to be explored in “after jump” segment.

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(on a side note before we begin, if anyone could assist in suggesting ways to acquire the 3rd issue of Comp H’s for cheaper than Amazon’s $30 shipping rate, me love you long time. thanks!)

“As long as Rin-kun is happy, then everything will be fine.”

It’s why I watched Shuffle. It’s why you should too.

Today begins another flavor of content, full series recaps. Instead of recounting series episode-by-episode it’s time to write some more all-encompassing content in reviewing the series as a whole.

Episode recaps will likely continue for newer, more recent series (such as Lucky Star and the upcoming summer season) but for older series these types of posts will probably become the norm, since most of you have watched this sort of stuff ten times over.

So, how about Shuffle!? On the face of it it’s a very generic harem show, with one typically bland protagonist choosing between five typically varied girls, but there is a lot more depth to it than first meets the eye.

Here’s the non-spoilery version for those looking to watch Shuffle!, and bonus details with spoilers can be found after the jump.

Shuffle doesn’t really kick in until about halfway through - episode 12 is where the serious content starts, and it hits high gear around 16. Still, I would reccomend watching some of the early episode to familiarize oneself with the characters, if only so that the later parts can hit harder. Still, since Shuffle! is hitting R1 DVD this fall and it’s a bit hard to come by online (by, y’know, legal means), if you could only buy some DVDs, pick up the 5th for sure (17-20, projecting 4 episodes a DVD) and, if possible, the 4th and 6th as well.

I would reccomend Shuffle! for those who like the “Sad Girls in Snow” genre (to steal a cliche), which I attribute to most visual-novels such as Kanon, AIR, Tsukihime, and yes, Shuffle. What I mean by that, is that, although these appear to be harem anime on the surface, each character has a compelling story to tell, instead of just being rehashed fluff. At the least, they are emotionally powerful rehashed fluff.

Shuffle! is similar to anime like the Key ones and Tsukihime in this regard, but it differs in that it is more tilted toward its fanservicey origins. So if you like panties and breasts, Shuffle! will be something you enjoy at least partially. And if you like serious storytelling with twists and tears, you will also enjoy Shuffle!.

As such, Shuffle! will probably be enjoyed by the latter audience, who can stand the former. If you’re just in Shuffle! for the dirty aspects of it, the first half is nearly all yours. I would suggest, if you’re into that sort of thing, check out the Shuffle! series of h-games, which seem significantly more biased towards ero content.

Still, for anyone who is not overly disturbed by fanservice (and if you are, there’s always the fast-forward button, or your eyelids), I would give Shuffle! a strong recommendation. Spoilers ensue after the jump.
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Well, here it is. The big one. The arc that elevates Shuffle! from “Ah, a good light-hearted harem eroge adaptation” to “It’s like Key, but with breasts.” Which is true mainly because here, the plot gets more serious, more interesting, and thankfully, a bit less fanservicey than is the norm for this series.

Not a lot to say that won’t spoil this episode to death, since it has some large exposition, but to say the least it involves several years’ worth of buildup, although, from the anime where everybody knew somebody back in the ‘promised girl’ flashback age, that shouldn’t say much.

XWindow: Jump out in.
This should. Someone - or at the going rate, more than one someone - is out to get Rin. Who? Why? Are they successful?

Well, of course, the last answer is kind of a no, as having your harem lead die would be a bit of a downer. But then again, there’s always Itsuki, who’s too shiny-glasses awesome in this series to be called by that name which graces that of lower-grade espers and drivers of Levins.

Anyway, find out next time on - what, this isn’t a TV commercial? There’s more? After the jump (spoiler safe through Shuffle! 19). Fine, be that way. Can’t I stretch this out over two days of suspense?

Don’t give me that ‘everybody’s already seen the anime’ look. It’s coming to R1 soon, and then I’ll laugh at you fools who said nobody cares about Shuffle anymore! Mwhahahahahah!

Er, sorry, that acts up. I wonder if Shuffle! still does have a decent fanbase - although, from the looks of the AnimeSuki forums (the ones I browse frequently) it’s much more chaotic and cutthroat (with those stupid fanclubs) than other harem anime. Possibly because they learn from example, if this episode is any cue.

Additionally, I wonder how the censoring will work on the Shuffle! R1s. I’d like to know if I am able to buy the DVD without putting on a trenchcoat and a fake mustache.
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(you should know what that means…and also, certainly, it could fit as a horror movie title in this way too)

It’s showtime! We’re about ready to hit the climax of Shuffle! with 4 straight episode of raw awesome, and here’s the first of the four.

The light-hearted title card is back, and it is screaming Very Important Episode at the top of its lungs. It’s kokuhaku (confession) time this episode, and so we’re getting down to crunch time - and don’t expect, even after the main two get together, that things are going to be all better.

Well, what’s to say? Let’s get this mission started. And what a mission it is - that subtitle says “secret strategic meeting for the date”. This is Spartaaaaaaaa business. This recap is spoiler-free, covering only Shuffle 18, so if you’ve gotten this far, keep going.
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Not quite the same ring as Wai for Mai~ , but Kaede’s a strong character with a strong story and a strong runner-up for best Shuffle! character. So, catchphrase’d for the token witty title.

And now, time for some time paradoxing.

So, Shuffle! Memories is a recap series, half the length of the original with the story split up into multiple parts. Each main heroine gets 2 episode for a total ten, there’s one intro episode (the previous one), and one new episode (finally!) at the end for a total of 12.

However, the dividing up of the story does strange and awkward things to the flow of the plot. Kaede Fuyou, the first girl featured in Shuf!Memo, was one of the last to get a story arc in the original series. So now, instead of starting out with some of the lighthearted stuff and then going into the more serious plots (I think the arcs built off of and eclipsed each other in the original), we’re going straight into the deep end.

Each character is split up into two parts, so Kaede’s entire story isn’t laid out at once, but we get a significant enough chunk of it that I’m forced to issue a spoiler warning for through Shuffle! 21 or so. Somehow, I’ve managed to overtake my blogging of the entire Shuffle! series with the 2nd episode recap of its…recap series.

Not to mention…a recap of a recap? Strange, isn’t it.
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