Fancy Lala

[Koshiba]

I've been interested in this title for a while now. Ever since I saw some fansubbed episodes of it at my first convention years ago. But for some reason, I had never gotten around to buying it. I also found out there was a complete collection of it that was released a while back, which I guess kinda flew under my radar. However, it seems like it's now Out Of Print as I can't find the series anywhere. Makes me wish I had went ahead and tried buying it.

So what I'm wondering is, is this series worth trying to hunt down? And which would be more worth hunting down, the collection or the individual DVDs?

I have a general idea of what the show is about, though I only saw a couple episodes. How's the ending? And how does the show hold out?

Thanks.

[aquapermanence]

The singles are $10 each and the collection is $50, so it's not much difference in terms of price. If you get the collection, you're guaranteed to get the whole thing in one go, instead of potentially having to hunt for different volumes from different retailers.

[Koshiba]

I'm guessing the complete collection is a brick though. For the most parts I'm fine with bricks, but was there anything worthwhile in the singles?

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
aquapermanence said:
If you get the collection, you're guaranteed to get the whole thing in one go, instead of potentially having to hunt for different volumes from different retailers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well Anime Corner Store (http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?animecorner+bSfS4P+index.html) has all of the volumes and the collection. Buyrightdvd (http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=18148&u=97813&m=5006&urllink=&afftrack=) has vol. 1-5 but not 6. There are a few other places with random volumes as well.

Anyway, I think the show is well worth hunting for if you want to take the time. /images/graemlins/wink.gif The singles are pretty bare bones. The only reason to get them is for the cover art (which is very nice)

[jecca-neko]

I'd go for whatever's cheaper since the singles didn't come with anything special. That'll likely be the brick.

The show is basically about a girl named Miho who gets the power to turn into a 16 year old version of herself. She calls this version of herself Lala. The first day she becomes Lala she ends up getting scouted by a production company, who wants Lala to do commercials and become an idol because she's cute (that's how it really works in Japan). Then the show goes from there.

It stays consistently good. There's some filler episodes here and there, but those are fun to watch. The ending is pretty good too.

[Magic_Knight]

The show holds out very well. It's a solid series from start to finish. When it was over I wanted more. It's a hidden gem in my collection. The ending is great, I almost cried.

[nakimushi]

I picked up the brick last year. I finally watched it a few months ago, and enjoyed the show a lot.

Fancy Lala is a consistently heartwarming series. There are two or three "random, weird classmate of the week" episodes as filler, but that's about it - which is pretty good for a 26 episode series.

The animation quality is really very good too, and there isn't any drop off in later episodes.

If you liked the episodes that you saw, I'm pretty sure that you will like the rest of the series as well.

[Koshiba]

Good to hear. Thanks for the replies. I figure I'll go ahead and pick up the brick my next paycheck. /images/graemlins/happy.gif Since singles or brick would be around the same price anyway. I might go ahead and see if I can find it in store anywhere first though, since I hate paying shipping. Then sometime after that, I'll have to go ahead and pick up Saint Tail as well since that'll probably be going OOP along with City Hunter..

Glad to hear the series stays pretty solid. Too bad I don't hear too much about this series, since it seems really good.

For some reason, several of the series I'm trying to collect right now are going OOP. /images/graemlins/relief1.gif I guess it's usually the older less popular ones though.

[pianocello]

I found this show to be childish and a snooze-inducing yawnfest. The ending also felt very sudden and the resolution felt dumb. For a show about idol singers, I didn't think the music was that great. If you want something that has a similar premise but has a better story, may I suggest Full Moon wo Sagashite.

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
I found this show to be childish

[/ QUOTE ]

A strange insult considering the target age of the show.

[ QUOTE ]
and a snooze-inducing yawnfest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again a strange insult considering the purpose of the story.

It's not an action title and there isn't really any major conflict other than day to day life. As for saying that Full Moon has a better story, I would have to disagree. It had more angst, but that does not equate a better story.

Of course the music is totally up to your opinion. I like the music in Fancy Lala and I like Myco as well, so I could listen to either one without any problems.

Full Moon and Fancy Lala are trying to acomplish different things with a similar premise. There honestly isn't too much in common between the two series other than the magical gimmick. It would be like comparing Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto and Cat Girl Nuku Nuku because they both have cat girls or Dragonball and Saiyuki because they both have Son Goku.

[Koshiba]

Hmm.. I like FMwS as well but.. I also like Creamy Mami alot so I would probably find this show pretty entertaining. And like Gatts said, they're different. I never really compared Fancy Lala to FMwS. If anything, it reminded me kind of Creamy Mami a little.

But yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this series finally. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[ohtori_akio]

I just got Fancy Lala and it is one anime I am in the process of finishing. So far so good. www.videouniverse.com (http://www.videouniverse.com) has the brick for a good price. Got mine from them.

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
I found this show to be childish

[/ QUOTE ]

A strange insult considering the target age of the show.

[ QUOTE ]
and a snooze-inducing yawnfest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again a strange insult considering the purpose of the story.



[/ QUOTE ]

Just to make a comparison, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar is for children but I think most adults will be able to handle it. Fancy Lala is something I felt like cringing through every minute of it.

[jecca-neko]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
I found this show to be childish

[/ QUOTE ]

A strange insult considering the target age of the show.

[ QUOTE ]
and a snooze-inducing yawnfest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again a strange insult considering the purpose of the story.



[/ QUOTE ]

Just to make a comparison, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar is for children but I think most adults will be able to handle it. Fancy Lala is something I felt like cringing through every minute of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Really? I was bored by Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar. I'm more entertained by Panda Go Panda and that's even more childish. Fancy Lala is meanwhile my favorite magical girl show after Sailor Moon. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
I found this show to be childish

[/ QUOTE ]

A strange insult considering the target age of the show.

[ QUOTE ]
and a snooze-inducing yawnfest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again a strange insult considering the purpose of the story.



[/ QUOTE ]

Just to make a comparison, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar is for children but I think most adults will be able to handle it. Fancy Lala is something I felt like cringing through every minute of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar was made for teenaged males as it's target audience. This was later confirmed when placed in Dragon comics by Kadokawa. Dragon is the same comic magazine that Karin runs in.

The target audience for Fancy Lala is much younger. (5 to 10 years younger and female to be specific)

[Tsubaki]

Fancy Lala is my favorite show of all time. I saw the fansubs way back in 98/99. Then bought it on LD. Then bought it on DVD to support it. It's an awesome warm-n-fuzzy show. I'm really sad that no one really cared to try it in either country. It's severely underrated.

If you're comparing Mahou no Stage Fancy Lala to Full Moon wo Sagashite, then I don't think you "got" what Lala was all about. Sure, the plot is about Miho living out her dream of being an idol as Lala. But what the show really came down to was relationships. Relationships between family members. Relationships between friends. Between co-workers. And some of the cooler eps play with how relationships are different depending on which form Miho is. While there were a couple of filler eps I didn't care for, Lala is a show that reaches me. Other shows are merely forms of entertainment.

[ohtori_akio]

Ok, I just finished this series and it is spectacular. Get it! Get it now!

Strong start, slower middle and one of the best endings I've seen. Almost rivals Utena's or Tutu's. Everyone needs to see Fancy Lala, spread the word!

[coelacanth]

[ QUOTE ]
Magic Knight said:
The ending is great, I almost cried.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. This show had a nice bittersweet ending that I think was one of the best anime endings ever.

AJC

[battra92]

I definately think it is worth hunting down. I personally loved the show and reccomend it to anyone who loves Magical Girl stuff.

Also, I think it's one of the last "real cel" shows but I'm not 100% sure on that.

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
coelacanth said:
[ QUOTE ]
Magic Knight said:
The ending is great, I almost cried.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. This show had a nice bittersweet ending that I think was one of the best anime endings ever.

AJC

[/ QUOTE ]
I respectfully disagree. The ending had me going "That's it? What kind of ending is that?"

[sawmill]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
coelacanth said:
[ QUOTE ]
Magic Knight said:
The ending is great, I almost cried.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. This show had a nice bittersweet ending that I think was one of the best anime endings ever.

AJC

[/ QUOTE ]
I respectfully disagree. The ending had me going "That's it? What kind of ending is that?"

[/ QUOTE ]
Bittersweet ending indeed....

I own two copies and will gift one away someday...

[Phil]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:

Just to make a comparison, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar is for children but I think most adults will be able to handle it. Fancy Lala is something I felt like cringing through every minute of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

So quit griping and sell your disks to Koshiba. Kill two birds with one stone. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif