Ultra Maniac – Magical Stone (Volume Three/Animé TV)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Episodes: C

 

 

In another Animé show about girls gushing over guys, Ultra Maniac is a simple, safe, boring production for the age 7 and above crowd and would only appeal to very young girls as best.  Set in a Junior High School, Ayu likes tennis and meets a guy she likes that begins to distract her.  There is also some magic storyline, but nothing overdone.  We skip from the first to third volume and see the decline that has occurred for a show barely hanging on.  The half-hour slotted shows this time are:

 

9) Item

10) Jack Straw

11) Knight Spirit

12) Lovesick Night

 

 

The artwork is a bit above average, with good uses of color, but this is really for young audiences, but that is a nice change from the usual sexploitation or violent shows we have seen more than we need to.  Animé is so successful that it does not have to work hard for its audience for now, but this lack of lasting programming can only go on for so long before it backfires.  Ultra Maniac is almost a misleading title, as this is a pleasant-at-best show.

 

The 1.33 X 1 full frame image has some softness, especially intentional softness in some of the artwork, but it plays fine otherwise.  The English & Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has some Pro Logic surrounds, but nothing extraordinary.  The only extra on the DVD are previews for three other Geneon DVD Animé titles, but nothing pertaining to this show, which is unusual for the company.  I was hoping the show would pick up, but it did not.  Start at the beginning if you must at all.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo