ZOMG Forums - View Single Post

**jerseyse410** · 05-12-2009, 11:03 AM

I liked the previous review written for this series but I was not comfortable with it only covering the first season. This review will cover all 3 seasons and the light novels that are currently in translation. This is my favorite anime series and my favorite light novel by leaps and bounds so I thought I would do the series some justice and write a comprehensive view for this adorable, hilarious and at times heart breaking anime. I have done nothing but poems here so far at the forums so I thought I would try to break out of my writing shell and bring you guys something truly useful. Who the hell needs a poem in the first place? Now an anime and novel review? That might just be worth something. Enjoy guys!

-> A big thank you to http://myanimelist.net for all the wonderful images and VA information.

Zero no Tsukaima (Zero’s Familiar OR the Familiar of Zero)

Synopsis:

Louise is a magician student at the Tristain Academy, who is given the nickname "Zero" due to her lack of ability to use any magic properly resulting in zero success. An upcoming test requires her to summon her familiar, a servant and partner to support her as a magician and defend her in battle. Despite desiring a familiar that would be better than the rest of her classmates, Louise summons Hiraga Saito, an average Japanese boy. Even with Louise being disappointed in her summons and Saito not wanting to be in her world, both of them slowly learn to accept each other. Louise cannot attempt another summon and Saito cannot return to Japan, so their life begins together as master and servant.

This anime is based on the light novel series by Noboru, Yamaguchi.

Main Review:

This anime caught me by surprise. I had never heard of Rie Kugimiya before I had watched this anime and this truly formed my love for the tsundere genre and for Rie’s voice acting as well. I also came to like the voice acting done for saito and there are quite a few memorable VA’s that are in the cast of this as well. Louise is so angry all the time but that anger is so adorable and even though Saito’s breast chasing gets old after a while, the ending was second to none, it brought a tear to my eye and I squealed like a little kid at the ending. The concept was original, fun, touching, and different. It really was enjoyable. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone beaten, whipped and blown up as much as saito was, but you know what? That’s ok because I would gladly take his place any day of the week.

Plot:

The story is about a boy and a girl who happen to meet by the most curious of circumstances and end up falling in love. The plot evolves from Saito and Louise not being able to stand each other as they learn about each other and learn to support one another. Basically, Louise is a student magician at Tristain Magical Academy and has no magical aptitude what so ever. After she summons Saito, she begins to notice subtle changes in his magical ability and by the end of the first season she grown from an inept student to a very powerful mage. At the beginning of the story, there is a magician thief stealing from the nobles and the job ended up falling into the laps of Louise, her familiar, Saito and the few mage students that were with her when the magician thief’s golem struck and stole a magical artifact (which ends up being a Korean war era Shoulder fired Bazooka). As Saito learns about more items from his world falling into this one he begins to investigate rumors of a “dragon’s plumage” (which ends up being an WW2 Japanese Mitsubishi “Zero” Dive Bomber) and finds out that Siesta is half Japanese, answering the question as to why he’s nostalgic around her all the time (increasing Louise’s jealously and frustration quite a bit.) Once Saito gets the plane back to Tristain Magic Academy, the unthinkable happens. Albion declares war on Tristain and invades Siesta’s homeland. Torn between wanting to go back home when the moons align in 3 days and his affection for Siesta and Louise, Saito decides to take his plane into battle against the warships of Albion thereby marooning himself to the world that he was forced into.

Main Characters:

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière

Louise is the main female character of the first season. She is a troubled mage often referred to as “Zero”. She obtained this title by not being able to use even the littlest bit of magic without it going horribly wrong and having a zero success rate. She eventually becomes Saito’s master after the summoning contract which she believes goes horribly wrong, but sets the stage for who she really is. Louise is usually the butt of all her classmates’ jokes as shown several times after blowing up the transmutation exercise and then Saito when trying to silence him. She is the youngest of three daughters of the La Vallière family of nobles. She has two older sisters, Eleanor and Cattleya.

(She is named after Louise Françoise de la Valliçre, a French courtesan who was mistress to Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667.)

Her Voice Actor is Kugimiya, Rie.

Saito Hiraga

Saito is the main male character and he is from our world, Earth. When Louise was performing the summon servant spell, he had walking home after picking up his laptop from being repaired. A greenish blue portal opened in front of him and Saito touched it and was pulled through into Louise’s world. After being pulled into their world, Saito had no idea where he was, and was confused as to who everybody around him was. He also could not understand what the students were saying, but after Louise failed to cast a silence spell on him, he is able to understand and speak with others as though they were speaking Japanese. (This failed spell has stronger undertones that point to Louise being special and Saito, as being her familiar, is needed to be able to communicate with his master). The Runes inscribed into Saito's hand after he is bound to Louise read Gandalfr. (This is Elfen for “the Left Hand of God.) These runes inscribed on his hand grant him the ability to use any weapon, provided that the weapon was actually intended to be used for combat.

(His partner, the sentient sword Derflinger, was also the partner of the Founder Brimiir’s Familiar, the previous Gandalfr, 6000 years ago.)

His Voice Actor is Hino, Satoshi

Sound & Graphics:

I really love the music in this anime, I thought the OP had a great trance feel to it, it was nice, upbeat, and fast. It set the stage for the story, kind of a comedic insert almost. The art was nothing to write home about, its an older anime, it was good for its time. One thing though is the art when it comes to drawing Louise’s angry facial expressions and the terrified ones had by Saito after. I laughed just about every time Louise got explosively angry just because the facial expressions would be absolutely hilarious at times. The colors are nice; the spells are well drawn, nothing lame or inadequate. JC staff rocks.

Opening Song is "First kiss" by ICHIKO

Ending Song is "Honto no Kimochi” by Kugimiya Rie

This anime was produced by JC STAFF

Entertainment & Replay Value:

With this being my first ever tsundere anime, I have to say this anime really set the bar. Louise Is your ultimate angry tsundere and the way Saito had to cope with that from time to time was just priceless. I have never seen a better male lead either, the way he fiercely protects her than goes breast chasing the next is incredible and rather hilarious at times. The replay value on this season isn’t as high as the two sequels but there are quite a few memorable moments in the series, mainly the last episode. I give this a 10/10

This anime was primarily subbed by [Static Subs & Ayu]

http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=569

Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi (The Familiar of Zero: The Knight of the Twin Moons)

Synopsis:

This sequel is a continuation of the first season, not long after the war between Tristain and Albion. Louise and Saito now get along much better since she has realized that he had given up his only chance to return to Japan for her and slowly starts to develop affection for her familiar, which troubles her greatly. The story continues as Louise begins to use Void Magic from the Founder Brimiir’s guidebook that she had received from the now queen, Henrietta; while a new villain, Tabitha’s uncle, Joseph has appeared.

Main Review:

This is truly one of the best sequels I have seen in a long time. The first episode of this season was so incredibly adorable, you saw virtually every facet of Louise in the first episode alone. (The fang-tan moment was my favorite!) The confession in episode 4 was so sweet and so perfect, it fit the relationship just right and Louise did not disappoint. I have to say that the sequel did not slow down and stagnate, if anything it sped up and added even more story to what was there before. Personally, the ending to this anime was the best I have ever season, I have never been more emotional over a characters death. Not even Lucy in Elfen lied had me crying this much. The song “I say yes” Wedding Version was amazing and by the time Saito had died near the end of the last episode, I was crying my eyes out going, nooooooo……why him? Why? The ending does a complete mental turn around with a happy reunion and then with Saito getting blown up after ogling Siesta’s tits once more. It really was absolutely perfect.

Plot:

In the second season we explore plots against the crown and a second war with Albion stirred up by Tabitha’s uncle, the king of Galia. The Romalian priest Julio is introduced and is mainly an antagonist to Saito, playing off his jealousy with Louise. Later on after being dragged back to her mansion, Saito manages to confess to Louise and ends up getting in trouble with Louise’s parents and they run off together along with Siesta, more in love but not stemming Louise’s jealousy over Saito sneaking into her sisters room after being tricked by a jealous Siesta. Henrietta makes her feelings more affectionate towards Saito when she escapes to find out if Albion is behind the insurrection and ends up signing a declaration of war after a little side story with the magic academy being held hostage and the Henrietta’s bodyguard Agnes and her family tragedy at the hands of Mr. Colbert. Later on Louise and Saito are told to go to South Gotha and stem the attack but they get trapped their so Louise is asked to go on a suicide mission to prevent the destruction of the army and so Henrietta can get away. Saito rightfully flips out over this one he learns her plan and she asks him to marry her. Afterward, Saito drugs Louise, turns her over to Julio and goes to die alone against an army of 70,000 so his lover and master can get away unharmed….INSERT THE MOST EMOTIONAL ENDING EPISODE AND SONG EVER!

Main Characters:

Henrietta de Tristain

Henrietta is the Princess of Tristain and a square class water user. She is a childhood friend of Louise and at times, a rival for Saito’s affection. Later, she becomes the queen of Tristain and decides to defend Tristain from the Albion invasion after the assassination of her lover, the Prince Wales of Albion. She displays a very two sided image, one being that of a dedicated ruler and the other of being a lonely woman surrounded by politicians.

(She is named after Henrietta Anne, the youngest daughter of Charles I of England and sister of Charles II of England.)

Her Voice Actor is Kawasumi, Ayako

Sound & Graphics:

The sound in this season of the anime was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Haaaa….the OP was addicting and fun, it’s still my favorite OP to this day, the wedding version rendition they did when Saito died was AMAZING and I still haven’t heard anything like it. You want to write home about good anime soundtracks? Well this is it. Also, the ED was hilarious, every time I hear kono baka inu! I start laughing just because of the voice and the way it’s yelled. I would love for a girl to yell that at me once *dies*

Opening song is "I SAY YES" by ICHIKO

Closing song is "Suki!? Kirai!? Suki!!!” by Kugimiya, Rie

Piano Song is “I SAY YES Wedding Version” by ICHIKO

This anime was produced by JC STAFF

Entertainment & Replay Value:

Oh wow, where to begin? I have re-watched episodes 1, 4, 10 and 12 SO many times. There are so many great moments in this anime, whether it is adorable like episode 1 or sweet and romantic like episode 4 and 10 or just flat out heartbreaking like in the last episode. I really can’t put words to the replay value that this season has…HIGH, very high, I’ll leave it at that. I give the second season a 10/10 as well.

This anime was primarily subbed by [Static Subs & Ayu]

http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=569

Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo (The Familiar of Zero: Rondo of the Princesses)

Synopsis:

This second sequel takes place after Saito's heroic actions in the second war with Albion in season two. Saito and Louise return to Tristain only to have the runes which bind Saito and Louise disappear. Saito and Louise struggle with a relationship that can no longer be defined as master and familiar but as friends and lovers. The two search for an Elf who has the power to restore the dead to life, and may have an understanding as to why Saito has lost his power as Louise’s Gandalfr.

Main Review:

The opening of the third season was priceless, Saito’s about to get it on with Louise, and in walks cock block. And how does Saito respond to this? Well in trying to not diminish his chance with the maid as well, he denies it all! But *gasp* his runes disappear..Oh the noes! Seriously though this anime was great, it was a lot more Tabitha centric than the previous two and even was responsible for a Tabitha spin-off manga series and 3 light novel side stores “A day in the life of Tabitha”. I thought this was a lot more entertaining and a lot less dramatic than the emotional roller coaster that was the previous season. There’s a LOT more ecchi in season 3 as well, I’ve compared the non-HD DVD rips to the HD broadcast and yeah, there’s a lot more ecchi. You trade fog for HD. Take your pick but I loved the way season 3 ended, it was a nice moment with a sexy adorable Louise who I would love to kidnap *runs away*

Plot:

Main Characters:

Charlotte Helene Orléans de Gallia

Tabitha is the quiet, book worm who is also best friends with Kirche Zerbst, the passionate fire mage, and is a classmate of Louise de la Vallière. She is known by everyone as "Tabitha" though she is in fact a princess and the rightful heir to the throne of Gallia, which had been taken by her uncle after the murder of her father and the failed assassination attempt on her, which left her mother insane. Tabitha is officially recognized as Princess Charlotte of Gallia at the end of the series.

(Her familiar is a wind dragon who goes by two names. In dragon form her name is Sylphid, and in human form, her name is Irukuku. She affectionately refers to Tabitha as Onee-sama when she’s in human form.)

Her Voice Actor is Inokuchi, Yuka

Tifania Westwood

Tifa is a rather busty half-elf who Saito remembers as being “the big-breasted fairy who saved his life" after the battle of Albion. She is an Elfen magic user and deplores any kind of violence. Tifa is another female character in this series that develops feelings for Saito after nursing him back to health and then being welcomed and protected by him later on. She is usually, along with Siesta, Saito’s maid the antagonist to Louise dealing with breast jokes. Tifa is rumored to be a FF which causes Louise much mental anguish over her breast inferiority.

(Tifa’s last name comes into meaning after her being discovered in the woods in the western part of Tristain, she was literally born and raised in the Westwood.)

Her Voice Actor is Noto, Mamiko

Sound & Graphics:

The sound was not as epic as it was in the second season, it kind of found it’s first season roots. It went back to the romantic/comedic roots and was a nice mixture. The animation was nice this time around, since it was in 2008, the animation was up to speed, looked just like to aru majutsu no index which came out the next season so I guess it was ahead of the curve on that one. Great stuff though, both sound and graphics were good.

Opening song is “You’re The One” by ICHIKO

Ending song is “Gomen ne” by Kugimiya, Rie

This anime was produced by JC STAFF
Entertainment & Replay Value:

This season did not have as many replay episodes as the previous season did. There were a few moments that really caught my attention, mainly the first episode with Louise and her adorable fang-tan moment, the NYAA~ evil cat face with the glasses and Saito, and the whole thing with Saito almost humping Louise had it not been for Mr. Cock block would have been awesome. I died laughing when Saito told Louise she should know better than to try and hide a wand in her tits, and OMFG that was so wrong but worth the insult to hear Louise’s reaction. I was not disappointed at all in the ending; I loved the adorable Louise moment with the multiple kisses and then the kono baka inu yelling at the very end. I have to give this season a 10/10 as well, it was worth it. I was so glad Eclipse subbed this season because it was also great as this was the first season where 720p was available for ZnT so Eclipse rocks!

This anime was primarily subbed by [Static-Subs & Eclipse]

http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=455

Zero no Tsukaima (Zero’s Familiar or the Familiar of Zero) Light Novels

Official Description:

The continent of Halkeginia is tumultuous--a place where the various kingdoms, princedoms, dukedoms, and fiefdoms strive against each other to expand their domains. They nobility scheme and plot among themselves to gain influence to their lieges or to even foreign lieges. In the middle of Halkeginia is the small but important kingdom of Tristain. The most notable fact about this kingdom is the Tristain Academy of Magic where nobility from all over the world come to study magic so they can become magi. Although friendships will form across national boundaries at this school, will they survive the politics and games of the world at large once they leave?
(Source Light Novels)

(Currently there are 9/16 full volumes translated here). There are also 3 side stories with Charlotte.

http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/in...itle=Main_Page

Plot Difference and Review:

I thought the light novels catered to a much more mature audience as they not only had deeper undertones in the story but the conversations and sometimes the character interactions seemed like they were meant for an older reader. Louise is much more brutal in the light novels when she beats Saito; it really gets disturbing sometimes, almost bordering on sadistic coming from Louise. Now, that being said, Saito is a much more complex individual rather than just breast chasing like it seems he does all the time in the anime. In the Light novels, he truly does not see himself worthy of Louise’s affection and repeatedly tells her that he will protect her from his disgusting impulses and will not try to make any advances on her. This in my opinion was a little overdone and no man should ever view himself as Saito does for much of the first part of the story. The epic sequences in the anime were so much better in the light novels….when Saito professed his love for his master, when he fought the Albion army, after he was resurrected by Tifa, all these major events in the anime were two or three times more emotional and complex in the light novels. It really was an enjoyable series. One thing that they left out in the anime that the light novel did a great job of explaining was the presence of the void familiars and how they interacted together in the void triangle and how each familiar was unique. It was really interesting getting to see Miozniturn and Saito battle and seeing how every void familiar was different yet alike. I wish the anime had gone into more detail as it would have made Saito a little bit more heroic and unique.

Entertainment & Reread Value:

This was the first light novel series that I ever read and out of all the ones I’ve read today, this is still my favorite. Even though it is not fully translated, it’s about halfway through the third season of the anime, I can still go back and pick up a random chapter and still get engrossed in what is going on in the story. The reread value on this series is high, probably as high as the replay value on the anime and I cannot wait for the rest of the light novels to be translated. I give the Light novels a 9/10

(-1 for not being finished yet, as I cannot effectively judge the ending of the anime or the light novels.)

05-12-2009, 11:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
jerseyse410 Moe is incredibly sexy! jerseyse410 is offline Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 3,855 Rep Power: 34	Zero no Tsukaima (Complete) Review I liked the previous review written for this series but I was not comfortable with it only covering the first season. This review will cover all 3 seasons and the light novels that are currently in translation. This is my favorite anime series and my favorite light novel by leaps and bounds so I thought I would do the series some justice and write a comprehensive view for this adorable, hilarious and at times heart breaking anime. I have done nothing but poems here so far at the forums so I thought I would try to break out of my writing shell and bring you guys something truly useful. Who the hell needs a poem in the first place? Now an anime and novel review? That might just be worth something. Enjoy guys! -> A big thank you to http://myanimelist.net for all the wonderful images and VA information. Zero no Tsukaima (Zero’s Familiar OR the Familiar of Zero) Synopsis: Louise is a magician student at the Tristain Academy, who is given the nickname "Zero" due to her lack of ability to use any magic properly resulting in zero success. An upcoming test requires her to summon her familiar, a servant and partner to support her as a magician and defend her in battle. Despite desiring a familiar that would be better than the rest of her classmates, Louise summons Hiraga Saito, an average Japanese boy. Even with Louise being disappointed in her summons and Saito not wanting to be in her world, both of them slowly learn to accept each other. Louise cannot attempt another summon and Saito cannot return to Japan, so their life begins together as master and servant. This anime is based on the light novel series by Noboru, Yamaguchi. Main Review: This anime caught me by surprise. I had never heard of Rie Kugimiya before I had watched this anime and this truly formed my love for the tsundere genre and for Rie’s voice acting as well. I also came to like the voice acting done for saito and there are quite a few memorable VA’s that are in the cast of this as well. Louise is so angry all the time but that anger is so adorable and even though Saito’s breast chasing gets old after a while, the ending was second to none, it brought a tear to my eye and I squealed like a little kid at the ending. The concept was original, fun, touching, and different. It really was enjoyable. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone beaten, whipped and blown up as much as saito was, but you know what? That’s ok because I would gladly take his place any day of the week. Plot: The story is about a boy and a girl who happen to meet by the most curious of circumstances and end up falling in love. The plot evolves from Saito and Louise not being able to stand each other as they learn about each other and learn to support one another. Basically, Louise is a student magician at Tristain Magical Academy and has no magical aptitude what so ever. After she summons Saito, she begins to notice subtle changes in his magical ability and by the end of the first season she grown from an inept student to a very powerful mage. At the beginning of the story, there is a magician thief stealing from the nobles and the job ended up falling into the laps of Louise, her familiar, Saito and the few mage students that were with her when the magician thief’s golem struck and stole a magical artifact (which ends up being a Korean war era Shoulder fired Bazooka). As Saito learns about more items from his world falling into this one he begins to investigate rumors of a “dragon’s plumage” (which ends up being an WW2 Japanese Mitsubishi “Zero” Dive Bomber) and finds out that Siesta is half Japanese, answering the question as to why he’s nostalgic around her all the time (increasing Louise’s jealously and frustration quite a bit.) Once Saito gets the plane back to Tristain Magic Academy, the unthinkable happens. Albion declares war on Tristain and invades Siesta’s homeland. Torn between wanting to go back home when the moons align in 3 days and his affection for Siesta and Louise, Saito decides to take his plane into battle against the warships of Albion thereby marooning himself to the world that he was forced into. Main Characters: Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière Louise is the main female character of the first season. She is a troubled mage often referred to as “Zero”. She obtained this title by not being able to use even the littlest bit of magic without it going horribly wrong and having a zero success rate. She eventually becomes Saito’s master after the summoning contract which she believes goes horribly wrong, but sets the stage for who she really is. Louise is usually the butt of all her classmates’ jokes as shown several times after blowing up the transmutation exercise and then Saito when trying to silence him. She is the youngest of three daughters of the La Vallière family of nobles. She has two older sisters, Eleanor and Cattleya. (She is named after Louise Françoise de la Valliçre, a French courtesan who was mistress to Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667.) Her Voice Actor is Kugimiya, Rie. Saito Hiraga Saito is the main male character and he is from our world, Earth. When Louise was performing the summon servant spell, he had walking home after picking up his laptop from being repaired. A greenish blue portal opened in front of him and Saito touched it and was pulled through into Louise’s world. After being pulled into their world, Saito had no idea where he was, and was confused as to who everybody around him was. He also could not understand what the students were saying, but after Louise failed to cast a silence spell on him, he is able to understand and speak with others as though they were speaking Japanese. (This failed spell has stronger undertones that point to Louise being special and Saito, as being her familiar, is needed to be able to communicate with his master). The Runes inscribed into Saito's hand after he is bound to Louise read Gandalfr. (This is Elfen for “the Left Hand of God.) These runes inscribed on his hand grant him the ability to use any weapon, provided that the weapon was actually intended to be used for combat. (His partner, the sentient sword Derflinger, was also the partner of the Founder Brimiir’s Familiar, the previous Gandalfr, 6000 years ago.) His Voice Actor is Hino, Satoshi Sound & Graphics: I really love the music in this anime, I thought the OP had a great trance feel to it, it was nice, upbeat, and fast. It set the stage for the story, kind of a comedic insert almost. The art was nothing to write home about, its an older anime, it was good for its time. One thing though is the art when it comes to drawing Louise’s angry facial expressions and the terrified ones had by Saito after. I laughed just about every time Louise got explosively angry just because the facial expressions would be absolutely hilarious at times. The colors are nice; the spells are well drawn, nothing lame or inadequate. JC staff rocks. Opening Song is "First kiss" by ICHIKO Ending Song is "Honto no Kimochi” by Kugimiya Rie This anime was produced by JC STAFF Entertainment & Replay Value: With this being my first ever tsundere anime, I have to say this anime really set the bar. Louise Is your ultimate angry tsundere and the way Saito had to cope with that from time to time was just priceless. I have never seen a better male lead either, the way he fiercely protects her than goes breast chasing the next is incredible and rather hilarious at times. The replay value on this season isn’t as high as the two sequels but there are quite a few memorable moments in the series, mainly the last episode. I give this a 10/10 This anime was primarily subbed by [Static Subs & Ayu] http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=569 Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi (The Familiar of Zero: The Knight of the Twin Moons) Synopsis: This sequel is a continuation of the first season, not long after the war between Tristain and Albion. Louise and Saito now get along much better since she has realized that he had given up his only chance to return to Japan for her and slowly starts to develop affection for her familiar, which troubles her greatly. The story continues as Louise begins to use Void Magic from the Founder Brimiir’s guidebook that she had received from the now queen, Henrietta; while a new villain, Tabitha’s uncle, Joseph has appeared. Main Review: This is truly one of the best sequels I have seen in a long time. The first episode of this season was so incredibly adorable, you saw virtually every facet of Louise in the first episode alone. (The fang-tan moment was my favorite!) The confession in episode 4 was so sweet and so perfect, it fit the relationship just right and Louise did not disappoint. I have to say that the sequel did not slow down and stagnate, if anything it sped up and added even more story to what was there before. Personally, the ending to this anime was the best I have ever season, I have never been more emotional over a characters death. Not even Lucy in Elfen lied had me crying this much. The song “I say yes” Wedding Version was amazing and by the time Saito had died near the end of the last episode, I was crying my eyes out going, nooooooo……why him? Why? The ending does a complete mental turn around with a happy reunion and then with Saito getting blown up after ogling Siesta’s tits once more. It really was absolutely perfect. Plot: In the second season we explore plots against the crown and a second war with Albion stirred up by Tabitha’s uncle, the king of Galia. The Romalian priest Julio is introduced and is mainly an antagonist to Saito, playing off his jealousy with Louise. Later on after being dragged back to her mansion, Saito manages to confess to Louise and ends up getting in trouble with Louise’s parents and they run off together along with Siesta, more in love but not stemming Louise’s jealousy over Saito sneaking into her sisters room after being tricked by a jealous Siesta. Henrietta makes her feelings more affectionate towards Saito when she escapes to find out if Albion is behind the insurrection and ends up signing a declaration of war after a little side story with the magic academy being held hostage and the Henrietta’s bodyguard Agnes and her family tragedy at the hands of Mr. Colbert. Later on Louise and Saito are told to go to South Gotha and stem the attack but they get trapped their so Louise is asked to go on a suicide mission to prevent the destruction of the army and so Henrietta can get away. Saito rightfully flips out over this one he learns her plan and she asks him to marry her. Afterward, Saito drugs Louise, turns her over to Julio and goes to die alone against an army of 70,000 so his lover and master can get away unharmed….INSERT THE MOST EMOTIONAL ENDING EPISODE AND SONG EVER! Main Characters: Henrietta de Tristain Henrietta is the Princess of Tristain and a square class water user. She is a childhood friend of Louise and at times, a rival for Saito’s affection. Later, she becomes the queen of Tristain and decides to defend Tristain from the Albion invasion after the assassination of her lover, the Prince Wales of Albion. She displays a very two sided image, one being that of a dedicated ruler and the other of being a lonely woman surrounded by politicians. (She is named after Henrietta Anne, the youngest daughter of Charles I of England and sister of Charles II of England.) Her Voice Actor is Kawasumi, Ayako Sound & Graphics: The sound in this season of the anime was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Haaaa….the OP was addicting and fun, it’s still my favorite OP to this day, the wedding version rendition they did when Saito died was AMAZING and I still haven’t heard anything like it. You want to write home about good anime soundtracks? Well this is it. Also, the ED was hilarious, every time I hear kono baka inu! I start laughing just because of the voice and the way it’s yelled. I would love for a girl to yell that at me once dies Opening song is "I SAY YES" by ICHIKO Closing song is "Suki!? Kirai!? Suki!!!” by Kugimiya, Rie Piano Song is “I SAY YES Wedding Version” by ICHIKO This anime was produced by JC STAFF Entertainment & Replay Value: Oh wow, where to begin? I have re-watched episodes 1, 4, 10 and 12 SO many times. There are so many great moments in this anime, whether it is adorable like episode 1 or sweet and romantic like episode 4 and 10 or just flat out heartbreaking like in the last episode. I really can’t put words to the replay value that this season has…HIGH, very high, I’ll leave it at that. I give the second season a 10/10 as well. This anime was primarily subbed by [Static Subs & Ayu] http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=569 Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo (The Familiar of Zero: Rondo of the Princesses) Synopsis: This second sequel takes place after Saito's heroic actions in the second war with Albion in season two. Saito and Louise return to Tristain only to have the runes which bind Saito and Louise disappear. Saito and Louise struggle with a relationship that can no longer be defined as master and familiar but as friends and lovers. The two search for an Elf who has the power to restore the dead to life, and may have an understanding as to why Saito has lost his power as Louise’s Gandalfr. Main Review: The opening of the third season was priceless, Saito’s about to get it on with Louise, and in walks cock block. And how does Saito respond to this? Well in trying to not diminish his chance with the maid as well, he denies it all! But gasp his runes disappear..Oh the noes! Seriously though this anime was great, it was a lot more Tabitha centric than the previous two and even was responsible for a Tabitha spin-off manga series and 3 light novel side stores “A day in the life of Tabitha”. I thought this was a lot more entertaining and a lot less dramatic than the emotional roller coaster that was the previous season. There’s a LOT more ecchi in season 3 as well, I’ve compared the non-HD DVD rips to the HD broadcast and yeah, there’s a lot more ecchi. You trade fog for HD. Take your pick but I loved the way season 3 ended, it was a nice moment with a sexy adorable Louise who I would love to kidnap runs away Plot: Main Characters: Charlotte Helene Orléans de Gallia Tabitha is the quiet, book worm who is also best friends with Kirche Zerbst, the passionate fire mage, and is a classmate of Louise de la Vallière. She is known by everyone as "Tabitha" though she is in fact a princess and the rightful heir to the throne of Gallia, which had been taken by her uncle after the murder of her father and the failed assassination attempt on her, which left her mother insane. Tabitha is officially recognized as Princess Charlotte of Gallia at the end of the series. (Her familiar is a wind dragon who goes by two names. In dragon form her name is Sylphid, and in human form, her name is Irukuku. She affectionately refers to Tabitha as Onee-sama when she’s in human form.) Her Voice Actor is Inokuchi, Yuka Tifania Westwood Tifa is a rather busty half-elf who Saito remembers as being “the big-breasted fairy who saved his life" after the battle of Albion. She is an Elfen magic user and deplores any kind of violence. Tifa is another female character in this series that develops feelings for Saito after nursing him back to health and then being welcomed and protected by him later on. She is usually, along with Siesta, Saito’s maid the antagonist to Louise dealing with breast jokes. Tifa is rumored to be a FF which causes Louise much mental anguish over her breast inferiority. (Tifa’s last name comes into meaning after her being discovered in the woods in the western part of Tristain, she was literally born and raised in the Westwood.) Her Voice Actor is Noto, Mamiko Sound & Graphics: The sound was not as epic as it was in the second season, it kind of found it’s first season roots. It went back to the romantic/comedic roots and was a nice mixture. The animation was nice this time around, since it was in 2008, the animation was up to speed, looked just like to aru majutsu no index which came out the next season so I guess it was ahead of the curve on that one. Great stuff though, both sound and graphics were good. Opening song is “You’re The One” by ICHIKO Ending song is “Gomen ne” by Kugimiya, Rie This anime was produced by JC STAFF Entertainment & Replay Value: This season did not have as many replay episodes as the previous season did. There were a few moments that really caught my attention, mainly the first episode with Louise and her adorable fang-tan moment, the NYAA~ evil cat face with the glasses and Saito, and the whole thing with Saito almost humping Louise had it not been for Mr. Cock block would have been awesome. I died laughing when Saito told Louise she should know better than to try and hide a wand in her tits, and OMFG that was so wrong but worth the insult to hear Louise’s reaction. I was not disappointed at all in the ending; I loved the adorable Louise moment with the multiple kisses and then the kono baka inu yelling at the very end. I have to give this season a 10/10 as well, it was worth it. I was so glad Eclipse subbed this season because it was also great as this was the first season where 720p was available for ZnT so Eclipse rocks! This anime was primarily subbed by [Static-Subs & Eclipse] http://myanimelist.net/fansub-groups.php?id=455 Zero no Tsukaima (Zero’s Familiar or the Familiar of Zero) Light Novels Official Description: The continent of Halkeginia is tumultuous--a place where the various kingdoms, princedoms, dukedoms, and fiefdoms strive against each other to expand their domains. They nobility scheme and plot among themselves to gain influence to their lieges or to even foreign lieges. In the middle of Halkeginia is the small but important kingdom of Tristain. The most notable fact about this kingdom is the Tristain Academy of Magic where nobility from all over the world come to study magic so they can become magi. Although friendships will form across national boundaries at this school, will they survive the politics and games of the world at large once they leave? (Source Light Novels) (Currently there are 9/16 full volumes translated here). There are also 3 side stories with Charlotte. http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/in...itle=Main_Page Plot Difference and Review: I thought the light novels catered to a much more mature audience as they not only had deeper undertones in the story but the conversations and sometimes the character interactions seemed like they were meant for an older reader. Louise is much more brutal in the light novels when she beats Saito; it really gets disturbing sometimes, almost bordering on sadistic coming from Louise. Now, that being said, Saito is a much more complex individual rather than just breast chasing like it seems he does all the time in the anime. In the Light novels, he truly does not see himself worthy of Louise’s affection and repeatedly tells her that he will protect her from his disgusting impulses and will not try to make any advances on her. This in my opinion was a little overdone and no man should ever view himself as Saito does for much of the first part of the story. The epic sequences in the anime were so much better in the light novels….when Saito professed his love for his master, when he fought the Albion army, after he was resurrected by Tifa, all these major events in the anime were two or three times more emotional and complex in the light novels. It really was an enjoyable series. One thing that they left out in the anime that the light novel did a great job of explaining was the presence of the void familiars and how they interacted together in the void triangle and how each familiar was unique. It was really interesting getting to see Miozniturn and Saito battle and seeing how every void familiar was different yet alike. I wish the anime had gone into more detail as it would have made Saito a little bit more heroic and unique. Entertainment & Reread Value: This was the first light novel series that I ever read and out of all the ones I’ve read today, this is still my favorite. Even though it is not fully translated, it’s about halfway through the third season of the anime, I can still go back and pick up a random chapter and still get engrossed in what is going on in the story. The reread value on this series is high, probably as high as the replay value on the anime and I cannot wait for the rest of the light novels to be translated. I give the Light novels a 9/10 (-1 for not being finished yet, as I cannot effectively judge the ending of the anime or the light novels.) __________________ http://jerseyse410.deviantart.com ~come here for poems, short stores and more!~ ~thanks to nirvash for the wonderful avatar and sig~ Last edited by jerseyse410; 05-12-2009 at 01:38 PM..