Shuffle! (Review)
Rather than “Shuffle” You Should Just Hit Next…
Shuffle! is a harem anime, which means that there is something inherently awkward about it. Which makes sense given that it’s based on a Japanese dating simulator. Still, I’ve never been the kind of person to get behind a male protagonist suddenly becoming the object of affection of every attractive female that surrounds them. That being said, it’s a recurring theme in almost every anime, despite the genre. Every guy seems to need at least three girls dying for his love and affection. I’m sure my teenage self would have loved something like that, these days though it gets a little old.
The series focuses on Rin (Jerry Jewell), a teenage boy who seems to have no significant qualities other than he’s a decent human being who doesn’t obsess over the girls at his high school (unlike the many fan clubs that pop up fighting for the affection of one girl or the other). For some reason, this means that he’s stuck in a love triangle between a demon, Nerine (Caitlin Glass), and a goddess, Sia (Brittney Karbowski). Of course, two hardly makes a harem, so pretty soon every girl in the series like him because he’s a “nice guy.” It’s truly a 13-year-old boy’s fantasy come to life.
Of course, not every harem anime is terrible, but Shuffle! sticks too close to its dating RPG roots to create an effective story at all. Instead, it just features the protagonist jumping from date to date with the girls, only stopping for the anime to toss in commentary about the importance of breast size and panties. It quickly becomes tediously repetitive. Luckily the series doesn’t have too many “nose bleed” situations.
As I mentioned before, I don’t have anything inherently against harem anime, but only if there is more to the story than just a bunch of girls fighting over a guy. Unfortunately, Shuffle! only uses plot points to shove it’s characters together in awkward “romantic” situations. This is probably something that would play well with a younger audience, but I’m getting old and want more than that from my series. Besides, school girls in sexual situations just make me uncomfortable these days.
The voice acting and animation in Shuffle! is actually quite good, and is really the only thing that kept me interested in it. At 24 episodes in length, the story drags early on and would have benefited from the idea that “less is more.” Instead, it stuffs itself with sentimentality in an attempt to make its female character seem vulnerable in ridiculous situations and have Rin swoop in to save them by being quite literally just a decent human being. This alone is bordering on infuriating because the series seems to believe that not being a pervert or a jerk is a reason enough to be rewarded.
At first, Shuffle! seemed to have all sorts of potential. Demons? Gods? Humans? Think of all the amazing storylines that could have occurred! The adventures that could have happened! Instead, it’s nothing but dates on the beach or going to a theme park. Of course, there are a few interesting moments in the series, especially when it turns out that none of the girls are exactly what they seem. That alone though is not enough to save this anime. It’s painfully predictable. Almost as painful as it is to watch for the majority of the time. My advice is to save yourself the time. After all, there are plenty of other harem anime in the sea.
