Shuffle Review (SOT Norm)
Posted by S.O.T. Norm
Shuffle 
Genre: Simple store fillers just so Anime companies will have a holiday title for the kids on Christmas.
Length: 24 Minutes per Episode (It’s a recent series, so episode counts are not apparent yet)
Distribution: N/A
Review Status: Partial (1 Episode)
Version Viewed: Fansub (Currently Unlicensed in the US)
Release Date: 2005
Copyright: 2005 by Navel Omegavision (Huh?)
Notes: Based on a Navel Hentai dating sim game.
Synopsis: 
It’s been ten years since the human, god, and devil worlds united. Tsuchimi Rin is a high school student who lives with childhood friends Fuyo Kaeda and Midoriba Itsuki. Then one day, two very cute (and very man-looking) girls come from the God and Devil Worlds.
Review: There is a limit to how bad and despisable an Anime can be. Shuffle rewrote the standards on that.
First of all, I’ll get the sole positive out of the way. The character designs are nice along with the artwork (for the most part). The animation, however, is too oddly linked together that it more resembles linked paper clips in durability. Why would they do this?
Now we got plot, which is basically NON-EXISTENT. Nothing in the first episode made sense at all. We were taken from one high school man who lives with his young high school girl caretaker (Maid anime homage???) and then we get to the odd “Pick your side, dark or light”, which just steals hints from Star Wars. The worst running out of ideas plotline type of all.
The characters don’t seem to have anything going for them other than looks. Their personalities are as gray as rock plants in the desert. The worse part about it is that the populace seems to be chock-full of weirdos, including an attacking baseball player who is part of a fan club called the KKK (Don’t think I’m making that up, it’s true) who gets defeated in one weak move.
The music is just not right at all. The beginning of the first episode has one track playing for about 5 minutes. The song just bores you to sleep as well as bores you to throw up at the “HEARTY” music. The opening theme (all 6 seconds of it) is nasty and not a good experience. But the show gets WORSE: A preview I saw for episode two on a websie had pictures of nutty bikers and panty shots. Yes, panty shots. From DEVIL AND GOD WOMEN!!! How nice and thoughtful! This show has nothing good going for it except for artwork. AAHHHHH-CHOOOOO. That is the sound that verifies I’m allergic to mindless fluff. Rating
Audience Recommended: The people around 9-14 may be able to watch it normally. Because you lose your sanity if you aren’t in that age group from lack of consistency.
Age Recommended: R for immense fan service and unrelentless unnecessary stuff.<
Also Recommended: Code LYOKO (French Anime), Castle In The Sky, Yu Yu Hakusho
Reviewer: Tobias Amherst
Based off of a reader review by SOT Norm on THEM Anime Boards
Categories: Reviews, Shuffle.
January 9th, 2006 at 2:57 am
I can’t believe you are rating an anime based on 1 episode. I remember hating the first episode of evangelion but loving the rest of the series, and the same goes with love hina and shuffle!
January 9th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Normally, one episode would be a tad short. However, the show doesn’t get any better for a full 12 episodes, and even then, the improvement is just slight.
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:43 am
You know, if you don’t like the anime, chances are you haven’t played the game. I wish I could play the game, but it’s hentai and I really don’t wanna see all body parts all over the screen.
BUT, you have to take into consideration this wasn’t originally an anime or a manga. It was a game. I find that this follows every anime that comes from a game (such as Hourglass of Summer and so on).
Plus ^^; To give a good review you have to be neutral to begin with. Please keep that in mind if you are ever going to write anothwer review on anything.
Bashing something really isn’t going to do anyone any good unless you point out good parts as well. Plus, bashing just after a first episode means nothing. See the whole series, then point out what you like and don’t like. I’ve seen the whole series, I have to say it got a whole lot better after seeing it all, and it ended nicely. Overall, it sould please most audiences.
So please watch the whole thing before rating ANYTHING. Thanks~
January 23rd, 2006 at 11:28 am
The way Shuffle was set up, I doubt you had to play the game in the first place. The entire series had a start and a conclusion, and since, I assume, the Shuffle GAME is a typical dating game (with hentai) where you’re free to pursue any of the girls, the anime ultimately ends up being a standalone story played out as if you’d made a choice. As for the anime, at its best, it was vaguely interesting. Sadly, approximately 70% of the anime was your general harem anime, except that Shuffle went to the lenght of having one of the more annoying female cast list I’ve seen in titles like this, and the drama I was served in ep. 19 was kinda cool, but fizzled out all too soon, to where Shuffle returned to what it was from the start (even though the pairing was already made.)
Speaking of Hourglass of summer, I should seriously hope that the game is one of the most awesome things ever, because the anime was one of the most asinine and boring things I have ever seen.
January 28th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Sorry about my lack of presence on the blog since I’ve been preoccupied, but now I’m here again and what better way to do it than to explain my review and why I did it:
#1: The only single anime style I show any bias toward is Magical Girl anime, and even then I remain neutral for reviews (CCS is one of my favorites and Kagihime, a show with similar plot, is not even near my favorites). Just because I did not give your favorite show 5 stars does not make me biased. In this world of fast-paced criticism, I separate my normal life and my critic life apart.
#2: Demon Lord Dante, my least favorite show yet, had me bailing out after four episodes. It had zero character development except for the cult figures, more than enough language, and nasty animation. The show, single-handedly, made me sick. The only way you are making me watch all of that annoyance is if you pay me and I’ll still say it sucks. The same goes for a show called Love Love.
#3: If anyone tells me that “it will get better”, it usually doesn’t. Dragon Ball Z was such a case in my life and after being told it would get better, it just got worse. Notice how many times that in one season the main character reaches the ultimate power level just to get told the next season that there is an even higher level? GAH! Evangelion was captivating, but confusing, and Love Hina was a good example of Harem. Shuffle, on the other hand, took no good pathes in episode one and never gave me an introduction to the characters like the male lead or any of the girls up until the school scene. Plus it was not captivating. In fact, I nearly fell asleep on first viewing.
#4: What do you mean all that bashing? The second paragraph mentions how I felt about the artwork, which was really pure. The show was colorful and welll done there, so yes, I like Shuffle for its colors, not everything else.
#5: I want you to look at the official reviews on THEM Anime (the site I come from) and notice how many reviews are not complete (premature stopping). What makes me any different? I play by THEM’s rules and always have.
I wish you all good health,
Tobias Amherst
January 28th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Sorry. I forgot 6:
That review was my opinion, not the ultimate authority on the show. If you think differently, write your own review.
July 7th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Haha, it really is funny how so much people try to degrade shuffle as being such a bad anime, and that it was pointless and boring. Well that’s exactly the same as me saying that cooking shows are booring… guess why? CAUSE IM NOT INTO COOKING! and neither are u into this type of anime which is the reason why u bash it. I think there was very little wrong with it and as far as plot… what plot do you need? Like the purpose was straight forward. They all liked Rin, and it showed why and how much they did. Afterwards it showed their own personality and past. It ended with a choice being made and a lot of drama. It was amazing, why would you say its shit when u’ve seen one episode? See episode 19 and tell me that its shit still. Also I would like u to know that I enjoyed the first episode and the 11 more after it also. THEY WERE FUNNY AND ROMANTIC. wtf is wrong with that??? Is love and comedy not a good enough point for you? Why must there be a point to something for it to be interesting? Maybe the creators wanted you to seek the point out for yourselve. In that way its much like the game where you make a choice and go through with it. It’s simply ridiculous how you can say so much bad stuff about such a great anime of this type of class. If anyone got shit to say, I got no problem proving ur ass wrong.
July 8th, 2006 at 9:02 am
the guy that finished the show (Northlander) also thinks that the show is rather rediculous - even with the psycho kid.
July 8th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
I had a few things I wanted to say to this little tirade, but I think SOTNorm is entitled to the first round, seeing as the reply is based off his review.
Anyone using the word “class” about Shuffle makes me go into a laughing fit, though. XD
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I agree, the fist episode may not seem that good, but all in all, Shuffle! is actaully a really nice anime, in fact, its on my fav list. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, I swear upon it! >-
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:38 am
sheesh…..what a looser, giving a comment by watching only it’s 1st episode…….
July 1st, 2007 at 1:56 pm
After seeing the whole series, I felt very depressed in a way. It’s typical romance story like others where multiple girls likes one guy.
The main character of the story is Rin. There are four other girls that are in love with him and over few different episode, they go into each of their past.
I was hoping that he would get it on with kaede instead of one he picks. Than again, mostly all romance animes where guy cant pick one girl and doesnt have happy ending pisses me off.
Tho, this particular anime ending was sad to me. It’s “kindness that kills”. If you watch the anime you will understand what i mean. Because of his kindness, Kaede lives and hates him. When she realizes that it wasnt his fault, she lives for him and in the end he says oh I only did all this cuz i wanted you to live.
In non-comedy romance anime, kaede woulda killed herself when Rin didnt pick her and woulda said, ” you ruined my life, you made me live by hating you and then loving you and none of it was right”. In the end she ends up hurting alot. A normal girl wouldnt be able to live after all that, woulda been better to stay in coma than live like that.
I recommend this series to anyone that are really into romance anime and arent afraid to watch tragic love story. I didnt know this before i watched and was overwhelmed by the emotion of kaede. I am one of those viewer that likes happy ending where everyone is happy.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:17 am
LOL————–no, wait there is still more —- LOL
You rated it all off the first episode……..
You Fail @ life.
Watch All of the episodes, then rate something. or like atleast two episodes…
If you had continued to watch it…you would have established:
The plot is basically a really fortunate guy, and his fortune is also his problem…For the sake of a post i’m not gonna expand that.
Hmm, lets take one of those “gray” characters and pick one’s personality at random.
Kaede - Natural home maker(always makes food for people, and always tidies - Claims its her only reason for living…), obsesed with Rin, Is shy, protective of Rin, Parents die in a car crash with Rin’s(thus always looked to rin,ect)…has promised her body and soul to Rin. has emotional disturbances when other people start to get close to Rin. theres more to come but, no point wasting time typing it, other peoples personality vary fairly differently (except Nerine and Sia - thier fairly similar) Kaede takes care of Rin by choice as she is madly in love with him (but secretly cause shes shy) she is not as you suggested his caretaker
By reviewing episode one, its like watching someone set-up fireworks and no watching them go off…then reviewing the fireworks and telling everyone don’t watch them because they will scare them and that the rest of the fireworks will not be good because you saw a sparkeler that wasn’t impressive.
Yes i did notice Lol @ the KKK things, but the reality is that its been translated from Japanese so things like this happen..i also noticed that they say “not the bad guys” after saying it.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:29 am
ok, i just read your comments….i have to say - Please don’t review anything ever again. should somebody accidently fall upon your narrowminded review techniques then they will probabley be missing out.
And If you know more people reviewing entire series/shows/movies/games/whatever based on one episode or a small fragment…..tell them to also never review something……ever…
The male lead…..he describes his situation as pretty much the first thing in the episode, from your review it seems like you REALLY didn’t pay attention.
I have a very open mind and am more than happy to see reviews slate my favorite things…when those reviews have like….atleast a single valid point……..something your review seems to lack
I hope that in the 3years since writing this review, you have either:
A: Stopped Reviewing
B: Changed your outlook on…..everything….
June 24th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Small positives does not save a shitty show. Yes, it’s a review based on the first episode, and should be taken as such. I’m sure the fact that he doesn’t want to follow up on a vapid harem show is going to come back and bite him in the ass later down the road. Or maybe not.
Either way…