Anime-OtakuZone

Here's another anime I decided to watch. It's another love story that my cousin recommended.
Anyway here's my fourth anime review!

Synopsis:

Hikari Hanazono has always been second to Kei Takishima. When they were six years old, their pro-wrestling loving fathers introduced them to each other. Assuming that she was the best in wrestling, young Hikari challenged Kei to a wrestling match only to be thoroughly defeated by him. 

Ever since that fateful incident, Hikari swore to beat Kei in school grades, sporting events - anything. To do this, she has enrolled in the same school as Kei since elementary. Now she attends Hakusenkan, an ultra elite school, that costs her carpenter father a lot of money. 

Hikari and Kei are the top two students in the school, with Kei holding firmly to that number one position. While Hikari considers Kei to be a rival and important friend, she is completely unaware that Kei loves her. The story primarily focuses on Hikari and her constant attempts to defeat her one and only rival, Kei, and how she finds love in their rivalry.

Story: 7 out of 10

The story wasn't really original (it was kind of like Kaichou wa Maid-sama!) but what makes it stand out that we are given more than one love story, it didn't just focused on Hikari and Kei but it focused of all the members of the S.A (Ryuu had a love interest in the manga). The story also showed us that even though they may be rich and talented, they also have problems like normal people do. 
Another thing that I like about S.A is that it's hilariously funny! I loved how Akira and Tadashi would always fight, Hikari's attempts to beat Kei, Ryuu's animals and how "Superhuman-like" Hikari and Kei is.
The story was really refreshing.

Animation: 7 out of 10

The animation was good. The only problem I had was how long their legs were. I loved the romance scenes with the pastel-like color scheme that was employed, it really enhanced the scenes.

Music: 6 out of 10

The first opening song was okay although, it would get a bit annoying sometimes. The ending song was okay.
The second opening was much better than the first one, while the ending song was pretty catchy and cute.
I liked how all of the songs were performed by the cast.
The background music was good, it fits in most of the scenes.

Characters: 8 out of 10

I liked how each member of the S.A were given a specific trait that made them stand out. Although, there should have been much more back stories (More on Sakura, Ryuu, Megumi and Jun) but all in all the characters were good.

Here are the characters in Special A:


Hanazono Hikari


Hikari is one of the main protagonists in the story.She holds the 2nd position in school for having the best grades. Because of that, she made Kei Takishima as her rival because he holds the 1st position. She is also called "Miss Rank 2" by Kei.

What I Think about the Character:
Hikari reminds me of Misaki (From Maid-sama) because of they're appearances.
I find it annoying that hasn't realized Kei's true feelings, in the end, she even refers to him as not "the person she likes" but "eternal rival". In the manga, she didn't even accept his proposal because she thinks when she says "yes" she'll lose and when she says "no" Kei loses.
I think they're love stories a bit too complicated because of Hikari wanting to beat Kei. Well they did become engage so of course, a happy ending for them!


Takishima Kei
Kei is one of the main protagonists in the series. He is ranked 1st
in the entire school which is why he has the habit of calling Hikari
"Miss Rank 2". He is the son of the CEO of Takishima Corporation, making him next in line for the company. He is Hikari Hanazono's undefeated rival.

What I Think about the Character:
He isn't as good-looking as I thought.... but he reminds me of Usui a little.
I wished Kei told Hikari about his feelings sooner... because it became a little complicated.
I'm not that much into them at all, my favorite pair has got to be Megumi and Yahiro!

Toudou Akira

She is a member of the Special A and is ranked 6th in the school and is often the one who cooks for all the members, introducing them to various snacks and teas. She is the daughter of an airline company president and is childhood friends with Kei Takishima and Yahiro Saiga.

What I Think about the Character:
Akira is so beautiful! She's so elegant except when she fights Tadashi!
Tadashi and Akira are my second favorite pair.

Karino Tadashi

Tadashi Karino is ranked 5th in school. His mother, a fierce and intimidating woman, is the director of the school and the primary reason why he is in the SA.

What I Think about the Character:
He's so cute! I love Akira and Tadashi's love story!!!! 

Tsuuji Ryuu


Ryuu holds the 7th position in school, although his scores are a poor reflection of his intellectual prowess. He is in 7th place mainly because of the twins - Megumi tends to fall asleep and Jun becomes bored during tests, which results in Ryuu focusing his attention on them instead of his own exam. This is proven in an anime episode, when he answers 1000 questions in 10 minutes, and manages to achieve full marks. He is the son of a CEO sports company.

What I Think about the Character:
I love how he brings so many animals to school! It's too bad he didn't end up with someone in the end but in the manga he did found his love interest (a girl named "Finn"), I wished that his love story was also in the anime... too bad.

Yamamoto Megumi

Megumi is the older twin sister of Jun. She is the daughter of a famous violinist and music producer and shares her brother's love of music. Megumi refuses to speak so as to preserve her singing voice and writes what she wishes for people to know on a sketchpad. When she sings, her voice is so devastatingly powerful at a close range that everyone who stands near ends up dazed and disoriented afterward.

What I Think about the Character:
I love Megumi! I love how Yahiro and Megumi fell in love with each other through Music!
I love her voice!!! 

Saiga Yahiro

Yahiro attends Kokusen Academy, another high school. but it is revealed that he originally studied in Hakusenkan, only to be expelled by Sumire Karino, Tadashi's mother. He is the heir to the SaigaFinancial Group, a group that is even higher in status than the Takishima Group. He is often seen, both in anime and manga, with Sakura, arranging parties and events. Yahiro often helps with the group's problems, seen in the time when Hikari was stuck in Aoi's villa, his helicopter was used to rescue her.

What I Think about the Character:
I love how he cares for Akira so much! I love how he would comfort Megumi (especially when he helped her sing at the end of the episode!), I just love Megumi and Yahiro!

Yamamoto Jun

Jun is ranked number 3 in the SA. He is Megumi's younger twin brother. He is also the son of a music producer and a famous singer. He loves music very much, even though he is not very good at it. 

What I Think about the Character:
I like how he has this "inner jun". I find him and his love story very cute!

Ushikubo Sakura


Sakura Ushikubo is the heiress to the Ushikubo Medical Manufacturing Group, just like most of the characters. She is Kei's first omiai partner, but later becomes romantically involved with Jun. She is also good friends with Yahiro Saiga, for they both go to the same school, Kokusen Academy.

What I Think about the Character:
She is one of the girls, I love in the series! She's really cute, and I like how she and Akira are so good friends to her (both of them are even under Inner Jun's spell!).



All in all I rate it a 7.5 out of 10!
What made it stand out was the different personality of each character and how we are given more than one love story. This anime was one of the most refreshing and unique romance anime I've seen.
Do I recommend it? Yes! If you're really into a shojo romcom animes, I definitely recommend this!
If you're into romance, then you might like this because they're are more than one love story in it!





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