Anime Has anyone seen Pretear?

[Guest angelaanime]

I think pretear is alsome and the leafe knights rule!:) I just sseen the DVD from a friend.
The show is very funny! I plan to buy it on my own someday....
But i am very broke...
There is some weird parts on the show though. It has all the Clamp signatures like the cherry blossoms, stars, and there are Feathers everywhere!!!
It is not even a Clamp anime!!!
.......bored........
......:sleep:.......

[Dagger]

No, I haven't seen Pretear, but I really, really want to. It sounds absolutely fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of the "magical girl" genre, but when done right (as in the six-episode show Shamanic Princess), it can be very entertaining. It may be overhyped, but I've heard that Pretear is one of the best shoujo series ever made--this is high praise coming from reviewers who've seen Vision of Escaflowne and Fushigi Yuugi. Plus, it's only thirteen episodes, which means that it won't cost inordinate amounts of money..... and besides, I generally enjoy short shows more than long ones.

But enough about me. Without giving anything away (no spoilers, please), what did you like most and least about Pretear? Would acquiring it be worth the expense?

~Dagger~

[mysticheero]

Hey, I think that pretear rocks. I bought the DVD of volume one because I wanted a new anime to watch and thought it sounded alright, then i watched it and now I'm hooked on it. Sasame is cool and so is Hayate. The Leafé Knights rock. I can't wait to watch episodes 8 through to 13, because its an interesting part, but I don't want to ruin it for ye guys by saying whats going to happen. Just deal with Sasame doing something bad (but sooo cool)

[IMG]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-10/846026/81270261-Sasame4.jpg[/IMG]

Dude just check out his clothes and tell me what ye think I mean by bad. I love the entire series, but no-one else know it or has seen it. Sorry about the picture size though.

The Leafé Knights are as follows, along with their "day jobs" for the adults;
Sasame, Knight of Sound (Radio personality)
Hayate, Knight of Wind (becomes a helper of Kaoru, Himeno's father)
Kei, Knight of Light (video game designer)
Goh, Knight of Fire (waiter)
Mannen, Knight of Ice
Hijime, Knight of Water
Shin, Knight of Plants

Other characters;
Himone Awayuki (Pretear)
Kaoru Awayuki (Himone's father)
Natsue Awayuki (Step mother)
Mayune (step sister with pink hair)
Mawana (stepsister with green hair)
Tanaka (butler guy)
Yayoi Takato (friend of Himeno)
Mikage (maid of the Awayuki residence)

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]See, I was put off buying Pretear because from the trailers it looed to me like an incredible Magic Knight Rayearth rip-off. I love Rayearth, and I know I'd have a skewed view of the series even before I started watching it. The theme tune didn't exactly grab my attention much- I've heard so many more like it on the StarChild Best CDs it just didn't seem original enough. There are bits that look interesting, but I can't help thinking 'That's Ascott', or 'That's Hikaru' whenever I see the characters. It makes me angry. But if people can tell me what's good about it then I might give it a shot.

13 episodes seems pretty good: Magic Knight Rayearth became slow and repetitive fairly frequently, even though I enjoyed it all. 58 episodes was a few too many, though.[/COLOR]

[mysticheero]

A fairly new anime to come out, in England at least, is Prétear, and it follows the story of 16 year old Himeno Awayuki after her father has remarried to a very rich woman called Natsue. Himeno's two step sisters, Mayune and Mawana aren't all that nice to her, though Himeno does try to be nice to them.

There are seven Knights of Leafé, who hail from Leafénia, and Himeno is the Prétear who has the power to become the White Princess. She can Pré (join) with one of the Knights to become a Prétear of the Knight's power, for example, if she Pré'd with Sasame she becomes the Prétear of Sound. The story is basically her and the Knights battling against the Princess of Darkness/Disaster, Takako, in order to protect and save the Leafé of the world. Leafé is the life force of everything, and without it there is no life, obviously.

The characters are fairly original, and the story has a kind of Cinderella feel to it, with Himeno finding a "prince" in the form of the Leafé knights (most especially in Hayate). The Knights are all specially trained in various areas, that suite their field, in order for them to have a job that allows them to monitor the Leafé of the world.

The Characters;
Himeno Awayuki - the Prétear
Kaoru Awayuki - Himeno's father, a writer/inventor
Natsue Awayuki - the step mother
Mayune Awayuki - pink haired step sister
Mawana Awayuki - the green haired step sister
Mr. Tanaka - the Butler of Natsue and her daughters
Yayoi Takashina - Himeno's friend from school
Mikage - the Maid of the Awayuki resisdence

The Kinghts;
Hayate, Knight of Wind - assistant to Kaoru
Sasame, Knight of Sound - radio personality
Kei, Knight of Light - video game designer
Goh, Knight of Fire - restaurant waiter
Manne, Knight of Ice
Hijime, Knight of Water
Shin, Knight of Plants

The last three in the list (Mannen, Hijime and Shin) are children and listed in order of their ages. The ages of all the Knights are unknown, but its easy to put the kids in order due to size mainly. Shin is the youngest though, at the age of around 4/5 but is also one of the most powerful out of the Knights, as Goh points out in the first episode to Hayate.

[kaiyomichiru]

[COLOR=Navy]I've heard of the series and I would love to download it, however I can't find any fansubs of the series online. If anyone knows where I could get episodes via BitTorrent or mIRC (please specify server and channel) it would be greatly appreciated! [/COLOR]

[Dagger]

I'm so happy someone finally resurrected this thread! I finished buying and watching Pretear a while back and have been really eager to discuss it.

[quote name='kaiyomichiru][COLOR=Navy']I've heard of the series and I would love to download it, however I can't find any fansubs of the series online..[/COLOR][/quote]

Pretear is licensed; ADV has already released the entire series on DVD. Try PMing someone if you're absolutely determined to get it online.

[quote name='Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86']See, I was put off buying Pretear because from the trailers it looed to me like an incredible Magic Knight Rayearth rip-off.[/COLOR][/quote]

From what I can tell, Magic Knight Rayearth has much more in common with Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne and even Twelve Kingdoms than it does with Pretear. I can't comment too much on this because I haven't seen Rayearth for years and years, but for whatever it's worth, I never even thought of comparing the two shows.

The humor in Pretear is very Utena-esque; there's one character who reminded me strongly of Nanami. This makes the series feel a little disjointed at first, but everything settles into place with surprising speed. Because it's only thirteen episodes, the plot is extremely tight (a whole slew of heart-wrenching twists take place during the final few episodes). The animation is generally quite strong. The transformation sequences, battle choreography and character artwork are all lovely as well.

mysticheero already summarized the premise, so I'll talk about the characters and dub. The huge male harem worried me at first, but all of the bishounen have pretty distinct personalities. Himeno plays big sister around the younger ones and turns to the older guys for advice. While love has a fairly big role in the series, the romance is very focused--you won't find a bunch of boys squabbling over Himeno, which makes her a pleasantly credible character. It's easy for the viewer to believe that she really is just an ordinary girl.

The dub starts off a little roughly, but by the final disc I found that I actually preferred it to the Japanese version. Mawata's English voice actress pulls off her [spoiler]emotional breakdown[/spoiler] with panache.

I wholeheartedly recommend Pretear--it's fun, emotionally involving and has a lot of replay value.

~Dagger~

[IceRose]

I just love this anime called Pretear, it has action, love and betrayal. Himeno is cool, even though her love for Hayate is quite the parody of many stories, girl loves guy, guy loves girl but they can't handle the love. Sasame's love is quite the dilemma in this story, he is used by the girl he loves to betray the Knights and Himeno (sounds familiar). Well this anime is called the japanese version of Cinderella and is better it has a strong plot, cool characters and a good story line. I recomend it.

[lumpy3922]

I love this anime and manga. I read the first 2 mangas and I think I've seen the first 3 eps. It's great, it's funny, it's dramtic, it's one of the best animes out there. I just love it. And it doesnt hurt that in the anime they have greg ayres as mannen and Illich Guardiola as hayate. Both very good voice actors, who both did saiyuki.

[duorocks17]

[COLOR=Blue][FONT=Century Gothic]I started watching this show through a suggestion of a friend of mine, and was surprised of how much it reminded me of different shows I have watched throughout the years. The first show that comes to mind is Card Captor Sakura. Next, it reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi with all the love delimas it contains. I don't know why, but i find it hilarious how all of the Knights want to "pret" with Himeno. I watched the series in Japenese, so i don't know how the english voices sound, but the japenese ones where fantabulous. I would highly suggest this show to anyone else who is a fan of the before mentioned series. It has action, love, drama, and even comedy.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Hayama]

I really liked this series. I like the manga more, i think.... well, i'm torn. Kei's character design is more to my liking in the manga. But I do love the opening theme song!

Anyway, I'd highly recommed this series to almost anyone. If you like fantasy, it's a great series. Don't look at it and say 'oh, its real girly' because it actually isn't. Himeno isn't a 'girly' character. She's herself, a pretty normal girl who just wants to do what's right. The end of the anime was particularily moving, i think. Just try it!

[Vampire_Miyu285]

i want to see, but i'm broke and can't afford to buy new DVDs.. but i wnat to get Elfen Lied or (see if it's out; Loveless) a InuYasha one.

[Chobits15]

I have seen Pretear and I also liked it. It became one of my favorite animes after I saw it. It was freakin awesome. :catgirl:

[luna.P]

I <3 this show! i have volumes 1 - 3. i need to get the last one! D:<

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Well I just started watching this show and so far it?s wonderfully funny. I wasn?t sure what I would think of an anime version of Snow White but I love the different take on it with the seven Leafe Knights. I get the biggest kick out of how Hayate and Himeno constantly [spoiler]argue even though it?s clear they get along.[/spoiler]

I wasn?t sure what to think of the transformation sequences and all since I've never seen that kind of thing before. XP But it was hilarious how Himeno kept getting so embarrassed over the idea of someone [spoiler]being inside of her, even though it was in more of a spiritual sense than physical.[/spoiler] That whole aspect just made me laugh. XD

And I love how spunky Himeno is just as I get the biggest kick out of her stepsister Mayune and all the pranks she pulls. Along with how she literally drags away any [spoiler]cute guy that crosses her path.[/spoiler] Anyway, definitely a fun show. :catgirl: [/FONT]

[Zed]

I, perhaps, am the only one to voice out my dislike for the series. I downloaded all the episodes; watched half of the first episode and deleted the rest of the series. It was just too pink and fairy-tale like for my liking. :animesigh

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='Zed']It was just too pink and fairy-tale like for my liking. [/QUOTE]Hehe. I can understand, after all it is loosely based on the fairy tale of Snow White.

Anyway, I watched some more of this show. The continuation of the arguing between [spoiler]Hayate and Himeno[/spoiler] is great fun. It really gives the series a lot of fun and liveliness.

And enter villian-ess. The Princess of Disaster which I assume is the equivalent of the Wicked Queen. o_O I get the feeling that she has an interesting back story behind her.

*Goes back to watching*[/FONT]

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='Sabrina;809096][FONT="Tahoma"]Anyway, I watched some more of this show. The continuation of the arguing between [spoiler]Hayate and Himeno[/spoiler] is great fun. It really gives the series a lot of fun and liveliness. [/FONT][/QUOTE]Hayate and Himeno are great fun and arguably my two favorite characters out of this show. Especially Himeno and her rather strong personality. [quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"']And enter villian-ess. The Princess of Disaster which I assume is the equivalent of the Wicked Queen. o_O I get the feeling that she has an interesting back story behind her.[/FONT][/quote]Your feeling is correct as you'll find out soon enough. What makes this show fun, is the short length makes for a more cohesive story in that it's not loaded down with unnecessary fillers and side plots. It's short, sweet, to the point and a fun re-take on the story of Snow White.

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Well I finished it and like you said Darren, The Princess of Disaster had a very interesting and weird back story as it were. I mean I was not expecting [spoiler]Takako to be the former Pretear who was in love with Hayate. Nor for her to turn evil and become Fenrir, the Princess of Disaster just because he didn't love her in return.[/spoiler] o_O

I was not expecting Sasame to become [spoiler]Fenrir's Knight of Darkness after confessing that he was in love with her either.[/spoiler] I mean it was clear something was off for him but I wasn't expecting it to be that. That really surprised me.

Anyway, I loved how the ghost hunting episode had everyone running in circles and it totally played on making things seem different than what they really were. That was fun because all the answers as to what was really going on was fun.

I do love how this show wrapped up, even though it had me feeling like [spoiler]crying at first since it looked like they killed off Sasame and Himeno.[/spoiler] But then it had to go and change that and make me feel silly for getting sad. XP

Now... I just need to figure out how to get a copy of the music to this show. :catgirl:[/FONT]

[theiceisfrozen]

Yes, this show had a great ending; it certainly left me shocked at some points. This was one of my first animes I watched a few years back and I just fell in love with the whole fantasy genre. Some may compare it to 12 kingdoms, fushigi yugi, and Harukanaru Toki no Naka de but if anything I feel that it is merely in the same category as those but quite different in story line. More like a Cinderella story to me and touches on family ties more than the others, not mention takes place in modern times. Overall I think it has major watchability and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and magic anime.

[Panache]

I watched about 6 episodes of this and then put it off to watch outlaw star. It's good I think but if it were any longer it would be tedious and terrible(I haven't seen it all but the pacing of the series makes that fact clear to me).

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"][quote name='Panache']I watched about 6 episodes of this and then put it off to watch outlaw star. It's good I think but if it were any longer it would be tedious and terrible(I haven't seen it all but the pacing of the series makes that fact clear to me).[/QUOTE]That's what makes it such a good show, they didn't make the mistake of dragging it out with unnecessary filler episodes and such. Just thirteen altogether. Short, to the point and a fun retelling of Cinderella. I actually like this version a whole lot better than the Disney one and most Cinderella retellings. I never did care for that fairy tell to tell the truth. Well other than EverAfter... that was well done too. But it's not anime. :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Panache]

[QUOTE]That's what makes it such a good show, they didn't make the mistake of dragging it out with unnecessary filler episodes and such. Just thirteen altogether. Short, to the point and a fun retelling of Cinderella. I actually like this version a whole lot better than the Disney one and most Cinderella retellings. I never did care for that fairy tell to tell the truth. Well other than EverAfter... that was well done too. But it's not anime. [/QUOTE]I was never much of a cinderella fan myself...but I am a guy so thats probably normal. Oh and it is most definitely better than the disney version.

One of these days after I finish up Marmalade Boy and School Rumble I will finish it up.