Magic Knight Rayearth
[Episodes 1-49 Reviewed]
[Reviewed by Bethany]

Magic Knight Rayearth was... methinks, my first Magical Girl anime., as well as my introduction to that wacky group of gals known as CLAMP. And while it is pretty shameless in its magical-girlness (though, not as much as Wedding Peach), it also manages to be a damn good anime series, with a few high points and a few low points, but overall enjoyable and intelligent.

Story
Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi are three eighth graders taking a field trip with their respective schools to Tokyo Tower, when a flash of light and a sudden gasp of Please Save Our World, Legendary Magic Knights sends them hurtling into another world — the magical, and troubled, Cephiro. There, they learn from Master Mage Clef that Cephiro's Princess Emeraude has been kidnapped by High Priest Zagato ... and as a result, the world (supported by her prayers) is beginning to crumble. In order to save the land of Cephiro and get back to their own, the girls must find the legendary Rune Gods and become Magic Knights. But, of course, that's easier said than done...

FireWaterWind
Evolution is the name of the game in Magic Knight Rayearth. Beyond all the happy (okay, sappy) shows of friendship and conversion of bad guys into allies, the overall flow is change. Growth. Growing up, even — losing childish notions and learning to accept life, consequences, emotions. That whole life-is-a-journey metaphor, with an almost literal twist. But it's really the characters that give the show its magic. (Sorry, had to.) Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu with their color-and-character coordination are wonderfully rounded, despite first appearances. And the supporting cast, while a bit way too big and occasionally absent, is ... well, supportive. Even if they are all named after cars.

Okay, I realize this review is sucking. On to what I love about MKR, and what makes me cringe.

First of all — the pacing could be a lot better. The first season had it down pretty well; the story flowed evenly, with no rush and little filler... even if characters tended to drop out of sight for episodes at a time. But the second season was a haphazard and hasty mess of events that first dragged and then spun by crazily. Emotions in the Magic Knight Rayearth world often come out of nowhere — it's a Whoops, Fell in Love! thing for everyone, but played almost too subtley at points. They made a certain someone a little too evil to suddenly do a three-sixty on us, and someone needs to gag Emeraude.

I love everything else.

I love the light-hearted movement of the first season that nonetheless kills mercilessly. I love the dark franticness of the second season that never lets up even when it's dragging on and on. I love the development of the characters and their interactions, how disinterest and selfishness changes to unbreakable bonds. I love the music. I love Hikaru's dark half. I love that Umi, the one most outspoken and most confident, is the one unable to share her feelings with the person she loves. I love the inborn CLAMP tweakiness of it. Hell, I even love the mecha. And that means I love the show a lot.

The Bottom Line
Go read a better review of this. Or just watch MKR. I suck, it does not.