areaseven Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 (edited) Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar ( ã¡ã£ã¡ã‚ƒãªé›ªä½¿ã„シュガー ) J.C. Staff/Broccoli/TBS/Pioneer LDC, 2001-2002 Pioneer/Geneon Entertainment, 2003-2004 Directed by Shinichiro Kimura (Hand Maid May, Popotan). Rated 3-Up. Enjoy the show. Original story by Haruka Aoi and Koge Donbo (Di Gi Charat, Pita Ten). Saga is an 11-year-old girl who keeps a very tight daily schedule in and is respected by everyone in her home town of Muhlenburg. One day, on her way home, she discovers a fairy exhausted from hunger, so she feeds the fairy a waffle treat. From that point on, "Sugar" moves into Saga's house and tries her best to become a full-fledged Snow Fairy. Story: A- I really didn't expect a lot from this anime, and I completely underestimated it. The comedy is very lighthearted for all ages and the characters really grow on you. And because the production team went to Germany to research on the setting, you get the feel of everyday life in an authentic German town when you watch Sugar. Animation: A+ For a children's anime, Sugar boasts some excellent 2D artwork and some 3D effects that are soothing to the eyes. Character designs by Keiko Kawashima (Someday's Dreamers). Soundtrack: A+ "Ah! Shuwari! Ah-shuwari-wari!" I'm a sucker for soft piano music, and Shinkichi Mitsumune delivers an excellent piano/orchestral score for this series. The opening theme, "Sugar Baby Love" by Yoko Ishida (a remake of The Rubettes' 1973 hit single), is too kawaii, while Maria Yamamoto's (Hand Maid May, Amazing Nurse Nanako) ending theme "Snow Flower" is a soothing lullaby. Sub vs. Dub A Little Snow Fairy Sugar features Masumi Asano (Risa in DNAngel, Shuta in Haibane Renmei) as Saga, Tomoko Kawakami (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Chiriko in Fushigi Yuugi) as Sugar, Tomo Saeki as Salt, Kaori Mizuhashi (Taeko in Ai Yori Aoshi) as Pepper, Kotono Mitsuishi (Excel Saga, Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion) as Ginger, Kenji Nojima (Yuji in Blue Gender, Yasushi in Di Gi Charat Nyo) as Turmeric, Fumihiko Tachiki (Gendo in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Boss in Mazinkaiser) as the elder fairy and Joe the Crow, Chinami Nishimura (Feilin in Gate Keepers) as Greta, Akiko Hiramatsu (Yukari-sensei in Azumanga Daioh, Miyuki in You're Under Arrest) as Cinnamon and Hanna-sensei, Yumiko Kobayashi (Puni Puni Poemi, Sarah in Love Hina) as Basil, Sawa Ishige (Paiway in Vandread, Takako in Magic User's Club) as Norma, Akiko Nakagawa (Sota in Inu-Yasha) as Anne, Asami Sanada (DiGi Charat) as Phil, Chikako Akimoto (Jessica in Turn-A Gundam) as Regina, Taeko Kawada (Ling-Pha/Marshall in Battle Athletes Victory) as Kanon, Kiyonobu Suzuki (Hayato in Mobile Suit Gundam) as Luchino, Mitsuo Iwata (Kaneda in AKIRA, Pyoro in Vandread) as Vincent the Bear Pianist, Kurumi Mamiya (Hamtaro) as Lancelot the Turtle, and Yuko Minaguchi (Videl in Dragon Ball Z/GT, Hotaru/Sailor Saturn in Sailor Moon S/Sailor Stars) as Saga's mother. The English dub, produced by Media Concepts, sounds okay - except for Sugar's voice. Featured voices include Michelle Ruff (Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi, Fujiko in New Lupin III) as Saga, Reba West (Minmei in Robotech , Pai in 3x3 Eyes) as Sugar, Jennifer Sekiguchi (Mamimi in FLCL, Fujio in I, My, Me! Strawberry Eggs) as Greta, Ian Hawk (Tsukasa in .hack://SIGN, Kenichi in Metropolis) as Salt, and Kari Wahlgren (Witch Hunter Robin, Tsubasa in Figure 17) as Pepper. DVD Extras: B+ While the first disc is light on extras (textless intro/outro sequences), the video and sound playback is very impressive. The Bottom Line A Little Snow Fairy Sugar is, undoubtedly, the best children's anime in a long time. May be too much for diabetics, though. Links Pioneer's Official A Little Snow Fairy Sugar Homepage Broccoli USA's Official Sugar Homepage TBS' Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) J.C. Staff's Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) Kadokawa Shoten's Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network Edited October 21, 2005 by areaseven Quote
MrDisco Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 a very cute series with great background visuals to match up with the character designs. hopefully the special will be licensed and added to the dvd release Quote
JRock Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 To those who's about to see this series. Make sure your teeth got a clean bill of health from your Dentist. It's THAT sweet. Quote
areaseven Posted February 13, 2004 Author Posted February 13, 2004 (edited) Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar Summer Special ( ちっちゃな雪使いシュガー ) J.C. Staff/Broccoli/TBS/Pioneer LDC, 2003 Geneon Entertainment, 2004 Directed by Shinichiro Kimura (Maburaho, Burn-Up Excess). Rated 3-Up. Enjoy the show. When Saga - now 15 years old - arrives at her home after a day of errands, her grandmother Regina discovers an old dress in the attic. At this point, Saga recalls the time her elementary class participated in a play titled "Princess and Fairy." She volunteered to play the role of the Princess while her rival Greta played the evil witch. The production of the school play reminded Sugar and the other fairies of the time "The Bear Pianist" played in the town not too long ago. Story: B Even though the series has already ended, it's nice to see another Sugar anime. It's also a surprise to see Saga and Greta all grown-up. Everyone we've known and loved in the series is here. My only gripe is that the second episode of this special is forcefully rushed. We don't see the actual play; just still shots of what happens during the play before we go back to the present time. Otherwise, it's more fun for all ages. Animation: A+ Not much has changed between the TV series and the special. The artwork and animation are still outstanding. Soundtrack: A+ Yes, it's another dose of "Sugar Baby Love" and some of that sweet piano music. Adding to the already excellent soundtrack is "Kokoro no Piano", a new ending theme by Masumi Asano. Sub vs. Dub As always, it's the same cast as in the TV series. DVD Extras Coming this summer. Also available is a special edition pack with two travel-sized shampoo bottles. The Bottom Line Not as good as the series itself, but if you're collecting the DVDs, you might as well add this special to your list. Reference Anime News Network Edited July 28, 2004 by areaseven Quote
Anubis Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 I heard this show could cause tooth decay, but was actually good enough you could sit with your kids and watch it with them easily. If I had any I'd have bought it already. Quote
That NOS Guy Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 I acutally have the first DVD of the series at home. I impulse bought because it was goddamn cute, and that's a rarity with me. I felt so safe with this series I sat my cousins (5 & 7) down and made them watch it, they seemed to like it. Then again, at least they weren't wearing out my Gundam games like they love to do. Quote
areaseven Posted February 13, 2004 Author Posted February 13, 2004 This may well be the cutest pic EVER. I'll need to redo it as the timing's wrong. Quote
Yohsho Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 The pic, its sooo cute. Must stop staring at the little dane.... Quote
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