Sekirei: The Complete Series 1 [DVD]

<some spoilers to explain the set-up> Yes, I know: admitting that an anime series which features naked female flesh in abundance is really enjoyable is more than a little suspect. For a guy. (And perhaps for some women too.) So let's get that out of the way first: since the nudity is of the rather grotesque variety there is no real titillation-factor here. Breasts that approach melon-size are so unrealistic that they must primarily be considered a spoof. And not only are they generally covered up fairly quickly here (not counting the occasional bathing scene), but the main protagonist Minato is too polite and kind-hearted to ever sexually approach any of the busty young women entrusted to him. And too closely watched by de facto chapperone Mya to ever really get a chance to, as well. So I don't really see too many people watching a series like 'Sekirei' for the animated female nudity, nor for the pleasure of seeing girl-on-girl fights. Basically, if you've seen one of those fights in 'Sekirei', then you've seen them all. Not counting the ones that feature special powers, such as fire, water, ice, earth quakes or gusts of wind with rose petals. But in those it's the special powers that take center stage, and not so much the women using them. No, the main attraction here has to be the story with love and self-sacrifice at its core. The main antagonist Minaka, head of the conglomerate MBI, has set up an evil game which forces 108 young women and men (but mostly women) to fight each other or lose their chance of being with the one they love. These young women and men are the Sekirei and each has certain special powers. They become stronger once they 'emerge', by being kissed by their one true love, also called their Ashikabi. This is where the series begins (after a flashback scene that is only gradually explained as the series continues). Protagonist Minato rescues the as yet un-emerged Sekirei Musubi (pronounced as 'Moozavee') from 2 emerged Sekirei who are cowardly trying to defeat her while she is still weak in her un-emerged form. Musubi decides that Minato must be her Ashikabi and kisses him, thereby becoming emerged and more powerful. Although her attitude towards Minato can be mistaken for submissive, he never abuses the power he has over her. The same goes for the other Sekirei that choose him as their Ashikabi. So any critics who label this series as centering around naked, submissive young women simply miss the mark. Although some unsympathetic Ashikabi who mistreat their Sekirei briefly make an appearance on the show, Minato's respectful treatment of women is clearly idealized here. Not what you might expect based on the DVD-casing featuring Musubi and her ample bosom, or some of the rather lewd comments included on the back of the case. To cut a lengthy review short: don't judge a DVD by its cover. This series has a warm heart and is all about doing the right thing in very difficult circumstances. And about people (and the superhuman Sekirei) eventually rising above themselves. Don't let some playful nudity and the occasional lewd joke obscure that.

Fundamentally this is a pretty standard "failed but re-trying hapless male university candidate (ronin) becomes involved with a series of females with enhanced powers battling one another in something to do with taking over the world" anime. The females (obviously) wear a wide range of fetish costumes that tend to almost entirely fall off with great regularity. They also seem to take a lot of baths. Boobs, panties and embarrassing situations abound. You spend a lot of time both not quite knowing who's who, being occasionally confused about gender and neither knowing nor caring about the overall alleged "plot". So why do I give it five stars when I would normally either throw this stuff away or watch it grudgingly because I don't have anything else to watch? Its difficult to work out how this particular kind of fan service-laden offering - ie something that is potentially very tacky turning out to be actually quite good - ever gets created. I can only imagine a scenario something like this. A maker of good quality anime videos discovers they have nothing worth doing for a few months and tells their very talented team to just produce some tacky nonsense that will appeal to adolescents and sad old men to keep the studio solvent. Meanwhile all the senior staff who normally keep everything tied together go on holiday. The remaining juniors do their best to work to the specifications but, to avoid boredom, somehow just can't help doing far more with the job than is technically required. The resulting mixture is a mass (even a mess) of self-indulgent, meaningless virtuosity that they've all had a really good time doing. And the result is highly watchable. The endless but inoffensive fan service (I'm no prude but its not my thing) is actually very funny. The bizarre characters are so well done you actually stop asking why "she who would battle to win the world" dresses in a milkmaid's outfit and speaks as if she's from 17C England. You don't so much suspend your credibility as post it to Timbuktu without a return address. If you've dragged yourself through the horrors of Death Note, and are still weeping tears of sadness and joy from Clannad and/or Angel Beats, this will remind you anime can actually be fun.

I'm a fan of the manga and bought this in the hope that it would be entertaining. It is extremely entertaining and I was pleasantly surprised. Their voices aren't always what I had imagined but they're still very good, and I would recommend this to anyone who feels they can just take the gratuitous fan-service in the way it is intended - it's a bit of fun.

The item arrived a day early, which is great! Although one of the Blu-ray discs was loose. and the cardboard sleeve was a bit ripped at the spine. As for the show itself, I recall watching another show with a similar premise called Infinite Stratos, however, Hundred is a million times better! The Main character isn't oblivious to all the Girls advances(even though there's only 3 girls fawning over the main character), and none of the Girls are generic Stereotypes(ex: Tsundere, Kuudere, Deredere, etc.) The story revolves around these Giant Bug-like Aliens called: Savages that are trying to take over the world. And they can only be killed by destroying their Core. And the force created to fight the Savages called: "slayers". basically, Humans armed with these mech suits which are summoned from a small Diamond-like item called a "Hundred". And each Hundred has its own unique powers. Meet our main Character. A boy named Hayato Kisaragi. He travels to and enrolls in a military base called: Little Garden. A ship that trains Slayers to fight off the Savages and protect the innocent. Hayato then feels a strange sense of incongruity from his Roommate Emile Crossford(aka: the silver haired person on the cover) Then upon entering the academy, He's suddenly challenged by the "Queen of Little Garden" Claire Harvey. The rest is pretty much your basic Harem Mecha/Anime. Also, there's this one Pink-haired character named Sakura who is basically this show's version of Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed. Personally, I went into this show with an optimistic attitude, and I must say, this show doesn't disappoint me! The action is good, the comedy is good, the character designs are good, the villains are,...... descent. The Voice acting is AWESOME! It's a really good show. Plus, unlike most 12 episode modern day Anime, it sort of ends on a high note. No cliffhanger ending, no read the manga/light novel ending. My only complaint is, I wish it was longer. Fingers crossed for season 2. Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of Harem Anime, or Mech themed Anime, Go check this one out. P.S. It also has a double-sided cover. So you can change it if you'd like.

Yes, this series is a fairly typical harem comedy anime. The girls are busty and seem to have clothing that shreds far too easily and the plot holes are only slightly larger than you typical supercarrier. However, Sekirei manages to be fun despite its flaws. The characters are interesting, diverse and manage to make you car. The hero isn't nearly as wimpy as most even if 99.9% of the women could pound him into the turf with ease, and the villain while as usually having motives that appear to make little sense, is just plain fun. This proives to be one of the few recent animes that I really enjoted. Good fun.

I got to say that I loved Sekirei!Got both seasons on blu-ray after I had bought the first one on dvd because I enjoyed it that much and can't wait for a season 3.It's got great fighting,humor,and story to it.It's the story and love between the main characters that I enjoyed the most.The main male character is a little wimpy but he has balls and heart.The main female character is sweet,sexy,determined,devoted, and kicks butt.I wont go into details about the story because I enjoyed it even more by not knowing anything about it.Queen's Blade & Claymore were my first 2 anime series that I ever saw and I loved those as well,not knowing anything about them but the cover art.I would strongly recommend Sekirei series to anyone who is a fan of watching great anime.

やっぱ最高

I really like this dvd but I heard that there was more hopefully there is.