Niea Under 7 - Limited Edition Boxed Set

Rating:
Summary: Great series, not so great dvds
Review: I would agree with the other reviews about how great the series itself is. However, the dvds are fairly sub par. The extras are rather scant. And the video transfer could have been much better. Far to many scenes have BIG jaggies. Fortunatly the sound seems just fine. And I do appreciate not having to sit thru numerous previews every time I put the disk in. (Hello ADV!) So, 5 stars for the series, maybe 2 1/2 for the dvds.

Rating:
Summary: A quiet, beautiful series that should have been much longer.
Review: Niea Under 7 is a series that seems to be trying to combine anime genres for laughs. You'll see elements of Maison Ikkoku, and Urusei Yatsura (LUM), two Rumiko Takahashi series, although she had nothing to do with this anime. I really think the alien element, was added initially as an audience hook. Much like in Kimagure Orange Road, where most of that story could have been told without some of the characters being ESP'ers. Niea could have just been a bratty friend, and not an annoying alien girl.

The series focus explores the life of a poor ronin girl, named Mayuko, seeking to make ends meet, and wondering how to approach the rest of the world, on a social level. I believe the presence of Niea, is a device to help get her, to come out of her shell. We see a character, much like a lot of young people who is diligent in school, honest, very hard working, with a misplaced sense of pride. Mayuko is also a character, who needs to be brought out of her shell. She's mistakenly seen by other students, as standoffish or arrogant, when she's really shy, and nervous in social situations.

The alien plot has some interesting dynamics to it. The aliens have been there for years, and have integrated into society. There are apparently levels of aliens, the lowest of which is the Under 7 type like Niea, who lacks an antenna, and appears to be dirt poor. I think the aliens are a convenient method to show cultural class struggles, similar to the poor, and the rich elite of our everyday society.

This series is probably too quiet for hard-core mecha lovers. It's slow moving, and many of the plots are inconclusive, and often depressing. I would have liked to see the development of Mayuko, played out till its conclusion. She's an interesting, but often a very sad character. Still as anime comedy plots go, some are very original, and quite funny.

Those looking for a definitive ending will be disappointed. The DVDs are well packaged, with some interesting extras, and insights into the Japanese culture. This was produced by the same people who did, Serial Experiments: LAIN, but it does not have as confusing a story. While it lacks the wild humor of LUM, or other similar series, it makes up for it in depth of emotion. The character development is such, that you can often feel yourself in the same position, (or at least in sympathy) of the characters in their situations. A good watch if you like story over action.

Rating:
Summary: A quiet, beautiful series that should have been much longer.
Review: Niea Under 7 is a series that seems to be trying to combine anime genres for laughs. You'll see elements of Maison Ikkoku, and Urusei Yatsura (LUM), two Rumiko Takahashi series, although she had nothing to do with this anime. I really think the alien element, was added initially as an audience hook. Much like in Kimagure Orange Road, where most of that story could have been told without some of the characters being ESP'ers. Niea could have just been a bratty friend, and not an annoying alien girl.

The series focus explores the life of a poor ronin girl, named Mayuko, seeking to make ends meet, and wondering how to approach the rest of the world, on a social level. I believe the presence of Niea, is a device to help get her, to come out of her shell. We see a character, much like a lot of young people who is diligent in school, honest, very hard working, with a misplaced sense of pride. Mayuko is also a character, who needs to be brought out of her shell. She's mistakenly seen by other students, as standoffish or arrogant, when she's really shy, and nervous in social situations.

The alien plot has some interesting dynamics to it. The aliens have been there for years, and have integrated into society. There are apparently levels of aliens, the lowest of which is the Under 7 type like Niea, who lacks an antenna, and appears to be dirt poor. I think the aliens are a convenient method to show cultural class struggles, similar to the poor, and the rich elite of our everyday society.

This series is probably too quiet for hard-core mecha lovers. It's slow moving, and many of the plots are inconclusive, and often depressing. I would have liked to see the development of Mayuko, played out till its conclusion. She's an interesting, but often a very sad character. Still as anime comedy plots go, some are very original, and quite funny.

Those looking for a definitive ending will be disappointed. The DVDs are well packaged, with some interesting extras, and insights into the Japanese culture. This was produced by the same people who did, Serial Experiments: LAIN, but it does not have as confusing a story. While it lacks the wild humor of LUM, or other similar series, it makes up for it in depth of emotion. The character development is such, that you can often feel yourself in the same position, (or at least in sympathy) of the characters in their situations. A good watch if you like story over action.

Rating:
Summary: ....
Review: Niea_7 is a fun, smile inducing anime that avoids being childish, w/ great voice acting (even the Eng. Dub is decent compared to the average) and nice animation. For the most part it's episodic, without any central plot, it's more like a sunny day with a light breeze at the lake type of anime. I fail to see how anyone couldn't like this.

Rating:
Summary: ....
Review: Niea_7 is a fun, smile inducing anime that avoids being childish, w/ great voice acting (even the Eng. Dub is decent compared to the average) and nice animation. For the most part it's episodic, without any central plot, it's more like a sunny day with a light breeze at the lake type of anime. I fail to see how anyone couldn't like this.

Rating:
Summary: Like eating chicken soup on a cold night...
Review: Niea_7 is essentially about folks who aren't perfect, who arent rich, who are barely getting by, who somehow seem to be optimistic and push on through lifes problems, even accepting it when things don't turn out so well.

I've seen this series two times already within the three month's I've owned it. I've recently been going through some personal problems, and so I decided to pull Niea out again for a third time. I've watched one episode each night before going to bed, and it's exactly the prescription I needed.

It makes me laugh, but also makes me realize that even with life's problems, we can all muddle our way through and even have a laugh at the things that make us human. To keep enjoying what you like to do no matter how tough life is.

Whether it's Kotomi's ruthlessness as she tries to keep the bathhouse afloat or Nenji's penchant for burning things. It's obvious that they both like their jobs and are happy to be doing what they are doing, even to the extreme.

Each character's purpose is clearly defined, even hilariously over-defined in some instances.

This is why Niea_7 is really Mayuko's story as she struggles to find her purpose in life when things seem piled up against her. She seems to just drift through life devoid of anything in her life that could make her forget her problems for awhile and make her happy.

This is what makes her sort of an outcast amongst her peers...and it takes the most unlikliest person to remind her of something she used to enjoy doing and get her motivated.

Niea_7 is definitely something to treasure. It'll put a smile on your face, make you laugh out loud and give a warm glow to your heart.