Age Appropriate: Pre-teens
Emotional Response: cute, annoyed, interested
Notable Features: magic, transformations, good vs. evil
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Good
"Prete with me!" - the Leafe Knights
Pretear is all about the Leafe. Leafe, of course, is the life force of all things, and it must be saved from the evil Princess of Disaster, Fenrir. The princess and her demons suck the Leafe out of living things to hoard the power for her nefarious purposes - generally, to destroy the world. The only person able to stop this horrible event is the Pretear - a chosen human girl who can merge with the Leafe Knights to defeat the demon larvae and ultimately stop the evil princess.
The newest Pretear is Himeno, a young high school student in a new, complicated family situation, who hasn't figured out her place in the world yet. Her mother has passed away and her father has remarried to the richest woman around. She's also picked up two step-sisters in the bargain. Her relationship with the sisters adds to each episode in little bits and pieces. Himeno is discovered by the Leafe Knight, Hayate (Wind), and despite some bumps in her confidence and his initial attitude, Himeno throws herself into being the Pretear as well as she can. She meets the other Leafe Knight, each with different personalities and powers, and learns how to fight against the princess while learning about herself. Her relationship with each individual knight effects each battle that she's in, and eventually fuels her final battle against the Princess of Disaster.-----
Pretear is kinda old school. It reminded me a lot of Sailor Moon, actually. Clearly, there are huge differences, but the overall feel was the same. There is a young lady who's kinda dorky, clumsy and weird, but who becomes a stronger person as she becomes her other identity - which includes some fun, shiny transformation moments. While in Pretear, the protagonist is the center of a bunch of guys - rather than girlfriends - there is still a little romance to be found. There is no secret identity, though.
It was a nice little series. I'd probably let just about anyone watch it, actually. Himeno, while odd, is a good example of an awkward teen girl, and it creates some smile-quirking amusement. I did want to push the romance here and there, but I can acknowledge that it would be lame if it all happened at once. Even the ending was pretty good. I wouldn't hand it to someone off the shelf and demand they watch it, but it would go on my list of acceptable for those looking for something fluffy. Fluffly is definitely a good word for it. I probably would've loved this when I was younger.
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I'm going. I'm going.: The Wallflower
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