Otaku USA Magazine
Shuffle! Volume 3-4
by Emily Balistrieri September 22, 2008

You know, maybe disk three of Shuffle!‘s harem antics starts off with that mandatory episode wherein the boy and the girl everyone is convinced he will marry think they get stranded on a deserted island after a day at the beach, when in fact they just washed up down the coast a ways, but I sort of prefer seeing these characters romp around in the familiar formulaic scenarios than the drama that comes in starting from episode 12.

In fact, episode 11 was one of my favorites so far despite the fact that it was complete filler. Mayumi (who has small boobs! Ha! *eyeroll*) tries to see Rin’s underwear to even things up after they collide in the hall and she lands butt-up in his lap. During all this she managed to lose her wallet, so when she goes to pay for a parfait at the place where Kareha works, she instead has to suit up and serve time (and melon soda!) For whatever reason (you might be able to guess—this show is based off a hentai game, after all) she strips completely nude to change into the cutesy café outfit, but before she can slip her panties back on, she is whisked out onto the floor where much bowing (read: bending over) awaits. This is exactly why we are watching this show, to enjoy Mayumi’s squirming as she squares off against a kid who is liable to pull her skirt up at any moment.

So why do the hijinx end? All of a sudden, the series takes a turn for the dramatic, accompanied by a suitable change in eye-catch. Farewell, adorable kitty plushies; greetings, tense naked girls. Turns out that (as if we couldn’t guess) Primula, the girl with busted emotions is–*spoiler spoiler spoiler* You didn’t really think I was going to tell, did you? Let’s just say it involves some freaky science—the gods playing God? Ok, mostly the devils, but same difference. Primula is a subject, but so was•Nerine? Or rather, Nerine’s clone? Where did all of this nonsense come from? What happened to all the boob shots? Asa has fragile health and used to wish she had never been born? Chronic pain as a child caused her to hate her mother? Make it stop!

Unfortunately, there is no end to the revelations in sight, as in the final episode of disk four we find out that Sia has a nasty, mirror-dwelling twin of some sort. I expected some trials and tribulations, but not quite on this scale. I’m much more interested in Itsuki’s goofy, lack-of-omelette-bento lamentations than crazy magical science lab subplots. I guess you can’t really expect the mundane when it’s a matter of whether Rin will wed the princess of the gods, the princess of the devils, or one of the other handful of girls who seem to be keen on holding his attention.

Disks 3 and 4 continue the trend of having next to no extras—Textless openings and trailers, anyone?—but at least each volume comes with a cute pin-up poster. Maybe the picture of all the main girls in a convertible, decked out for a summer picnic, with Primula eating a popsicle, Asa’s butt sticking out•maybe it will remind you how great it was to just sit back and enjoy the fan service, rather than wince as it is awkwardly shoehorned into the melodrama.

Studio/Company: FUNimation Entertainment
Available: Now
Rating: TVMA

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