Customer Reviews

Someday's Dreamers - Magical Dreamer (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Someday's Dreamer" ("Mahou Tsukia ni Taisetu na Koto" or "What is Imporant to a Magician" is the Japanese series title.) is a great, charming show, blending the essence of anime such as "Lain" and non-Miyazaki Studio Ghibli.

The basic story follows Yume, a trainee magician from the countryside of Japan, who is on study-leave in Tokyo to learn more about practical magic and complete her training. Yume (Dream, in Japanese) is a quite, gentle type of country-girl, easily confused and swept up by Tokyo. While the "Witch in Training" theme brings to mind "Kiki's Delivery Service," the tone and animation style is entirely different, being more subtle and with little overt action.

The animation is absolutely beautiful, and maybe the main draw of the series. The scenes of daily life in Tokyo are spot-on, and stunning in their realism.

"Someday's Dreamer" is definitely intended to be a girl's show, and there is a share of male "fan service," as Yume finds herself staring at her handsome roommates's bare chests. Not enough to be distracting, and the girls deserve some eye-candy after all.

The story is enjoyable, and worth watching. The animation is fantastic, and pushes this series way up on the quality bar.

"Someday's Dreamers" is the story of Kikuchi Yume, a young girl who comes from her country home to the big city of Tokyo for mage training. Like most anime heroines, Yume has an amazing power sleeping inside her, and an uncanny ability to act with the right intentions at the wrong time.

Before you start drawing connections between "Someday's Dreamers" and "Harry Potter"...don't. Although the wizard-in-training bit is present and accounted for, that's about where the similarities end, and Dreamers doesn't feel or play like some kind of quick cash-in Potter rip-off.

The show itself is fairly light for now. The four episodes on this disc each stand well on their own; each episode involves Yume being faced with a problem and having to solve it, usually through the use of her magic (or Special Power, as it is called in the show.)

Technically, the show is impressive. The animation is clean and bright, and the music is perfectly suited to the chiefly gentle nature of the show. (I would recommend checking into the soundtrack CD, available domestically from Geneon-Pioneer.) Both the English and Japanese voice casts turn in solid performances in their various roles.

On that note, there's some difference between how the subtitles and the dub are presented. Pioneer makes some interesting choices with the subtitles, including leaving names Asian style (e.g. Kikuchi Yume instead of Yume Kikuchi) and leaving honorifics (e.g. -san, -chan, sensei) intact. The subtitle translation also handles "Dreamers"'s use of polite language--and there is a lot of it--in a somewhat literal fashion, creating a translation that can sound a little awkward at times, and may be the slightest bit confusing for viewers unfamiliar with some Japanese expressions of politeness. But it hardly hinders the translation enough to make it unwatchable, and some fans may indeed prefer this style of translating.

The dub feels almost like a nod to convention in the face of the subtitles on this disc; names are flipped (Western-style) and honorifics have been dropped per normal. But as I mentioned, the cast still delivers a perfectly good performance, and whether to watch subbed or dubbed is a matter of preference here.

The actual story construction in Someday's Dreamers will either delight or confound you. The stories here are straightforward, and the relentlessly upbeat nature of the show generally makes it clear that everything will turn out alright. There is, in short, nothing particularly groundbreaking in this show. But the series has such sweetness in the form of its friendly characters (perhaps especially the uber-innocent Yume) that it may well survive on charm alone. (Oh, and maybe it's just me, but I think that pretty series box you can buy with volume one is worth the entire price of admission.)

People out for a thick and dramatic plot should definitely look elsewhere. But people who just want something cute and uplifting to watch have found their ticket.

~

This is definitely more of a "chick-flick" anime, but the story and artwork are both beautifully understated. I wouldn't really say that Someday's Dreamers is aimed at adolescent girls, though I'm sure it would appeal to some. In general, I would say the action and romances are too slow to develop and will leave the average teenaged girl bored long before she could appreciate the subtle nuances of the story.

This series' creator has taken a more "realist" approach to things, presenting a solid, stoically paced story with beautifully realistic imagery.

At times, the story leaves the viewers confused, but things are explained in time, and it helps us relate to the dazed, confused Yume.

Just do yourself a favor and watch it in Japanese...the dubbers' decision to give certain characters Southern drawls to emphasize that they are from the "country" was stupid.

"Someday's Dreamers" is a pleasant coming-of-age story of a young "mage" who is required to spend her summer break training with a certified mage in order to become a certified mage herself. Yume struggles to come to terms with her reasons for becoming a mage and to develop self-confidence in her actions as well as to develop an appreciation for the limits (artificial and otherwise) placed on her powers.

The story has fun with the bureaucracy within which Yume and her trainer work. Yes, she starts her first official day of training watching training videos! Although rules do get broken and bent more often than not, the interesting thing is that the bureaucracy is not portrayed as simply evil-hearted or mindless; at times, it is explained why the rules exist and why they make sense. I especially loved the discussion of ethics for mages.

The series is episodic for the most part. However, the last three episodes create a darker story arc as Yume suffers a crisis of confidence as she faces her final test. On a final note, this series is an homage to the city of Tokyo. Yume comes to the city in confusion and trepidation, but as time passes, she falls in love with the city and its people. Tokyo deserves cast credit: "Tokyo as Itself."

This anime is so good in so many ways I don't know where to start.^_^ The first thing you notice is that the animation is outstanding and very realistic. The character development is excellent and you get emotionally involved with the characters and the plot much more than even in the average good live-action dramatic film.
Yume, the protagonist of the series, is a young mage-in-training. Despite her obviously overwhelming powers, she struggles with insecurity and shyness. We see, however, how Yume's powers come from her intense feelings of love and her concern for others.
Obviously the series is inspired in Studio Ghibli shojo like Kiki's Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart and Umi ga Kikoeru. And it really does measure up to Studio Ghibli standards. I guess that's the ultimate compliment you could give any anime. ^-^

A very very nice anime. No action or violence or anything like that. But just plain cute. The only other anime series that came to mind when I was watching this was "Kokoro Library". And although the storyline and characters are entirely different, it has the same feel of cuteness, as well the difficulties and dilemnas endured by the characters are also on the same level of........ importance?
I recomend all anime fans to watch this series.
Also the boxset looks awesome on the anime shelf ;)

I can not rate this item as it was a gift for someone else and I have not asked for an opinion. I can say that it was delivered in good condition and the delivery was not really fast, but acceptable.

I personally think the anime's plot is not well-developed. Some characters' design are not very good either. However, I am not gonna to spoil the stuff since you get hot hot DVD box and post cards. The animation is also pretty cool so I think its worthy if you like pretty stuff.

Though having a few good bits in it for the girls, this series was terrible. Don't bother buying it. It doesn't go anywhere.