Special A, Complete Collection (anime TV series)

Synopsis:

Until she was six years old, Hikari was the best at everything she did. Then she met Kei, who effortlessly beat her in a wrestling match. From that moment on, Hikari became determined to beat Kei at something. However, Kei is so unbelievably good at everything that Hikari may be doomed to be Ms. Second Place forever. That doesn't matter - Hikari is sure that all she needs in order to eventually succeed is hard work and determination.

In the present day, Hikari and Kei are in Special A (S.A.), a special group composed of the top 7 students in their high school. From what I could tell, students in Special A don't even need to attend class, as long as they do well enough on tests and assignments to maintain their school standing. Kei and Hikari are the number 1 and 2 students, respectively. Other students in S.A. include:

• Tadashi - a goofball who likes exploring dangerous places
• Akira - likes serving fancy teas and snacks, enjoys beating up on Tadashi, and would like to monopolize Hikari
• Jun - very young-looking, but otherwise not very interesting until you learn that he's got something of a split personality
• Megumi - the older twin sister of Jun. Her singing voice could be classified as a weapon of mass destruction, it is that powerful. In order to protect her voice, she does not speak, but rather communicates via writing on a sketch pad.
• Ryuu - acts as Megumi and Jun's surrogate parent when their parents are gone, and loves and is loved by a variety of exotic animals

What Hikari doesn't know, even though it's obvious to everyone else, is that Kei is in love with her. Hikari treats Kei like both a rival and a friend, almost completely oblivious to the various signs of his feelings. As the show progresses and most of the other S.A. members pair off with someone, sledgehammer-like hints (actually, one particular character who repeatedly tells Hikari that Kei loves her) finally force Hikari to reevaluate Kei and her feelings towards him.

However, will her feelings about the status of their rivalry and relationship even matter in the end? Hikari may think hard work and effort can accomplish anything, but the fact remains that Kei is from a wealthy family and practically runs his family's empire on his own. The other members of S.A. are used to money and status playing a part in who they are supposed to talk to or even marry, but how will Hikari react when these outside forces start to separate the members of Special A?

Commentary:

I first watched a fansub of this show a few years ago. When it first came out on DVD in the U.S., I wanted it, but didn't get it, because the price was way too high and my bank account was still suffering from my long period of joblessness. I got this complete series boxed set on sale, at a price I still think was a bit high for a series that includes no dub and hardly any extras. If this had been put out by FUNimation, I probably would have waited even longer, until an even cheaper edition was released. However, I'm not sure Sentai Filmworks does that kind of thing.

This series isn't really all that original, and it's not good enough for me to rank it as one of my top favorite anime. Considering the price, there are several other anime I'd recommend to shoujo fans before I'd recommend this one. That said, this series is a bit like an eager puppy - it's got the same overall warm, happy, and positive feel to it that attracted me to anime like Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host Club. It's fun, sweet, and full of energy, and, even though the humor, romance, and drama all felt like something I'd seen in several other anime, I didn't mind because it somehow managed not to feel tired and overdone.