Pretear Review

Last review got a bit serious so here's something a bit more straightforward.

Himeno is a plucky young girl straight out of a fairy tale as she literally is in Cinderella's shoes as a stepdaughter to a wealthy step mother along with two step sisters, a stuck up one and a much more introverted one. Hey at least her father is still alive.
A chance meeting with broody man Hayate creates a bright light between them meaning Himeno is the chosen one to become Pretear, a magical girl who can call upon the 7 Knights of Leafe to give her the power to save Leafe, the natural life force of the world from the Princess of Disaster who creates monsters for Himeno to fight. The catch is that the Leafe Knights literally become her magical girl costumes so she can fight.
This can only have been made in the 00s, an obvious candidate for ADVfilms trash but that's a little harsh; for a reverse harem at least the lead character is interesting, she isn't bland or completely reliant on the knights to hold her hand through the experience and learns very quickly how to adapt to each power she receives and each knight seems to bring a nice balance of personalities, even the side characters can bring some much needed comic relief particularly in the overly dark 2nd half of the series as it becomes more obvious that someone close to Himeno is pulling the strings and the Leafe Knights know much more than they're letting on. I like the twists in the anime more than the manga as the anime handles the build up better.
Dub is a collection of the dub actors most type cast roles it seems, I guess that can be it's own glowing recommendation but if you're used to these actors then you can't help but hear their more famous roles.
Final Verdict: A solid attempt at a magical girl series mixed with reverse harem tropes that feels a little gimmicky at times but is a decent watch overall.

End