Fancy Lala

Miho Shinohara just entered the fourth grade. When browsing a small shop one day, two little dinosaur fairies hitch a ride home on her backpack. Later that day they introduce themselves and give Miho a magic sketchbook and pen. This allows her to transform into Lala, a 15 year old version of herself.

Unlike other magical girl shows, Miho was not chosen to be a magical super hero to save the world from evil. The show basically follows Miho through her life and the magic isn't the main focus of the show. Miho experiences a more adult life through Lala. The plot is set up within the first couple of episodes and there are no plot twists and action is non-existant. Fancy Lala has a deeper sense of reality than most magical girl shows; there isn't any crazy humor and it has a heartwarming feel to it.

Miho sketches her clothes in her magical book and when she puts the cap back on her pen she says "Loose 'n Baggy!" which makes her clothes appear. After putting her clothes on she says a few more words and changes into Lala. Early on, Lala is chosen to be the new model for Lyrical Productions. During her career, Lala models, sings and even acts in TV shows. It's mostly episodic and there are filler-ish episodes, but I found every episode enjoyable. The more I watched the more I grew to enjoy the show. The ending does a great job concluding the series.

The show features catchy opening and ending themes, and the background music is pretty good. There are a couple vocal songs during the show, too. Lala is a singer afterall. The animation looks good and stays consistant througout.

I quite enjoyed this show and I'm sure kids would too. It's simple enough for younger viewers and at the same time smart and entertaining to the point that older viewers would enjoy it. Recommended.

Score:

Written by Marc Frost on Mar 07, 2014