FUNimation starts off a new anime series this month with the first volume of Shuffle.  This is a romantic comedy harem series that uses all the usual trappings of the genre and adds a bit of a twist.  In this show mind-mannered Rin just wants to get through high school but he has a problem:  the princess of the gods and the princess of the demons both want to marry him...and they both live next door.  Despite being based on a video game, this is a funny and entertaining show, this is sure to please fans of Love, Hina and Happy Lesson.

Rin is an orphan who lives with the hottie of his high school class, Kaede, and her father who is always away.  Kaede (who has a fan club consisting of guys who hate Rin) is totally devoted to Rin, getting up early to make him a fancy breakfast every morning, packing his lunch, and generally waiting on him hand an foot.  Rin, though he appreciates it, doesn't seem to care all that much.

Things change one day when two new transfer students join Rin and Kaede's class.  Sai and Nerine seem to be normal high school girls on the outside, but they are rather special.  Sai's father is king of the gods, and Nerine's dad is king of the demons, making both of them princesses.  In addition to that, they've come to Earth to find a mate, and both of them have their eyes on Rin.  Their father's both promise Rin all of the powers of their respective empires if he'll marry their daughter, and Rin is barely able to fend off the pair of forceful kings.

Walking home with Kaeda, things get even weirder.  Sai, Nerine, and their fathers are following Rin as he walks to Kaeda's house.  When he questions them about it, they just tell him that they're going home via the same route.  Rin soon finds out why:  Sai and Nerine have both moved in next door, one on either side.  With both girls now wanting to walk him to school every morning, it's enough to drive poor Rin crazy.  Things just get worse however, as he runs into a quiet young girl on the street one day who follows him home.  This girl, Primula, is form the Realm of the Demons and won't leave, so she ends up moving in with Rin and Kaeda.

This is a funny show, in the spirit of other harem shows.  It's not too realistic, but it does have a good amount of humor and all the fun associated with the genre.  I especially enjoyed final exam episode.  With summer almost here, the group just has to pass their finals before they get to spend the summer at the beach basking in the sun.  Sia's father has some plans for he and his daughter, but then he finds out something horrible:  if Sia doesn't pass a majority of her classes, she has to take summer school.  That is totally unfair, in his opinion, and he just won't have it!  If Sia is sentenced to summer school he vows to use all the power of his Realm to destroy mankind!  Rin decides that it might be a good idea to help Sia study so she passes.

The only disappointing thing about this disc is that prolog OVA episode, which is retold in the first episode with some differences, is not included.

Audio:

The disc offers viewers the choice of the original Japanese audio track or an English dub, both in stereo.  I listened to various episodes with each audio track and they were both solid.  The English voice actors did a good job with only one supporting character having an irritating high-pitched voice.  I tended to prefer the Japanese track, but not by much.  The quality was similar on both tracks, with no common audio problems being evident.  The mix itself was pretty sedate with the voices firmly anchored on the screen for most of the show.  There wasn't much use made of the soundstage, but that's not too surprising given the nature of the show.

Video:

The 1.78:1 anamorphic image looks pretty good, which shouldn't come as a surprise since this series was made in 2005.  The lines are generally tight and the colors are solid.  On the digital side things also look pretty good.  There is a little aliasing here and there, and a tiny bit of posterization, but these are hardly worth mentioning.

Extras:

Not much in the way of extras....only a clean opening and closing.

Final Thoughts:

This is a funny and enjoyable show.  Watching poor Rin as he's doted on by a group of gorgeous girls, some of whom have extraordinary powers is pretty humorous.  If you enjoy harem shows, this is one of the better one.  Highly Recommended.