Ridiculously cute and sickeningly sweet; Bottle Fairy is an adorable little anime that may be loved by a younger generation of otaku but not by older viewers. The show aired in Japan during 2003 and has been released by Geneon featuring all thirteen short episodes spread out over two DVDs. I have to say that after watching the first volume this show is interesting mostly because there is really no coherent story or character development to follow. Instead we get to watch the exploits of four fairies as they try to learn about Japanese culture and humanity.

The fairies are never really given an origin or reason for being and for the most part we are left with the impression that they are there just because. Each of them has a distinctly different personality but they never really got fleshed out or had a chance to grow on the first volume. The fairies have different colors and seasons that correspond with their look and personalities so in that regard they find some individuality.

Hororo is the green fairy that is associated with autumn that likes to get distracted and seems to have a thing for Kururu given the imagery of many of her fantasies. Chiriri is the yellow fairy and may be friendly, but she's a bit of an unpredictable flake that represents spring. Kururu is the blue fairy and is basically the leader of the group with an overactive imagination and is associated with summer. Lastly Sarara was probably my favorite mostly because she has a mean fascination for samurai and ninjas. Sarara is the red fairy that is related to winter.

This last batch of episodes in the series isn't a lot different than the first. This time around though we actually get seven episodes instead of six because the content goes from October through March and then there's a bonus adventure. In October the fairies talk about autumn and what it means to them. As usually is the case each promotes an idea based on their personalities and all sorts of cute stuff happens. November comes along and the fairies adopt and name a plant giving it all of the care and love that a budding flower needs. December's episode actually takes place on New Years Eve after the whole Christmas hoopla and a little Santa role-playing. The girls all have to clean and prepare their little house for company but eventually break into a soap opera like distraction.

January naturally picks up right where December left off and in order to ring in the New Year the fairies play a board game with Tamachan. The next month has to do with Valentines Day and so on and so forth. Needless to say, the stuff that happens here is nearly identical to what transpired in the first volume. It's very cute and all, but not very big on the plot or purpose behind the show. I do have to say that the last episode in the series is probably the best one. I'm not going to spoil it for anybody that has been watching the series or may be fans, but let's just say it's a fitting end, and one that I actually appreciated.

It's safe to say that Bottle Fairy is a show that is strictly designed with the young viewer in mind so much of the series will be lost on us older folk. The content on the second volume isn't all that different from the first and isn't really worth a recommendation. There are a couple of cute moments and a little more character development than in the first release, but it just wasn't enough to pull me in. Yes it's cute and funny at times, but that's not really enough to carry a series is it?

Bottle Fairy: Autumn and Winter was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame it aired with back in 2003. Brightly colored and fluidly animated, the show looks great on DVD with no real flaw to speak of thanks to the marvelous transfer. The only minor complaint that I had was the fact that there was a slight bit of aliasing in some scenes. Also as if the content wasn't enough to deter older viewers, the art style isn't going to be winning any points either. The design of the show is solid but breaks down occasionally for some goofy animations and generic adorable expressions.

The disc is packed with two sound options including original Japanese and English 2.0 Dolby Digital offerings. For what it is the quality is pretty good though there isn't a lot of directionality and everything really comes from the center channel. The audio was clean and clear with no hints of distortion and for the most part the voiceovers on both tracks are acceptable (though they got on my nerves after a while). The DVD also includes two English subtitle tracks; one for dialogue translations and another for signs only. The transfer here is decent but you have to take everything with a grain of salt in order to appreciate it.

The only bonus materials on the disc aside from some trailers are some clean opening and closing animations. This is the standard offering from a Geneon DVD release which is unfortunate, but considering that the show here is rated for the age group of 7 and up you can't expect everything and the kitchen sink to be tossed in. Even so, a commentary or collection of outtakes could have gone a long way to add some personality to the series.

Bottle Fairy is a show without a diverse target audience. The subject matter at hand basically means that it's going to appeal most to fans of younger anime or even some of you out there that dig the loli stuff. Unfortunately I'm not really into either. I liked the idea of teaching Japanese culture through the eyes of cute little anime critters and the material is entertaining for what it is but this is a show where nothing really seems to happen other than the main characters being cute. The only reason I'm going to assign a rental to it is that some of you may be more open to experimenting with their anime and may enjoy it. Rent It

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!