Series: Maburaho: Complete Collection is about a world much like our own where instead of money being the driving factor of success, the juice that pushes social, economic, and industrial engines is magic. Everyone has some innate magical ability and it is taught as a subject in schools across the world. At one prestigious high school in Japan, the Aoi Academy; the best and brightest attend much like some of the prep schools we have. The idea is to put together the best qualified students in hopes of establishing lifelong ties and even mates as some of the gals look to getting their MRS degrees in the pre-wed program. The driving factor for the magic of this universe is the power level and the amount of times you can use it before you die; much like the way the way magic was handled in the lame mainstream movie The Covenant. The average number of times the students in the school can use magic is around 8000 over the course of their lifetime while some can do so for 140,000 or more. Enter into this concept a young man by the name of Kazuki Shikimori; the lead of the show, who can only use magic a grand total of 8 times before dying. This puts him at a severe disadvantage to his classmates until one day when it comes out that his lackluster social and educational skills (matching his magic skills) are compensated by the fact that he has the blood of over 50 top magicians running through his veins; making any child he has to potentially become a world class magician. Genetic purity seeming to skip a generation or two, this makes Kazuki the most sought after bachelor of the school, much to the chagrin of his male peers, with three gals obsessing over mating with the young fellow.

The gals are Yuna Mikama; a pink haired hotty that is as sweet as can be, having fallen in love with Kazumi long ago before she moved away; Kuriko Kazetsubaki; a rich gal high up on the social ladder due to her family company being on the rise (new money), and Rin Kamishiro, a brunette gal that channels her powers through her katana that comes from a traditional family in decline. Of the two, Rin and Kuriko are the most focused in terms of following their family wishes to mate with the lad, seeing his genes as a means to an end while Yuna pushes herself off as his wife due to the wish she made when she was a little girl. Needless to say, each gal has her own motivation, Rin even wanting him dead at one point to free her from her family bond.

Okay, the basic premise established, I watched the entire 24 episode run in two sittings and found it to be an okay show but one with a tremendous amount of filler. After the initial characters were established in the first few episodes, Kazuki started using up his powers as if possessing a death wish; typically doing so to make the girls happy or save the day when circumstances required it. By the end of the first disc, he had burned through half his times to use magic and it was clear that something had to happen before the lucky #8 was passed. I'm not going to spoil it for you but he went through a change about half way through the series that was unexpected but after the first few episodes, most of the other character and plot development took place right near the end. It was almost as if the show had been designed to last 6 episodes (as if an OVA) and then stretched out for a full season at the last minute. The fun was typical for a harem show and there were few surprises along the way, the limited fan service taking place in the form of numerous panty shots and limited nudity just like the dynamic of the three gals trying to trick Kazuki into going with them (Kuriko the most willing to simply sleep with him rather than embrace him as a lifelong mate) appearing to follow the lead of all the shows in the genre before this one. The one thing that was different was that after a few battles between each other, the gals did seem to come to an uneasy truce (technically not a big leap since this happens from time to time in other shows as well) and fought together when another was in need but they all seemed to stick to their two dimensional characterizations and lacked growth.

The press releases from ADV Films made the show seem more interesting then it really was as it came out, here they are to give you a head's up on the show: "Adapted from the best-selling Japanese series of novels, Maburaho is sure to leave you spellbound with its hilarious antics, heart-warming romance, and high-energy magical mischief. The series was directed by Shinchiro Kimura (Cosplay Complex, Burn Up! Excess) and features the character-design work of Yasunari Nitta (Azumanga Daioh, Sister Princess, Yu Yu Hakusho). High school student Kazuki Shikimori comes from a line of powerful magicians with extraordinary DNA and he attends the most prestigious school for wizards in all of Japan. It would seem that life is good for Kazuki. Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth. He's not the most smooth when it comes to the ladies, his grades are poor, his athletic skill is next to none, and to top it all off, he can only use his magic eight times before he turns into dust! However, three magical hotties have learned of his genetic secret and are all after him! Suddenly he has become the most "popular" kid in class. Are all these girls out to romance him, or are they only after his DNA?"

"Of the eight magic spells Kazuki had, only five remain. But while Yuna, Kuriko and Rin scramble to outdo each other and grab a piece of the Shikimori action, an old childhood friend of Kazuki's arrives! Is she a new rival? Can Kazuki control the urge to use magic and allow his genes to live on for another day? Will fate intervene before the girls have their way with him?"

"With only three magic spells remaining before he turns to dust, Kazuki Shikimori is waging a war against fate when he's tempted to use his powers. Vexing vixens Kuriko, Rin and Yuna each want Kazuki's superior DNA for themselves, so they'll try just about anything to save his assets including some pretty bizarre remedies - like a trip to a magical hot springs and some questionable concoctions. However, one of Yuna's attempts backfires in a rather dangerous way. And is Kazuki hearing things, or is that maple tree really talking to him? Will the girls be able to save Kazuki from himself, or will their efforts be nothing more than dust in the wind?"

"Everyone thought he was a goner - but there's something about Kazuki that just won't give up the ghost! With their hopes of getting into Kazuki's genes up in smoke, Yuna, Kuriko and Rin are undeterred from trying to make the impossible happen. They must find a way to bring Kazuki back to life so they can have a crack at his celebrated DNA. BUT new obstacles abound! A mysterious woman appears who wants Kazuki for reasons of her own. AND Rin's former mentor arrives to take her back home. Kazuki better watch out - sexy girls are nothing compared to furious swordmasters and ghost collectors! What's a ghost to do?!"

"As if high school wasn't difficult enough, Kazuki Shikimori is now dealing with life as a ghost! But that minor setback hasn't deterred Yuna, Kuriko and Rin from trying to woo him. Although it appeared Kuriko only had eyes for Kazuki, a mystery man comes into her life who might change everything. Not only that, it seems that classmate Nakamaru's genes may be superior to Kazuki's, forcing the girls to rethink their positions. Shino, the enigmatic ghost collector, is still after Kazuki. Can he escape her cunning attempts to cage him? Plus, could there be new rivals on the scene for the girls to face? For Kazuki, being dead is the least of his problems!"

"Kazuki Shikimori is having a tough time dealing with life as a teenage ghost. But leave it to a group of girls to run to his rescue... Yuna, Kuriko, Rin and Chihaya are determined to give him that one thing he's been missing - a body! A class trip to a hot springs makes the teens of Aoi Academy sizzle! Kazuki better watch out for things that may pop up -- Shino the ghost catcher still has her own agenda, and she could be around any corner! In the end, Kazuki winds up as Kuriko's date at the Cinderella Ball. Will Kazuki finally fall under her spell? Beware the mysterious moonlight, Kazuki!"

"Kazuki Shikimori has had to endure a lot this school year -- he became a ghost! Never fear though, some devoted hotties may have stumbled upon a cure for his predicament. Yuna, Kuriko and Rin believe they can restore Kazuki's body by collecting all his ashes. The girls think they've figured out just what to do. However, Shino delivers some shocking news that may derail their plans permanently. What's Dr. Akai's diagnosis? Does Shino still have her own agenda? Whose side is Chihaya on? What's with the veil, Miss Manager? And, most importantly, what will happen to Kazuki!?"

In general, the show was enough fun that those of you looking for a harem show should be able to enjoy it enough to merit purchasing if you haven't already picked up the individual volumes of the show but keep in mind that collector's will want those releases instead of this one because as with most boxed sets, ADV Films dumped the extras to make this more affordable. I like extras in my anime (and other DVD titles) but I can't completely dismiss the value of the show so I'll peg this one as a Rent It until you can decide if you like it enough to get the extras laden volumes or just enough to pick the complete set up in this cheaper form.

Picture: Maburaho: Complete Collection was presented in the expected 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director Shinichiro Kimura. It was colorful and bright like most harem shows tend to be and aside from some shimmer, minor mosquito noise, and edge enhancement, it looked pretty solid for a show made back in 2003. Given that five episodes were tossed onto each disc this time, I had some concerns going into it but was relieved to find out it looked as good as it did. The animation style used was minimal in most cases but fans of this genre have never struck me as particularly caring about that and it served the premise well enough overall.

Sound: The audio was presented with the usual choices of the 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track as aired in Japan when on broadcast television or the newly enhanced 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track as enhanced by the audio engineers at ADV Films. The vocals on the dub (by leads Blake Shepard, Jessica Boone, Tiffany Grant, and Kim Prause) were surprisingly good though purists might appreciate the original cast even more. The sound effects and musical score were definitely a step up on the dub though with better separation and dynamic range making me wish the original tracks were likewise enhanced too.

Extras: All of the extras outside of the cardboard box were stripped out of this release.

Final Thoughts: Maburaho: Complete Collection was an okay show with hastily drawn out characters that were barely touched in terms of character development. This being the biggest weakness of the show, you could do far worse since the minimal chances taken with the cast allowed it to take on a "more of the same" kind of dynamic. In essence, if you like any of the episodes, you should like all of them just as much, albeit limiting the replay value if you've seen any of the better series in the genre. In short, don't expect a lot from Maburaho: Complete Collection and you may like it even more than I did; the lack of extras and replay value reducing how much appeal it had for me. Still, I've seen a lot worse of late and for a show dating back several years, it had some merit to those of you looking for something unchallenging to appreciate as eye candy.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.