If you've read any of our anime reviews recently chances are very good you have stumbled upon John or I going on about how Geneon bit the dust and how FUNimation saved many titles from their catalogue. While most of these are rather mainstream in the anime world, The Familiar of Zero is not, at least not here in the States. It's not a show I know much about and it's definitely not one of the most hyped releases you're going to find on the market. However, in Japan the franchise has spawned multiple light novels, manga, games, and a few seasons of animation. With that in mind it's time to give this 13 episode series from J.C. Staff its fair shake.

Once the first episode gets going, the show wastes very little time introducing you to its main character. Louise Françoise de la Vallière, Louise for short, is a noble who attends the Tristain Academy of Magic. She's prim and proper, cute as a button, and she seems determined with a high amount of confidence, however there is a problem. Louise is also know as Louise the Zero, because she doesn't possess any elemental magic what-so-ever. This makes her incompetent as a mage and every spell she tries to produce winds up simply turning into an explosion. Naturally she's the laughing stock of the whole school and her second year classmates in particular. Imagine her dismay when it comes time for the class to summon a magical familiar to be her lifelong companion.

Her rival summons a fiery salamander, another girl conjures up a wyvern, others create mice, frogs, cats, and other appropriate magical critters. When it's Louise's turn the whole class watches to see what foul, mentally challenged beast she calls forth. She readies her spell, waves her wand, and after the ensuing explosion her familiar appears before her. The only problem is this familiar isn't as cool as a fire-breathing salamander or as slick as a dragon; it's a teenage boy named Saito.

On the day that Louise was conducting her magical summoning, Saito happened to be walking through the streets of Tokyo minding his own business. All of the sudden a vortex opens up before him and he's sucked into a strange magical world that is only familiar to him in manga and video games. He doesn't understand the hierarchy, he can't speak the language, and he's frazzled by the fact that he's surrounded by wizards. Things don't bode well for the lad to say the least.

Immediately Louise takes to making Saito her personal slave. After casting a spell that makes him speak her language (with an accompanying explosion of course) she immediately tells him that he's a dog, he should do her laundry, dress her, sleep on the floor, and eat only when she allow shim to. Saito's reaction to his situation is appropriate and he naturally resists just about everything she throws at him which usually lands him on the other end of a riding crop.

Over the course of the series their relationship develops quite nicely and there's a real connection between the two. Louise eventually warms up to Saito and actually starts showing feelings towards him as well, even if that feeling is jealousy over Saito's penchant for falling into seduction traps with her busty, slutty rival Kerche. There's a strong feeling that this is a harem anime thanks to the brand of humor, though the show doesn't necessary play on that "too" hard. Sure Saito is attracted to Louise, dogged by Kerche, and adored by Siesta the peasant, but it's all played intelligently enough so that the humor doesn't feel dry or forced.

In all honesty, Familiar of Zero is a hilarious show. It has a sharp wit, funny situations, and almost never feels repetitive with its attempts to get you to laugh. Sure the joke is often that Louise is tormenting Saito for doing something stupid, but his reactions more than make up for that stereotype. As entertaining as the show is, it's worth noting that with regards to stereotypes some of the characters play into roles a little too well. The silent bookworm girl, the busty promiscuous girl, the flat-chested one, the flamboyant guy are all here. Thankfully though they are generic for the most part they break their molds on occasion and keep things fresh.

The Familiar of Zero is one of the most enjoyable shows you have probably never heard of. It may be stereotypical around the edges, but it's a rather deep program with a lot of potential. After watching all 13 episodes I wanted more, and I really hope that FUNimation keeps up with the license and visits the other pieces of the franchise. If you're looking for a fun little trip that feels a little like El-Hazard then you'll definitely want to check this one out. Consider it strongly recommended.

The Familiar of Zero is presented with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio. The show is presented with some good animation and design, the characters are interesting and varied, and the show has a unique look about it. As far as the visual quality is concerned the series receives a very nice transfer. The picture is solid all around with very little grain and no aliasing. There are some compression artifacts here and there, and some blocking is abundant at times, but ultimately it's nothing too distracting.

With regards to the sound, The Familiar of Zero presents a decent blend whether you're listening to the English or Japanese stereo track. The sense of immersion is obviously not quite as good as it could have been with a 5.1 surround mix, but ultimately this isn't really a show that needed such a presentation. There are some sound effects here and light music, but all around it's a dialogue driven program that relies more on its jokes rather than immersive, blasting audio.

For bonus features you can expect to see clean animations and some promotional videos, but that's pretty much it.

The Familiar of Zero was an unexpected treat in many ways. From the ground up the concept has the potential to be redundant and generic, but a great amount of personality and life was breathed into the show. From beginning to end it's a fun ride that doesn't really have any dull moments. The only problem I have with the release is that the show feels like it could have had more episodes. Hopefully we'll receive those at some point in the future, but I suppose it all depends how this series does on the market. Consider it strongly recommended.

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