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Ah, harems. Who doesn’t like the idea of a harem? The Japanese certainly do.

Shuffle! is the story of Rin Tsuchimi, a young man who has a problem (?) – he is the object of love for five different girls. Asa is a tomboy, and Sia has a wild side. Kaede loves to serve, while Primula is all innocence. Nerine can’t cook. Together they love Rin, and together, they try to figure out who Rin loves in return.

This fifth volume kicks off with “Honest Feelings”, an episode in which Sia forces Rin to go on a date with her by sticking Rin’s hand between her legs and screaming rape. Way to set women’s right back a hundred years, Sia. She drags Rin around town, making him watch her try on risqué dresses and flashing him (boobie alert number one!). She confesses that she had a twin who died in the womb, and has a split personality. Her other half occasionally takes over and makes Sia do slutty things like sticking a man’s hand between her legs. She then confesses her love for Rin, telling him she’d do absolutely anything he wanted (wink wink), and Rin makes himself the most unbelievable male character anywhere by declining.

In “The One Rin Loves”, Sia and Nerine, who has also been rejected by Rin (previous to this DVD), watch Rin flirt with Asa, and speculate that she may be the one Rin cares about after all. Together they decide to force Rin to take Asa out on the most romantic date ever, to a romance-themed amusement park. Asa, a spunky force of nature herself, causes all of Rin’s plans to go awry. Asa outs Rin’s help at the end of the episode and, her feelings hurt by the planned nature of the date, tells Rin that the only thing that matters is how he feels.

“Unforgettable Sentiment” and “Indelible Sin” show Shuffle! at a weird, dark turn. The story of Rin and Kaede’s past, we see a great deal of flashbacks. After the death of Kaede’s mother in a car accident, Kaede fell into a dark illness that threatened to claim her life. Rin, late one night, sits at her hospital bed and confesses that he is the reason why her mother has died. Kaede attacks Rin, strangling him almost to death. Over the next few years, Kaede visits a number of violent or malevolent attacks on Rin, dropping a box cutter onto his head at one point. Then Kaede discovers the truth – her mother came home early because of a sickness she was suffering from, causing her to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is shamed, and dedicates her life to making amends with Rin, serving him however she can.

Back in the present, Kaede’s freakish psycho tendencies are swept under the rug and Rin is getting cozier and cozier with Asa – something Kaede can’t take. Poor Primula is stuck in the house with this psycho while Rin courts Asa. But Rin invites Asa back to the house one night, causing Kaede to go over the edge. She lashes out at Asa, telling her to go die – and Asa promptly has some sort of heart failure. Kaede has her foot in mouth, and Rin rushes Asa to the hospital. He spends days there, watching over Asa, and when he finally does come home, Kaede, after a shower of shame scene (boobie alert number two!) throws herself at Rin by climbing into bed with him, naked (boobie alert number three!). Rin freaks, bolts, and poor poor Kaede is left by her psycho self. Rin decides to move out, leaving his crazy, crazy friend all alone. Boo-hoo. 

The show is cute and the animation is okay. Volume five comes with the usual boring extras: textless songs, trailers, and ringtones. There’s nothing extraordinary here, but it isn’t awful, either. There’s bouncy, jiggly nudity, but it’s not obscene. The DVD does come with a poster (Primula and Nerine, the two purple-headed girls), and that’s pretty sweet. The DVD goes by in a blur, each episode like candy. Not bad.

3