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Surprises and bust sizes

When I finished watching the last volume of Shuffle! I asked myself how long the fun would last.  How many episodes of gratuitous boob and panty shots could I watch before that unsettling feeling started to seep in?  I never found out that answer, because in the fourth volume of Shuffle! things get switched up, and it turns out it is not all about fan service. 

Who Knew?

Episode twelve of Shuffle! saw the departure of Primula as she needed to return to the Land of Devils.  As it so happens, Primula is a test subject for a venture between the God’s and Devil’s dealing with creating a person who can control large amounts of magic.  Primula has been losing control of her magic abilities and needed to return.  Despite characters stating the contrary, I assumed that Primula would return very soon, if not the very next episode.  After all, that is how these things work.  So I was very surprised when all four episodes of Volume Four dealt with the complicated matter of returning Primula to the human world.  Arguments were had, favors were called in, dimensions were hopped, and apocalypses (or apocalypi is you will) were averted.  Truthfully I didn’t expect such matters from a show I had written off as a simple medium for revealing girl’s unmentionables. 

That is not to say that this Volume of Shuffle! is the be all and end all for drama, but it surprised me that they would even attempt to push the boundaries of the show beyond fan service.  It was a welcome change, even if it meant a much lower Boob/Minute ratio than the previous volume.  I will never fault a shonen romance for trying to do something other than flash me.  I wish certain other series I had been forced to suffer through had done half as much. 

Overall, Shuffle! is surprising, but not incredible.  I still enjoy the characters, especially the Lords of Gods and Devils; their wacky take on events and their inability refuse their daughters still cracks me up.  The animation is still top notch: however if you’re looking for something with a lot of depth to it, there are better places to turn.  There are very few Shonen comedies that can hold my attention without insulting my refined sensibilities (no really) and Shuffle! is able to walk the line of humor and fan service in such a way that I don’t feel like I should feel bad afterwards. 

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