Company - BANDAI
Age - 7 and up (all ages)
Episodes 1-5
Dual Language (Japanese/English)
Optional Extras? - Textless Opening Animation
Time - 125 minutes
Created by Studio Pierrot
Planned by Minoru Ohno, Yuji Nunokawa & Shigeru Watanabe
Animation Production by Studio Pierrot
Directed by Takahiro Omori
A Production of TV Osaka, Yomiuri Advertisement Agency & Bandai Visual

Fancy Lala Volume 1
Before we Begin...
So why review this? Why?
Because it's one of the few all ages series I raved about in the past,
And because 2005 will see a brand new all ages show to rave about, that being Magical Meow Meow Taruto (BANDAI, February 2005). So, then, that is why I'm bringing you back to take a look at the last all ages titles (aimed at a female audience but yet holding the ability to appeal to a wider audience) I reviewed and raved about... Fancy Lala.

Episode 1 : Miho's Spectacular Transformation
Here it is. Ground level. Where you get your 4-1-1 on a lot of the main cast (Miho Shinohara and family) of the series and first meet Miho's little "mascots" Mogu (female, responsible one) and Pigu (male, the hungry one) who hail from another dimension. But more on that later.

As for Miho? We start this episode of her dreaming of a simple life in the past with her family -- which, as you can guess, is nothing like the hectic busy life she and her family leads in the here and now.
Quick roll call. Miho‘s father is a busy archeologist [similar to Sakura Kinomoto's dad from Card Captor Sakura], while her mother is a busy producer at a TV station (which will pop up again in later episodes as part of the episode‘s storyline). She also has a sister who has her own life, which pretty much leaves Miho abit lacking in the family department, though they all do try their best to be family despite all this.

Speaking of which, in her dream she first meets the man who she'll later dub "Mystery Man" as he poses the question in her thoughts about the past, and the future, and her place in it all - that's when the dream becomes a FOX Reality program entitled "When Giant Godzilla Sized Dinosaurs Attack".
Dinosaurs? Well, she sees them again on her way to school - but what do they mean?

As for Miho? She dreams (when she's not dreaming of primitive villages being destroyed Primal Rage style) of becoming a manga talent (manga writer slash artist which she has the skills for considering how well she can draw!), but she's a rather shy girl which shows itself as she suffers a panic attack on her first day in 3rd grade when speaking in front of the class, which makes her wish she was more confident.

Confidence booster might be on the way, though. Especially since she's about to "meet" the aforementioned wacky odd couple of Magical Girl mascots known as Pigu & Mogu in a store - well, "meet" is kind of a strong word... I suppose. Let's just say they're playing "Stuffed animal" (a trick all too well known by a certain Guardian Beast of the Seal from that other series I mentioned above) and only Miho can hear them talking to each other, and then to her.

Pigu & Mogu don't exactly help the situation though as they kind of make matters worse when they decide they must go with her in the form of "framing" her for shoplifting (attaching themselves to her backpack). That's when Mystery Man steps in and buys them for her. Anyway the store owner's a jerk anyway! He can clearly see those aren't his merchandise but he charges her for them anyway? Sheesh! Crook!

So, what happens next? Pigu & Mogu eventually tell her about themselves and how they need her help to return to their home

(after a long bout of "play stuffed and make her think she's hearing things" and a threat to throw them into the garbage), and she gains the "Chrono-pen" and sketching book for the first time.

Say what? Well, apparently since they hail from a dimension which involves the passage of time they give her an artifact which can age her 6 years (from 9 to 15). The device, yes, is in the shape of a pen.
And as for the sketching book? Well, since she needs clothes that'll fit her older body she sketches it on the pad, and with her pen makes the clothes real by saying "large n' baggy" (while closing the pen shut).
Uh... "large n' baggy" doesn't exactly sound like a very stylish thing to say.

Anyway this is the first episode she transforms into Fancy Lala (whom you see in the beginning of the episode as a character she created for her first manga), but what to do next? Well...

Episode 2 : Lala's Debut in Harajuku
Before we go on we must ask ourselves one thing -- what's Harajuku?
Think of it as the equivelant of Hollywood, where people go to be "discovered" and become famous.
How does Miho know about this? Well, it seems that, once, Miho's older sister Chisa went down there and a talent scout scouted her... for something. She didn't explain what but I have an inkling it was probably for something that couldn't be talked about in an All Ages series.
Anyway she shook off her "agent" by threatening him, telling him that her father would teach him to "swim with the fishies" in a not so good way if he didn't stop bothering her.

Miho? Now that she can become Lala she wants to go to Harajuku to be "discovered," but the first person she runs into is a real jerk... lord knows it might be the guy that tried to make the moves on Chisa... anyway things don't go well with Lala fails to pull off the "swimmin' with da' fishes" routine so she ends up having to make a run for it.

However she runs into Ms. Yumi Haneishi, the President of Lyrical Productions (a small up-and-coming modeling/talent agency). This agency is headed up by five people: herself, Ririka the assistant, Yoshio the driver - well, he does other things but sadly all he's good for is fetching the car - everything else he gets scolded for... uh, moving on we have the hairstylist (who isn't seen as much as the others), and the last member who is the brains of the operation (works the phones, makes things happen, and who does all the scolding at Yosho). And, yes, this chance meeting leads to Lala's first job (modeling) and the start of a beautiful relationship.

She also gets a cell phone from Ms. Haneishi, and gets her dad to get her a bank account (where her money earned as Lala is placed). This is also the first time you see Pigu/Mogu's power to disguise themselves as clothing accessories like earrings or bracelets which proves to be quite useful this episode.

Episode 3 : The Heart-Pounding TV Appearance
Miho's class is off to the park to sketch, but on the way there she runs into Mystery Man again (and overhears him saying something to a fishmonger that'll come back to her again near the end of the episode when she needs the "advice" the most).

Meanwhile, a day at the park sketching turns into a bicker match between Miho and Taro (who is the main young male character of the series) when he catches her doodling on new clothes designs for Lala while she's supposed to be drawing cityscapes. As punishment they end up having to draw each other which is a slight mercy because, as they're drawing in private, the cell phone rings and it's

a call for Lala.
Bad news, Taro overhears the whole thing - but he's going to suddenly develop amnesia and forget about it? It must be love - sigh.

As for Mogu/Pigu? Well, the money Miho earned modeling is going - going - gone while keeping up with Pigu's appetite. She's spending the money to feed them so she better keep working, but she has doubts about it. But she still goes back to Lyrical Productions for more work and ends up next as a model for an ad for a deodorant ("Powder in Deodorant").

Miho, however, gets a bit of a downer when one of her classmates (one who's a bit snobbish towards Miho since she upstaged her on the first day of school without meaning to) criticizes the ad she did as Lala by proclaiming that Lala is not going to last very long in the industry.

This leads to a stirring pep talk from the hairstylist (the worldly giver of wisdom and makeovers) and a surprise appearance by Mystery Man (high on the lighting scaffolds over the stage) at her first TV appearance gives her more confidence. Oh, the appearance? It's on a show called (believe it or not) "Who Wants To Be A Survivor?"... eh?

Yeah, yeah, what kind of name is a show like "Who Wants To Be A Survivor"... that can't be the name of the show, can it? On the bright side of things nobody is voted off the stage, no lifelines are used, and Regis Philbin doesn't ask Miho if that is her final answer... strange game show.

How is it like a game show? Well, you see, the part which Lala has to be concerned of is the part where people promoting their stuff send talent to be on the show, and that person has to do some physical challenge (a la Survivor).

Sounds simple, right? Not so. Instead of money or "immunity" they're earning time to do a "Commercial" for the product their pushing, but that‘s the simple part as Lala is about to find out.
Lala? She has to wrestle Bulldog Iwata. Sure, it seems that Bulldog is actually a quite gentle person when she doesn't have her game face on, but that‘s no good since she will most definitely have her "game face" on when she meets Lala in the "ring".

But after some encouragement Lala does indeed do the deed, and gets 10 seconds of commercial time - hey, it's apparently a record because nobody made it to 10 seconds before - go figure.
You have to see the rest for yourself, but this is the episode she first starts calling her mystery benefactor "Mystery Man," and she starts to like being Lala.

Episode 4 : A Double Date on Sunday?
Now Lala's supposed to do a shoot for a thing called "Charging Garlic" - but that got canceled so she has the day off. Too bad her friends are all out with their families (all two of them - two of them?) and she has nothing to do but hang at home, read manga, and scold Mogu/Pigu for destroying the kitchen in their quest for food. Yeah, now there's a day well spent.

However, it seems dad's home so they go out for the day to a huge department store which is hosting a dinosaur exhibit (right up his alley considering he's one of those regular down-to-Earth archeologists who doesn't wear leather, carry a bullwhip, and fights Nazis on a daily basis).

But as the title suggests it looks like they just ran into Chisa and - her boyfriend?
Dammit! Give a girl a magical device and a reason and she'll spy on her own sister in her other form!

Meanwhile, Pigu/Mogu end up stuck on a dinosaur diorama because they foolishly left their "hidden mode" to see the sights (which strangely enough reminds

them of home). This leads to an interesting incident of "When Magical Girl Mascots Attack" which begins when some kid pokes Pigu and mocks him, so he bites him and everyone ends up chasing them - way to go, Pigu! Stick to snacks, not kids, as munchies!

Watch the episode to see what's up with Chisa, and how Miho gets Pigu/Mogu out of the jam they got themselves into (with a little help from Mystery Man).

Episode 5 : A Busy Day for Miho and Lala
Yes, it's true. You really shouldn't try being in two places at once!

Miho promises her friend that she'll help her win this children's TV Game Show, whose grand prize will take the winners on a trip to visit the world's best amusement parks. Miho? She's in it for a certain celebrity that‘ll be a judge (one whose been mentioned over and over again this whole Volume!), but she also has work as Lala in this audition for a TV Show that is scheduled for the same day!

Miho? She thinks she can handle it, but in the end she fails at both duties and learns a hard lesson about her responsibilities - which she needs to be able to grow as a person.

Great episode. Look for Lala's first singing moment (which will be expanded on next Volume), old-school Nickelodeon style game show physical challenges - and a guest appearance by Tsukikage Ran?
Well - no. But they're visiting a studio today for both events and they're shooting a period piece show with a female lead and - oh, well, let's move on now.

Region 1 Optional Extras
Textless Opening - It is exactly what it sounds like.

Fancy Lala Breakdown
What's Hot?
There are a small handful of shows that are all ages capable which I rave about.
This is one of those series.
It's a nice solid show with an interesting cast that you can really like, a nice easy-going plot (yet one that is interesting at the same time) and a series that can reach past it's target audience of young girls.
It's lighter fare and can be viewed by anyone, and while some might not find it appealing I find there is merit in this and those with open minds should give it a shot.

What's Not?
Okay. Truth be told not everyone is fascinated by the Magical Girl genre.
I happen to be a fan of the genre (among other anime/manga genres) so I liked it a lot, but you might not have the same reaction to it.

Remember, it's a lighter-fare series so it's for someone who either wants something light, or like the genre it represents (Magical Girl). If you have any doubts? Then by all means rent it and give it a test spin to see what you think of it, and if it works for you or not. I think it will work for you but that's just me.

Moments to Remember?
Lots and lots and lots. All six volumes are just packed to go with memories.
In short however a lot of it focuses around Miho/Lala and the situations she gets into.
Secondary is the antics at Lyrical Productions and the gang there which is also memorable.

What to Ignore?
There are some things but I'm going to let you discover them.
For now there‘s nothing in this volume but later on a few "ignore" points will pop up. You‘ll see.

Overall?
If you're a fan of the Magical Girl genre, or just wanting to put something into your collection for a lighter taste of anime in your set, this is something to consider. But, again, this is only review of Volume 1. There are five more weeks for me to sell to you the virtues of the series, so let's take it one week at a time and we'll return next week with another pitch as to why this is worth seeing.