Fancy Lala Recommended

Publisher
US: Bandai
Director
Takahiro Omori
Production
Bandai, TV Osaka, Yomiuri Advertising
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1998

Fancy Lala V. 6

By David Rasmussen
19th Feb 05

Volume 6 - A Passing Dream
Episode 23 : My Sister's Boyfriend
So- who is Chisa's boyfriend? Well, Miho (and anyone else who has seen the few episodes which mention him) might think it's Bachelor #1 (Imaichi), but why is this guy (11th Grader / aka "Bachelor #2") suddenly in the picture? Seems he has been after Chisa for sometime now and he FINALLY wears her down and gets her to go on a date with him. Miho? She's a bit puzzled and worried, so much so that she goes to school disguised as Lala (who in turn is disguised as a girl from Chisa's school) to try and help her out. Bad idea, because all she does is tick Chisa off not once, but twice.

Eventually Chisa finds her own way, which is what had to be done in the first place since it wasn't Miho's place to solve Chisa's problems. She and Imaichi stay together, and Miho gives him the "inside scoop" on what Chisa really likes which explains why Bachelor #2 botched it because he didn't have that "insider info," so he blew the date without even knowing it. Oh and he also sealed his "Fate" by forcing a kiss on Chisa which really upset her. Loser.

Episode 24 : Lala's First Concert
She's barely through the door into Lyrical Productions and she's confronted by a happy set of co-workers!
It seems their dreams to launch Lala's first concert is on its way to becoming a reality and it's party time! Too bad Lala is a little bit of a wet blanket on the affair because she doesn't realize the importance of this. Her first concert after only being on the scene for SIX months? That is big! In fact that's where the "rumor mill" comes into play. You see, Ms. Haneishi invites Hiroya (through her son whose father works with Hiroya) to the concert, and that's how Miki finds out about it (and her smarmy-assed boss is right with her when she finds out). She, of course, didn't have a concert six months after her premiere so she asks him, and since it makes him look like a #1 Loser he makes up this big lie about how it's bad luck to do this so fast.

Miki? She believes it. Then she tells Taro, Taro tells Miho - you do the math.
But that's not just it that drags Lala down. Add to that the hard dance lessons for the concert, and the return of the dreaded "Three Ring Media Circus" (and a repeat performance of the endless pursuit of the stars by the ensemble cast of the "Entertainment Media" ring) and it does nothing good for Lala which drops her to bummer status. Maybe a message sent by one of Lala's fans on the radio can cheer her up?
This is it, however, the last hoorah and the last big event before - the end.

Episode 25 : Lala Has Vanished
Part one of the two part finale.
Looks like after the victory party for Lala that Miho's Chrono Pen/Magic book is missing.
She searches the town for it but finds nothing. Meanwhile, both Lyrical Productions and the Mass "Three Ring Media Circus" has gone into panic mode, and it may come to the point that even Miho can't fix this problem (at least without the pen/book to transform back to Lala).

Episode 26 : I Love You All!
This is it. The end of the journey.
When things seem bleak the key players have suddenly vanished.
Pigu & Mogu are gone. Most likely gone back to the dimension they came from.
Mystery Man has vanished. Whereabouts? Unknown.
Miho has no magic pen/book, and right now more than anything if only she could have her magic back then everything will be all right. But where did the pen/book go? Odds are Mystery Man is behind this, which explains his disappearance. But why? And where is he now? It ends here. I'll leave this one for you to discover. See how it all ends as the series comes to its close here.

Fancy Lala Breakdown
What's Hot?
When it's all said, and done, the charm of this series is that it's a cute little series that just captivates you from beginning to end. Yes, the end IS a little bit of a downer and it's sad to see it end, but even the end can be a good thing in a sense. I liked the series, and yes while I didn't like the end too much that doesn't distract from my approval of this series.
There are too few series for all ages that I can recommend wholeheartedly, and this is one of those series!

What's Not?
If I had to list one DVD in the set that is my least favorite it has to be this one. Being the end of the series I feel that this one is not my favorite, partially because it IS the closing, and partially because episodes like the one about Chisa's boyfriend just isn't as strong as it could have been.
Still that isn't enough of a Not to make me change my mind about the series. I have good things to say about this series, even if the ending is not my favorite ending.

Moments to Remember?
Not as much as there was before, but there are a few things you'll remember. The concert episode, for instance, is a good example.

What to Ignore?
Nothing. Nothing at all.

Overall?
When it comes right down to it the good things about this series just about overwhelms what few bad things there are about Fancy Lala. Magical Girl series that does good, and is one of the few series suitable for all ages that I can recommend from me to you. Give it a shot, and see what you think of it.

-- David Rasmussen 19th Feb 05

Fancy Lala Images