Someday's Dreamers

2002; 12 episodes

No violence; no nudity; not a whole lot of plot either

Recommended only for the animation quality and music

STORY:  Yume Kikuchi is a gentle 17-year old mage from rural Japan. She travels to Tokyo to study as an apprentice mage under the charming (and handsome) Masami Oyamada and to take her final certification to become a licensed mage.  During the course of her stay, she learns some life lessons and overcomes her own self-doubt.  She will also, of course, set to right the lives of everyone around her - with all her precious feelings within her heart!

THOUGHTS:  I think I got cavities watching this anime, it's so sweet.  I don't necessarily mind watching gentle, slow-paced anime (which this most definitely is), but I would like some sort of character development.  Any character development here is saved for the last few episodes.  Before then, this is a "what problem will the mages fix this week?" type storyline.  There is very little plot spared on the "Special Powers" (people just have them) and/or Bureau of Magic.  More dissapointing is that they never go into the character of Chief Ginpun - the head of the Bureau of Magic. He seemed interesting.  Oh well.  The rules regulating mages are interesting, but no one seems to follow them much (and they don't get into a whole lot of trouble when they don't).  I did get sick of hearing Yumi call on "all her precious feelings within her heart" everytime she needed to use magic. I noticed no one else had to say that phrase over and over. 

If you enjoy gentle slice of life drama with magic and a touch (barely a touch) of romance thrown in, this would probably appeal to you.   

ANIMATION QUALITY:  The animation quality is beautiful.  The character design is wonderful and the colors are gorgeous.  It made sitting through the anime worthwhile for me.  Many of the scenes take place in actual Tokyo locations - which lends a realistic quality to the backgrounds.  All in all, the animation and the music are the best things about this title.

TRANSLATION: Watch it subtitled, the voice acting is awful. Yumi, being from rural Japan, will break into a poorly done, thick Southern accent when excited or talking to her family. Angela's supposed English accent is dreadful. XXXX is a "Tokyo girl" so she talks with a horrid New York accent. Masami has no emotion in his voice at all, even when discussing terrible tragedies. Definitely go with subtitles on this one.

SILLIEST HAIR AWARD: Most of the hair is normal (this being a drama), but I have to go with Yumi and her ahoge. Seriously, girl, invest in a comb.

SONG TRANSLATIONS: (I commend the music in this anime - it's beautiful)

Opening Song - "Kaze No Hana" (Flower of the Wind)
As for the dream filled Tomorrow,
No one can see it...
I close my eyes and think of you,
Who I'll meet someday...
Flower of the wind, please bloom.
Show the spring to these eyes of mine.
Flower of the wind, please bloom.
Farewell to the city in winter
Flower of hte wind, please bloom.
Call the spring to my heart
Flower of the wind, please bloom.
Farewell, snow flakes

Closing Song - "Under the Blue Sky"
When I turn around, it's still there,
The future I've been pursuing
I have something precious in my heart.
Upon the still unseen blue and
The floating clouds, I wished...
Under the blue sky
From the dream we dreamed that day,
Let's not wake up, and let's not stop...
Under the blue sky
Let's keep shining and moving on.
The endless journey continues...

EPISODE GUIDE (SPOILERS):
Episode 1 - "Sunset and Steel Frames Part One" - Yumi Kikuchi arrives in Tokyo for mage training. Being a country girl, she is clueless as to how to navigate the city. So clueless that she can't seem to cross the street. A local boy tries to help her, but she's so clumsy that she falls in front of a speeding car. She uses her magic to stop the car. Actually she uses her magic to lift all the cars high into the air (so Yumi is a powerful mage) - but it's okay, she lands them all gently. I'm sure no one in those cars had a heart attack from suddenly being lifted 40 stories into the air and floating back down to earth. The local boy helps her find the correct train (good thing he did, she might have fallen in front of it), and sees her off to destination. As a thank you, Yumi creates a bunch of money out of thin air and makes it appear in his shirt. Yumi FINALLY finds her instructor's place. His name is Masami Oyamade - and he not only trains mages, but he owns a salsa bar below his apartments. Cool, huh? Yumi also meets Kera (Smily in the dub), who works in the bar. Both Kera and Master Masami seem to be allergic to shirts, which makes Yumi faint. Well, that and she hasn't eaten in a few hours. The next day, Masami has Yumi register with the Bureau of Magic. While there, the local boy from the previous day arrives to return the cash Yumi 'gave' him. He thinks she gave him the money out of pity and he's pissed.
Episode 2 - "Sunset and Steel Frames Part Two" - Yumi watches training videos on how the mage system works. Okay, wait a minute - we later learn that Yumi's mother is a powerful mage. Why didn't she educate her daughter a bit before sending her to Tokyo. Yumi is totally clueless. Anyway, we learn that mages can't perform medical procedures without special permission and that making money with your power is considered fraud. Oops! No wonder that boy was mad, the money was all fake! Yumi also gets a cute uniform (of course) and a Mage Ring - which basically keeps tabs on the mges and tracks when they use their powers. She also chooses a dolphin for her 'crest'. This crest will appear whenever Yumi calls on her powers. Out of nowhere, it is hinted that Masami is bi-sexual. Okay. During her visit to the Bureau we meet a couple of recurring characters. Angela, a British mage studying under the Bureau chief Ginpun and Councilor Furusaki, who is wary of the strength of Angela's and Yumi's powers. While Furusaki meets with Masami to tell him to keep a close eye on Yumi - Yumi is busy breaking some rules. She goes off to find the boy she gave the money to, so she can make amends. She actually finds him wihout hurting herself (much). His name is Zennosuke, and he used to be a soccer player before he lost a leg in an accident. Yumi apologizes to him for mis-using her powers by mis-using her powers and making him a new leg. I guess the training videos didn't sink in.
Episode 3 - "The Best News" - Yumi studies. That's good, Yumi - you need it. Angela comes to study with Yumi (the Chief is out of town). They take their first Mage Power applicant - a woman who wants to make the news! Whether it's front page or back page, she wants to be in the newspaper! During the course of her interview, she disses Special Powers (damn, that's ballsy), which makes Yumi get all Southern with her speech (see translation notes above). Angela admits that she thinks Special Powers are for the weak. Self-hate much, Angie? After the interview, the girls are assigned to use their Special Powers to help the woman, named Lila, get in the newspaper. Lila gives them her backstory. She works in a Hostess Bar (aka Gentlemen's Club) and met a really great guy there. Before they could get married, he was thrown in jail on some trumped up embezzlement charges. Since she is not technically family, she can't even visit him in jail. This is why she wants to be in the newspapers - so he'll know that she's waiting for him. The girls attempt to use their powers, but fail. Lila will never make the news. Yumi begins to doubt that she can become a mage and Angela obsesses over her failure. But wait! Masami saves the day by going to the Hostess Bar and slipping Lila a winning lottery ticket (did he magically create that? I think that's a no-no). She makes the news and the everything is okay -well except her boyfriend is still stuck in jail on trumped up charges.
Episode 4 - "A Summer Night and a Mage" - Yumi and Masami take the day off. Masami takes flowers somewhere (we will learn about this later) and Yumi meets Runa Morikawa, a kid who speaks with a terrible New York accent (see translation notes above). Runa has the New York attitude to go with her accent, too. Runa wanted Masami's help with a mage power, but since he's not there, she leaves. Yumi goes shopping and meets up with Runa and Yasuyuki (a friend of Runa's), who are having a fight. It seems Yasuyuki has Special Powers, but doesn't use them as he thinks everyone will accuss him of cheating (a valid point). Runa is pissed at he hid the fact he had Special Powers. The words "Special Powers" are used several times in this scene, and it gets annoying. Runa wants a mage to make sure the skies are clear that evening (it's supposed to rain), as a few of the children are meeting with their favoriite teacher to view the lunar eclipse. The teacher is leaving and this is their last time to be together. Kasuyuki is nowhere near powerful enough to do that, but Yumi is! So she uses her power to not only clear the skies, but transport the kids and teacher to the moon - so they can have a small picnic. I'm sure this won't get her into trouble at all. Masami returns from his flower trip and has a drink in the bar with an empty chair.  Poor, lonely Masami!
Episode 5 - An Apron and Champagne"
Episode 6 - "I Want to be a Mage"
Episode 7 - "The Mage Who Couldn't Become a Mage"
Episode 8 - "Enormous Power in the Name of Love"
Episode 9 - "Yume and a Girl and a Summer Seed"
Episode 10 - "The Destination of Special Powers"
Episode 11 - "A Broken Rainbow"
Episode 12 - "What Is Important to Mages"