Fans of shōjo anime rejoice, for yet another solid series takes its place in the vast collection of superb anime for the genre. Not since Ouran High School Host Club, have we seen such a nice, happy go lucky show present itself for our viewing pleasure. Special A delivers on many fronts, and anyone looking for some nice light hearted fun will no doubt be pleased.

Special A is based on the shōjo manga of the same name by Maki Minami. The story revolves around 7 high school students, who constitute the S. A Class in the Hakusenkan (or Private Hakusen Academy), the best school of their area. The S.A students stand above all other students as the absolute best and thus, has a lot of special benefits.

The Special A class has its own building (A Greenhouse) and are not forced to attend classes unless they wish to. Number 2 among the S.A in ranking, is Hikari Hanazono,  Always second to Kei Takashima, the School’s Number  1 (since the day they met when they were both 6 years old). Hikari’s aim is to beat Kei in virtually everything. Too bad for her that Takashima Kei is a genius (bordering on superhuman) who can pretty much do anything and do it far better than anyone else. Unknown to her, Kei has very strong feelings for her, loving her immensely while Hikari is totally clueless and is persistent on beating him.

The story focuses on Hikari and Kei, their rivalry and love. Of course, the anime is called Special A for a reason, and drama, comedy and love is abound for all the members of the S.A, along with a huge cast of supporting characters.

A light hearted and easy going story would best describe this anime’s story, were it not for the fact that it actually touches upon some deeply emotional elements as well. As brilliant and amazing as the S.A members are, each of them have their own issues and childhood traumas that they work through in the series. From Akira’s friend issues, to Jun’s persona problems, everything is just extremely well done.
Of course, the story is not meant to be taken seriously.

In fact, the anime almost never takes things seriously, bordering on downright silly at times. Scenes where characters survive bomb explosions, or beat the hell out of each other only to get well again in the next seconds are common place in this anime. The rich class in Japan is also overblown and seems very unbelievable, but Special A is so cute about it that you really can’t complain or hate it for these things.

The only real flaw in the story, can be the somewhat overused comedy routines. Namely the comedy routine between Akira and Tadashii is really overused, having Tadashii constantly annoy Akira and get beat up by her gets old in the first 3 or 4 episodes, but sadly this routine prevails almost all the way till the end of the series.
Special A has a story complete with comedy, action, suspense and drama and heartwarming romance albeit it’s filled with some really silly and hard to believe moments. It should appeal to anyone who’s up for some light hearted fun, and doesn’t mind not taking things too seriously.

The heart of Special A’s appeal is in its characters. It features a diverse and very intriguing cast of characters and it’s the attachment to these characters that makes this anime so well done. Every member of the S.A has a huge amount of character development. Leaving  them aside, the side characters like Sui (Kei’s younger brother), Yahiro (Akira’s childhood friend) and Sakura (A rich girl not part of the SA but who later becomes a close friend) are given exemplary roles and character development. Each and every character strives for what they want, and mostly all of them get something in one form or another.

It’s one thing to have good characters, but it’s another big accomplishment to do justice to all of them. With each character supporting a unique personality, and an even more unique history, not to mention superb comedic value, Special A’s character cast shines as one of the best.

Granted, once again, none of these characters are supposed to be made serious nor have they been attempted to become something realistic. Many of their traits are overblown and exaggerated, but even with all that, the emotional moments that each character goes through makes it very easy to connect and relate to them.

The tingling sensation you get in the chest when one of the characters overcomes or faces a harsh obstacle in their life is something that really makes this show worth it.


Art and Animation wise, the production team at Gonzo did an exceptional job. Gonzo has rarely done a shojo show, but they pulled off the art style and animation for this anime with great skill. If it weren’t for the Gonzo logo in the start of each episode, it would’ve been easy to mistake this as another Studio BONES work, very similar to how Ouran High School Host Club was.

Some people do complain that Hikari, is drawn better in the manga rather than the anime, and while that is a valid point, anyone who hasn’t read the manga will hardly be fazed by this. In fact, all the character designs are well done. The overall animated representation of Private Hakusen Academy is extremely well done. Props to Gonzo for a job well done!

The Sound department is a bit rough around the edges, but it’s still done pretty well. The voice acting is superb all around with talents such as Jun Fukuyama (Lelouche from Code Geass) and Yūko Gotō (Mikuru Asahina from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) lending their superb voice work to bring the cast to life. The only major issue, would be with the Opening and Ending themes, which aren’t really that good. They’re forgettable, bordering on annoying and hardly memorable. A sad fact considering how well made the rest of Special A is.

In the end, those looking for some nice light-hearted shojo fun will find a gem in Special A. It’s recommendable to almost anyone who‘s open to slightly less serious and less believable shows and doesn’t mind some repetitive comedy and silliness in them.  While it’s not recommendable for those people looking for an EXTREMELY deep, serious or emotional experience, Special A does what Ouran High School Host Club did not so long ago, it shines and pulls all the right moves. The Special A anime gets a special A grade for a job well done!

~Reviewed By Setsuken