Review of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

If you're looking into this show, it's probably for one of three reasons. You're doing a deep dive on magical girl anime, you're into kaitou anime, or you're a fan of Arina Tanemura. These are all good reasons to enjoy this anime. However as a stand alone story, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeane doesn't stand very well on its own. It scratches a lot of very specific itches. But it will not appeal to casual fans, or fans that don't already have a specific reason to seek it out. Please keep in mind this is a review from someone who has not read the original manga. Story:5 The story involves a girl who is the reincarnation of Jeane d'Arc. She goes around sealing away demons that possess various objects (usually jewelry and works of art.) The people who own these possessed items often become extreme cruel and agitated, causing suffering to those around them until the demon is sealed and they go back to normal. But because the possessed items are destroyed after the demon is removed, this leads to a misunderstanding that the works are being stolen. Most people familiar with the magical girl genre will immediately notice the similarities between KKJ and Saint Tail. Both feature magical girl kaitous. Both feature a close friend unknowingly chasing the main character as part of the police force. Both have very strong Christian undertones. However, while Saint Tail is very much a kaitou that happens to use magic, KKJ is much more a magic girl who happens to be a kaitou. Really, if they left out warning cards, KKJ would be far more similar to Cardcaptor Sakura. Both feature girls trying to seal away creatures causing havoc. Both have male rival love interests that also do the exact same thing, and both have cute sidekicks that constantly urge them to follow their destinies. If you've seen Saint Tail and Cardcaptor Sakura, you've already seen the most unique things KKJ has to offer. KKJ does a lot of the same things those shows do, but much more rushed. If you want to see more of the same, KKJ will scratch the itch. But it's not going to be the best experience for a first time magical girl viewer. I have heard that the manga apparently fixed those issues with better pacing.

Art: 2 The art and animation is by far the weakest part of the show. This animation was clearly made right when digital animation was just taking off, but before anyone had mastered it yet. Fluid movements are rare in this show. The characters are constantly being digitally bounced up and down to look like they're "walking." Characters will also digitally slide across the screen with only a single frame and no frame by frame animation. There are crossfades everywhere, because there weren't enough frames drawn to show movement from one pose to another. There are times where characters move closer or further away from the screen, and you can see the frames get more and less pixelated from the lossy nature of the JPEGs they're zooming in and out of. It doesn't help that the illustrations themselves aren't very good. Tanemura has a very distinct art style. And as proven by Full Moon wo Sagashite, it works very well in the right setting. But in KKJ, the features are too exaggerated. The colors are way too bright and saturated. And there are times where character design details just clash and make the character designs hard to read. This anime is sadly a strong example of the anime industry going through growing pains as they figured out digital animation.

Sound 7: By far KKJ's strongest feature is the OST. There is a theme that plays throughout the entire show, and it fits perfectly. It's quite versatile, and has many versions depending on the emotional context. There are also moments during fights or chases where the music is genuinely high energy, dramatic, and enjoyable. That said, there are parts that sound like a PS2 sound font was randomly applied. While I personally found it nostalgic, I could see some people being confused by it. The voice actors also do a very good job.

Characters 5: The number one word I would use for the characters is "rushed." It's clear there are some good ideas going on. But the character development just seems to happen it spurts. There's no gradual progression. Which is odd, considering this show had 44 episodes to accomplish this. Maron has her issues. And her issues are believable. But she evolves and devolves as the story needs her to. She bounces around a lot. She also has a tendency to be blindly idealistic, to the point of being nonsensical in some cases. Not enough was done to develop Chiaki. It's clear that development happened. But we never get to see the moment that made him switch from manipulative to genuine. Which makes you wonder if it was genuine development in the first place. Apparently the manga fixed this. All the other characters are very one note. Miyako has moments of doubt, but that doesn't go anywhere permanent or visible. Noin also has a moment. But since we don't get a lot of time with him, his development doesn't hit as hard. Get ready for a lot of shoujo anime tropes. If you already like that, then the characters are good. But again, you probably won't enjoy it if you weren't already seeking these genre tropes out.

Enjoyment: 4 As someone who is very well versed in magical girl anime, I found myself wanting for something new or unique. And considering how rare magical girl kaitous are, I did enjoy KKJ for scratching that itch. It was also nice watching monster of the week style stories. But that said, you have to already be a fan of those specific things to enjoy this show. The bad animation was a major distraction. The lack of fluid character development bogged down the fun tropes and gimmicks. And sadly, what the show did well wasn't done well enough to make up for its shortcomings. It is enjoyable as a part of the magical girl genre. But also not something I would expect a casual anime fan to enjoy.

Overall: 4 Kamikaze Kaitou Jeane does a very good job at appealing to highly specific niches. There are not a lot of magical girl kaitous out there. The fact that it constantly gets compared to Saint Tail is evidence enough of that. It also does a good job of appealing to hardcore monster of the week magical girl fans. But outside those specific appealing points, it doesn't give you a reason to watch it for 44 episodes. The only reason you'd want to watch KKJ over things like Saint Tail, Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, or Shugo Chara is because you've already seen all those anime. And if you are interested enough in magical girls that you'd still want to watch more, then KKJ is perfectly enjoyable. But it's also impossible to recommend KKJ over any of the other magical girl anime out there that did what KKJ did but better.