Fancy Lala, Volume 3: Taking Center Stage

Matt Brown (Editor in Chief) — June 29th, 2003
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The third volume of Fancy Lala - more so than the second - is full of thoughtful, inspiring, ...filler. Also like the previous volume, the filler is well done and entertaining, but the fluff streak lasts long enough to make one wonder if they forgot that they were trying to tell a story. Any hint that the plot still exists at this point is extremely subtle, and it would've been nice if they had given us something substantial in this volume.

Volume three contains episodes 11 through 14, and has a cover showing Miho in a "magical" sense, with little contrast between her and the background. It begins with a treat: a baseball episode! Lala learns a little secret about reading pitchers, and uses her new knowledge of the sport to antagonize Taro when she goes to a game to root for his team (as Miho). The next episode throws us into the Twilight Zone, when Lala transforms back into Miho in an old abandoned building and something goes wrong. Episode 13 might count as plot, if not for the fact that the only thing accomplished is Lala losing her fear of reporters. A photograph is taken of Hiroya Aikawa and Lala when he gives her a ride home, causing a lot of gossip in the 'biz. Volume three wraps up with a cute story about toys. After happening upon a toy repairman's house while trying to get out of the rain, Miho catches cold and has a dream about being in a land of toys. There is of course a moral to all these filler episodes, but at times it gets lost in the cuteness.

Miho Shinohara, baseball genius. Miss Lala, would you say that you are indeed Fancy?

I'm starting to appreciate Taro and Miho's constant bickering more. It has been one of the better sources of humor in the show, especially apparent in the baseball episode where she scores several strategic victories against his ego. Aside from that, the show doesn't really do anything new at this stage; however, it remains a fun show to watch with friends. At this point it should be repeated (for emphasis) that a better ratio of plot to filler for the remainder of the show would be considered a healthy move by yours truly.

The third volume of Fancy Lala has a single extra: a commentary by Akemi Takada centering around the cover art she drew for the various volumes of the TV series. Her explanations of how she got the idea for each piece are interesting, to say the most. The insert is very pink (as always), and contains the usual staff credits and episode synopses. Bandai's video and audio work on this volume draw no complaints, being as good as the first two volumes.

At this point, I'm certain that Fancy Lala is enjoyable, but still wonder if it's any good. It most likely will be if the plot gets back on track (i.e. throw me a frickin' bone, here!), as long as care is taken to retain the light-hearted fun that has kept me watching this far.

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A
Presentation: B
Content: C+
Overall: B