Anime: Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan 2u3r18

[Animation: 8/10]
Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan (SnP) was animated by Production I.G. As to be expected considering I.G.'s former work, there is nothing to complain about the animation quality. The backgrounds were detailed and drawn with high quality as well as the characters. No issues with perspective, neither shading nor outlining. Nevertheless, most of the scenes are pretty simple as there are no opulent views of the nature, mountain vistas or the depiction of great wealth in the local castle. Also the clothing is rather simple. Overall the animation still is top notch.

[Sound: 8/10]
Most notably in regards to the sound was the opening theme. I really liked that, because of its very nice pulse and harmonic from deep slowly up to high and sliding down. I'm used to listen to the themes and music on my home cinema THX system and got very nice vibes out of the subwoofer. So there is more to the soundtrack as I expected from some 2.0 channel audio track from a mainly dialog driven show. The background music and noises during each episode are decent and does not push the attention to the audio track, except for e.g. the scene were Queen (the mechanical doll) awakens. The ending is rather childish and does not appeal very much. As the voice actors do their job proper and convincingly I found nothing much to complain about. Puristic nice.. done.

[Story: 4/10]
The story is the weakest point of the show and that is certainly not the best thing that might happen. Basically there is an island with the nature of attracting people washed ashore which cannot their past. Most of them accepting this circumstance and start over a new life bending in themselves to the natives of the island. Later on the show you will get an impression how many people arrived this way, but till the very end you will get no real reason - don't expect too much. The story centers around Rick Elwood - a boy washed ashore clad in a warrior's armor. As he does not anything he starts to help three girls, who discovered him lying on the beach, running a bakery on that very island - as a baker. Yes... that sounds stupid.

The first few episodes nothing happens. Nothing except baking bread and having people eat it and talking about how splendid it was. Characters are introduced. The village, the surroundings and even some elves in the forest are introduced. And don't miss the pirates that of cause protect the island, later on. The second big event of the show is a girl washed ashore with a strange pendant. For some episodes she is unconscious, but each time waking up for some seconds to say that she smells nice bread. Well, well... it's very ropy and does not seem to lead anywhere. I personally hate the style to introduce a new strand only some seconds before the episodes ends and in the next episodes it's not picked up until again the end of the episode. Several times done with "Queen", the mechanical doll (also found somewhere around the island).

No action so far and there will be no action unless you manage to reach the last two or three episodes. There will be a huge warship, strange "aliens" attacking, a royalty, and magical wings on someone's back - basically the conclusion of everything. I tend to call such a development a rushed end. The premise is weak and the show develops slowly. Everyone is so much into accepting fate that some viewers might want to puke (fig.). Sorry, but this I have to rate lower than average, but of cause it's not a total loss.

[Character: 6/10]
The character design is good and solid with a little harem touch. Our three heroines you can distinguish, because one is the silent shy, one the loud tsun and one being a pure-hearted servant of god. The hero is a handsome looking guy with a fierce look in his eyes but most of the time tamed down to baker-mode, happy about all people that like to eat his bread. As sidekick characters we have a cat-thief, a goblin mechanic, an old wise woman running another bakery in town, an android (mechanical doll) and of cause "the mysterious girl". You will get some character development as our hero is not so easy going about not knowing his past and comes in touch with this warrior genes some point in time. The boy and the girls together also develop a bit, but there is no love story or such a thing. With everyone baking and talking about bread there was no much time to get in more detail for all the others. But all of the characters together still made it look somewhat composed. It fits together without some characters looking totally out of place. Still it's nothing unique or some aspects with *wow* effect urging the determination to watch it over again and again. A show can do worse, so I will give it a little above average.

[Value: 4/10]
Oh well... that is always a difficult question. The whole premise is based on a game from Sega. Expecting a bit entertainment and kill free time is given and you can definitely get that. People with amnesia that bent into a nearby village are not that big innovation. An unknown power that seeks something one of those people possesses is the same. Without the game series from Sega as background I cannot image this story to get enough popularity to justify the animation. I would rate it as "for fans", but with no big values to add to your anime evening or whenever you prefer watching your stuff.

[Enjoyment: 5/10]
Regardless of my harsh words about the weakness of the story and the lacking value, I still somewhat enjoyed the watch. Nothing out of the ordinary, but still was on my watch list as candidate, and later on as set show, for Friday evening. The "brand" Production I.G. opened the door, the high quality of animation and sound kept it open and my unbreakable will to finish everything I started to watch made this review possible. ing some shows I would like to forget and considering that the show as such was not bad I voted neutral for SnP in the enjoyment section.