daniel.tyra - 2015-01-25 05:33:34

It was okay.
But if you're seriously wanting to fill yourself up after Kaichou wa Maid-Sama, you're in for disappointment. In comparison, story was okay, animation was below-level, sound... i don't know how to rate that, but the character voices were quite annoying, character... a girl who's determined and stupid in almost many ways, as well as with an annoying voice and a boy who's only purpose is to like her in the whole anime? No, that's boring. 
A determined girl is a good thing, but equipped with everything that kind of seals off the actual character, how about no. 

But as an anime itself, it was okay. The ending where they kiss in like mid-air.. maybe not. Glad that the two main characters 'found each other' (when there was nothing to be found except 'oh wow, a boy here liked me all along, how do i feel? What should i do? I'm so scared and let's be frigid and finally girly'). 

I actually feel like when i look back on this anime, i feel like i wasted my time. So don't be a pork-bun and waste your time on this. (Although pork-buns are so worth my time).

tracy96 - 2014-12-31 04:04:00

I absolutely LOVED it! It was a great anime. It definitely reminded me of Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! It's a very special anime (no pun intended). I can't really put into words how much I loved it. :D  I thought at first (first minute of first episode) that I would hate it because the characters were lanky and very long-legged, but I actually loved the characters' lanky animation. 10/10. 5 Stars. Very happy.

karlie.strosin - 2013-07-29 04:50:25

-Special A-

A fine anime. A fine anime indeed. For those of you who long for something to fill the hole on your heart left by the conclusion of Maid-Sama I would say this is the perfect anime for you.

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Story: the story consists of several students participating in a special A class. The class reserved for the elite among their school. It follows a humorous trend of episodes and follows the romance involving the members of the class and people from their past. Now the main character Kei would be the be all/end all ‘male pinnacle of perfection’ standard for many anime in this generation. This is where the story becomes great. The arcs involve separate romances of the different characters not three girls all pinning after one guy. SPECIAL A IS NOT A HAREM. For this I give it a lot of credit because instead of using competition or rivalry to create a dramatic plot it creates romantic sub arcs, following the romantic interests of the sub characters creating a very fresh and unique path in anime. The romance sub arcs as I so mentioned early create a nice pace allowing for comedy and an interesting change in the groups dynamic as more relationships form, each leading closer to the final arc being the main characters.

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Animation: Special A by no means is a perfect anime. In fact the hardest part for me was the animation. Besides the knife chin animation common from the time period they also have a unique style....The legs of each character just seemed very long. Initially this threw me a curveball and almost caused me to drop the show. I am very glad I continued because much like when you switch between watching an anime subbed to dubbed or vice versa you acclimate rather quickly. The weird animation became normal and actually felt natural the long I watched the anime. Of course I should not have to mentally power through the first couple episodes as a viewer but if you are willing to go the extra mile as an otaku it is definitely worth it.

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Overall Enjoyment: For all the anime did to spate itself from the heard, dime a dozen, anime I greatly enjoyed it. My test to see if an anime is truly enjoyable is to see if it can make me laugh out loud while I am by myself. If it can overpower my usual response to humor being a small smirk and make my admirable muscle seizure because of ($p0iL3r) then it becomes a memorable anime in a comedic sense. Secondly my other test would be another physical affect the anime had on me. A hallmark for any good anime would be how fast the tears start rolling. Clannad, Elfen Lied, and ef tale of melodies are all great anime that made me burn through tissue as much as battery life on my computer. I am not saying it is as amazing as those three but depending on how sensitive you are or how dead you heart is you might find a tear on your cheek by the end.

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The Final Word: In many ways it reminded me of the basic premise of maid Sama, but with a similar foundation it went a different direction. I would not say it surpassed the great Maid Sama but for what it was and admiring its unique qualities I truly believe that Special A is its equal. Due to the combination of an interesting story, memorable character, and a unique relationship scenario that I wish I found in more anime. My final recommendation is to watch it and enjoy a very nice 24 episode series.

wmcdermott - 2013-06-11 19:43:21

When you say Special A, its one of the Shoujo and Super hilarious kinda anime!But when you compare the same Special A with its original adaptation i.e. the manga, it has many points to work on:{P.S. :Some points in this review is on the basis of S.A anime compared to S.A.manga }STORY:No doubt the story of S.A. is great and is narrated quite efficiently till a certain number of episodes, but towards the end it starts getting mixed up. The last episode, unfortunately, is not convincing enough and is all jumbled up! But if you want to enjoy a light laugh session, SA gives u the same in abundance.ART: ANIMATIONCompared to the art by Minami Maki, the anime artwork need a lot of help. The face and body animation composure is not proportional. the anime characters (leaving Kei), don't look appealing as they are in the manga. Akira looks really bad in the anime and the others look fairly OK(somehow i feel it)SOUND:the music is really classy and goes according to the mood. its like a typical shojo score !Quite nice music is given for the elite situations and the funny scenes.CHARACTER:All the chara have a great role and are drafted quite nicely. Kei and Hikari are very hilarious. Even the pairing of Akira and Tadashi is very kawaiiiiiiii (cute).(for somw reason i have taken a liking to them