Synopsis: Haruhi Kamizaka having been rescued when she was young, by a boy mage, longed to be a mage herself; so she enrolled into a special school that allows regular and magic classes. Along with her rival and best friend, Anri Hiiragi, she studied magic while she searched for the boy that saved her years ago, to give him a Valentine's chocolate.
Review: I'm sure you read that synopsis and think to yourself, "its about a girl trying to find a mystery guy just to give him chocolate?". I would agree with your skepticism, that that sounds like a very weak plot line. That's the common synopsis I've seen for the show, and I think its a little mis-directing. Thankfully Happiness! is not all about the search for a guy and the handing out of chocolates. It does focus on Haruhi searching and giving out chocolates for a brief moment in a few episodes, then it quickly moves on with the true plot of the story.
Happiness! follows Haruhi, a talented mage/witch, who is in the top of her class and has a love for magic. When she was a young girl she was saved from some bullies by a young boy who used magic. Since that day Haruhi has always had a love and respect for magic, and chose to become a mage because of that boy. Her best friend (and supposed rival) Hiiragi is always causing trouble and letting her magic get out of control. The magic school soon gets blown up and they have to integrate with the normal school students. This is when they meet a guy who lets you believe he has a distaste for magic.
The animation for Happiness! is crisp and clean, though seemingly a little out of date. The characters are done well, while the backgrounds are simple. The main thing is; the animation stays consistent throughout the show. I actually have little to say about the musical score. I don't know if it was done so well that I hardly noticed it, or if I didn't notice it because there was such a lack of actual music in the show.
Being neither a plot driven nor character driven show, I would say Happiness! is equally driven by both. The story is simple but engaging. It's well told, doesn't lose itself along the way; and is good entertainment. The characters are also simple, with not much depth. The chemistry Haruhi and Yuma share, is obvious enough and the secondary cast fill their necessary roles well.
Happiness! is only twelve episodes, but good entertainment all the way through. I never had to force myself to dredge through it, nor did I become overly bored. Of course Happiness! is not a top tier anime, but not every anime is nor can we expect them to be.
Happiness! is a well balanced show.
If Happiness! ever makes it our way to North America I would buy it. For now its just streaming.
Happiness! -- B- mild violence, fanservice, partial nudity
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