Summer 2013 – Fantasista Dolls

Uzume is a once-upon-a-time card game champion. But that was when she was a kid, and it seems that she has outgrown it.

One particular morning, a random dude in the trains decide to open her bag and actually leave some stuff behind.

It’s some kind of a gadget that holds cards. Oddly enough, ever since that moment some weird “spirits” start hanging around her…

Things culminate one afternoon when Uzume goes paranoid when it looks like someone is trailing her. A voice calls out to her, offering to help for as long as she signs the contract. Uzume does so, and thus a mysterious girl appears right before her.

Apparently she is a Fantasista doll (there goes the title), and Uzume has now become her master. But lo and behold before things are properly explained, Uzume and the doll are attacked by another girl who has a similar device and doll as Uzume.

Uzume retreats, recalls the girl, and re-summons her fully equipped. Yes, somehow she knows how to do all those immediately, probably because of the voice inside her head.

Anyway, her doll, Sasara, is now summoned fully equipped, and proceeds to fight and defeat the other doll.

So what exactly is going on? Basically Sasara is a doll, and Uzume is now their master. Their master, since Uzume’s device actually holds five cards, each card being a distinct doll.

But why are there Fantasista dolls? No one knows. Well, maybe this random guy on top of an electric pole knows, given that he throws a bouquet of flowers to Uzume, declares that he gave the device to her, and comments that he is looking forward to see Uzume’s situation as the master of these five dolls.

This felt, weird to be honest. It kind of felt like a kiddie show, but somehow wasn’t really a kiddy show. I would like to say that this is a typical mahou shoujo anime, but there really isn’t any magical girls here.

The plot doesn’t really seem to promise much so far. This would likely just be a simple story of friendship and dreams. Standard stuff. Character interactions aren’t really compelling, and I felt they were rather inconsistent especially with regard to how much the dolls wanted Uzume as a master.

Basically this isn’t what you’d call a very compelling or engaging show. But I say this because I doubt I am the target audience of this.

I wonder how different this would be if Uzume was a guy…