Sasami: Magical Girls Club

Japanese manga and anime

Sasami: Magical Girls Club (砂沙美☆魔法少女クラブ) is a magical girl anime which features the rather familiar likenesses of Sasami and other characters of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise, specifically those of Pretty Sammy. However, this series is not in the same continuity as the Pretty Sammy anime titles. The animation style is different, and the story is set in an alternate universe. Produced by AIC and BeSTACK and officially recognized as a Tenchi Muyo! spin off, it is aired in WOWOW on Thursday nights, the show aired its first season from April 13, 2006 to July 13, 2006. Also, the anime was produced in 16:9 widescreen. On October 6, 2006, a second season had begun airing. Both seasons have now been licensed for a release in the U. S. by Funimation. On January 12, 2009, the series made its North American debut on the Funimation Channel.

Sasami Iwakura has been endowed with magical powers since birth; but at age three, she is forbidden by her parents to use them. So she decides to keep her magical powers a secret. But at the start of a new term, she encounters the new transfer teacher, Washu and her pet Ryo Ohki, and her life is about to change. The first series/season is dedicated to character development as we are introduced to magic girls Sasami, Misao, Makoto, Tsukasa, and Anri. As the girls discover their awakening powers, they also learn a bit about themselves as they train with Washu and Daimon as part of their "cooking club." This culminates in their taking a trip to the magic world, where they compete against other magic squad teams, some having boys in them. The second series/season is dedicated to plot, where Sasami's magic girl squad's activities have impressed the Chief Sorceress. As such, she wants those girls as part of her plan to change the human world (Earth), which she sees as too corrupt. The girls, especially Misao, must not only learn to master their abilities and magics, but also learn to face their own fears, lack of understanding, and the like as they walk a dark road set down before them by the Chief Sorceress. This anime also features Misao (Shinohara) and Sasami's homeroom teacher Mihoshi.

Sasami is the lead character of the series. She is a bubbly girl who has magical powers which she uses only in secret because she is forbidden by her parents to use them. It is only when her cooking teacher Washu discovered her magical powers that they are to be of use. Her default powers of magic are the ability to move things around, with the members saying that it is mostly useless at times. However, she possesses the ability of light, one of the most sacred and rare magic known. Only when Sasami loses control can she activate this move. Except for the absence of freckles and the triangular mark on her forehead, she looks similar to her metaseries counterpart. She has feelings for Amitav. Misao is the shy classmate of Sasami and they become friends in the first episode. She is an introvert whose shyness manifests as worm like creatures around her whenever she gets scared. They also envelop her body, making her scary to those around her. When Sasami is around with her, she can speak freely with confidence, but without Sasami in her view, she reverts to her shy self. Misao has a crush on Monta, but because she is so shy, that she can't seem to tell her feelings for him. Except for the white bow on her head and her hair being more blue rather than purplish black, she resembles her counterpart in the Magical Girl Pretty Sammy series, Misao Amano. Later in the series, her hair ends up being cut, becoming shorter than shoulder length. Makoto is the petite, noisy third member of the club; she has the ability of gravity manipulation, she can enlarge or shrink herself at will. In one episode, it is for this (and her short stature) that she drinks up the school's entire supply of milk and eventually goes to the restroom. Her personality is generally a bit bossy and hot headed, sometimes acting at the serious one of the group. Tsukasa comes off as a relatively emotionless girl with pink hair. She has the ability to use and manipulate the wind. She has an overprotective father who does not want her to use her powers after her mother died, but he eventually lets go of that trait, knowing the powers she has are a reminder of her mother. Anri is the fifth member of the club. She has the ability to transform her drawings and writings into tangible symbols in her note pad. Although she acts like a princess, she actually comes from a rather large family with a lot of siblings. Anri has a strong infatuation with Tsukasa and lavishes words of love and flattery on her constantly. Washu is the cooking teacher and adviser of the magical girls' club (and cooking club). Although she is recruited by the school, she is in fact from the world of the witches. As adviser, she trains the girls to be good magical girls. Ironically, although she is the cooking teacher, she herself cannot cook. She has seemed to cause a lot of trouble in the past, as shown in a flashback. She is based on Washu Hakubi from the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. Despite being from the world of the witches, she is a normal human. People like her are labeled "Story Tellers".

Casey Brienza of Anime News Network reviewed the anime's first season, calling it an "inoffensive magical girl anime" and that the show's visuals are appealing, praised the show's character designs, and voice acting. However, Bieza criticized the show for "An An's puppy love infatuation with Tsukasa" saying it goes nowhere and is annoying, and called the soundtrack a "mixed bag."