Shuffle! is a harem style anime based off of a dating sim. For those of you that don't know, dating sims are some of the most popular games in Japan.
The story revolves around a young man by the name of Rin. Rin's parents died when he was young, so he lives with a friend of his parents, who's wife died in the same accident, and the daughter. The show starts out while the father is away and Kaede, the daughter, is taking care of Rin, almost like a mother or older sister. You find out that there is a whole fan club based around Kaede, so Rin has to fight them off constantly. When they get to school on the first day, you are introduced to the last three members of the "Love Hexagon", Asa, Sia, and Nerine. Asa is and old friend, Sia is daughter of the king of the gods, and Nerine is daughter to the king of demons. Sia and Nerine's fathers both want Rin to marry their daughter and both have a friendly competition between each other to that end.
The all around plot was very consistent. This young man that knows nothing about girls or even whether he likes any learning what love and friendship are. There are some nice plot twists and good foreshadowing. The dialogue wasn't really all that good. Lots of over stating and all around basic conversations. There was not a single point when I was emotionally moved, other than when I was moved to laughter. Even though the dialogue sucks, this show is pretty funny. What can be funnier than a male fantasy gone wrong?
The voice acting wasn't all bad, but some of the actors were very lacking, such as the voice of Rin and Nerine. Both kings put on great performances, and probably the funniest characters in the show.
As content goes. There is atleast one topless or bath scene every or every other episode and loads of fan service. Not to much vulgar language, just the occasional dammit, ass, and bastard. Along with fan service and brief nudity, there are a few sexual innuendos in the dialogue.
My final verdict is 6 out of 10.
