The Familiar of Zero aka Zero no Tsukaima

 Anime Review by ShonenPunk

At the Tristain Academy of Magic, the children of aristocrats are learning the properties of magic, a power possessed only by the aristocrats. All the students are doing well in their studies…well, except for Louise, whose explosive failures in all magic have earned her the nickname “Zero Louise”. Now, it is the day for students in Louise’s grade to summon their familiars, or servants, and Louise has promised to summon the grandest, most powerful servant of them all. What she ends up summoning is Hiraga Saito, an ordinary guy from Japan on the parallel world of Earth. Stuck in a strange world with a rather easily angered master, can Saito find his way back home?

Well, the basic plot is your standard harem fare: a situation arises and a single guy is surrounded by a multitude of women who want him. It’s a tried and true plot device, but give The Familiar of Zero some credit for being slightly more original with the magic world setting. Where the plot really shines, however, is the plot surrounding the politics of the magic world and the link between the magic world and Earth, as these elements are very detailed and interesting. The final few episodes in particular are very well done story-wise, giving Zero a good fantasy story overall. It certainly stands out in a genre—harem comedy—where plot is often ignored in favor of pure comedy.


Good, entertaining characters are the calling card of any good harem comedy, and Zero is fortunate enough to have some good ones. Saito starts out as your traditional harem lead—a kinda dorky, kinda perverted guy dropped into an impossible situation—but eventually develops into a somewhat dependable, intelligent knight for Louise. As for Louise, she’s rather unique among traditional harem female leads: completely useless (usually the male’s job) and insanely jealous (often using a riding crop on Saito when he acts like a letch). These two give the show a flair that makes it unique from traditional harem comedies. The rest of the cast is slightly cliché (a princess, a maid, a dead silent girl, you get the point) but still interesting enough to offer good humor and at times good side plots when needed, making for a good cast as a whole.

The character designs are extremely well done; attractive, bright, and unique enough that it easy to tell apart from other shows. The animation isn’t quite as good, but still solid. A lot of the fantasy elements are well done, as well.

The music enforces the magic world setting, with various pieces of classical-esque music often playing in the background to pretty good effect. The OP, “First kiss”, has a good feel, and the OP animation gives a basic and very effective rundown of the characters. The ED, "My True Feelings" (Honto no Kimochi), also fits, with the animation this time giving a more comedic and somewhat accurate representation of Saito and Louise’s relationship.

So to sum it all up, The Familiar of Zero is a pretty good harem comedy. As a fan of the genre myself, I can say that, while it certainly doesn’t try to revolutionize the genre, it’s certainly better than the traditional fare thanks to its good story and amusing characters. It doesn’t quite reach the level of brilliance as the stalwarts of the genre, like Tenchi Muyo and Love Hina, nor is it as good as recent additions like Seto no Hanayome or the original Negima manga, but it’s still a nice ride for anyone who likes harem anime. Grade: 8/10, but keep in mind this is for the first season of 13 episodes only—the second season is a whole other story, and merits its own review.