WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SAINT TAIL

As a fan of magical girl anime and manga like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Saint Tail has always been on my list to watch but never one I got around to until recently. I went into this show mostly blind, only having read the general summary of it, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised even though it wasn't what I expected.

Revolving around middle schooler Meimi Haneoka and her nightly escapades as Saint Tail, the show follows a simple monster-of-the-week (or rather, 'theft-of-the-week') format and her objective of trying to not be caught by her love interest, Daiki Asuka aka Askua Jr. Right off the bat, I found myself enjoying the daytime bickering between Meimi and Asuka Jr. in school; their obvious crushes on each other yet being petty and teasing reminded me of other magical girl relationships like Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura and the early relationship of Usagi and Mamoru from Sailor Moon. Their dynamic when Meimi becomes Saint Tail changes slightly as Askua Jr. takes more of an interest in her secret identity and becomes obsessed with catching her to prove his worth as a rising detective.

Saint Tail deviates from most magical girl shows by having no actual magic. Instead, she relies on magic tricks she's learned from her father and her incredible athletic ability to get the job done. Her mascot, Ruby the hedgehog, serves as simple cute support and doesn't supply her with any magic like in other magical girl shows. The general plot for each episode revolves around Saint Tail usually having to steal back an item that has already been wrongfully stolen from someone else. She relies on getting her intel from her friend, Seira, who is also a nun-in-training at the school's church and where the one-off character of the week turns to for solace. Seira's role as a supportive best friend to Meimi is always highlighted in each episode, as well as being supportive of Meimi's crush on Asuka Jr. She's a great wing woman and generally kind, benefitting her future profession.

Saint Tail proved to be a great show to turn your brain off to and watch; there are no heavy plotlines and arcs are few. Instead, the charm of the show comes from simply seeing if Asuka Jr. will finally catch Saint Tail and figure out if she's Meimi, his classmate and crush. In fact, most of the show focuses on their relationship and slow but growing feelings for one another. However, just because I found the show enjoyable, doesn't mean it comes without its flaws. The supporting cast is incredibly lacking in development outside of Seira, and a character I'll get to later: Rina Takamiya. The show tries its hardest to have a regular cast, like fellow classmates in Ryoko, Kyoko, Sawatari, and Asuka Jr.'s two other guy friends who just stay in the background. Asuka Jr.'s detective father also appears frequently, but only really shows up to arrest the person who originally stole the items. Meimi's parents also appear often and her mother, Eimi, has an interesting backstory as a former phantom thief herself, but this doesn't get highlighted until the final few episodes. Sawatari is introduced early on as a love rival to Asuka Jr. for Meimi, but doesn't get truly bumped up to the main cast until the second half of the series.

Due to the show's format, arcs are limited. Episodes 28-29 come to mind as a double-parter and puts Asuka Jr.'s involvement in the Saint Tail case on the line, but it only lasts for two episodes. It also highlights the ridiculous lengths the series goes to show how Asuka Jr. can't recognize Saint Tail as she's right in front of him towards the end of episode 29. There are two instances where older female detectives come in to also oust Asuka Jr. from his position on the Saint Tail case but also go nowhere, which I feel should have been extended to show a contrast between a young female thief and a potential future she could see herself in; instead of being a modern-day Robin Hood, Meimi could put her skills to detective work or law enforcement.

The final four episodes serve as an arc involving Eimi/Saint Lucifer's past and how Meimi is forced to clean up her mother's mess. And while it resolves Asuka Jr. and Meimi's relationship, it also feels like a missed opportunity to flesh out Meimi's relationship with her mother and predecessor. The show can feel like a journey of missed opportunities at times; we get an episode where Ryoko and Kyoko get involved in the chase for Saint Tail but it's just for that episode. Sawatari also gets more involved in order to further his passion for journalism, but he's really just there to annoy and get in Asuka Jr.'s way.

And finally, Rina Takamiya. She's introduced early on as a love rival to Meimi for Asuka Jr. and is the niece of the mayor (the person who gave 14-year-old Asuka Jr. permission to work on an actual criminal case) and is hyped up from the start to get into Meimi's way. However, after a few episodes, she mysteriously disappears from the plot for the middle of the series before coming back in the last few episodes. Rina already comes off as annoying and pushy for Asuka Jr.'s affections, so initially, I was relieved when she stopped appearing. But in this post-reflection, I realize how much this actively hurts the plot and further highlights the weakness of the supporting cast outside of Seira. Even if Rina resigned herself from Saint Tail's case for a time, she still could've served as an obstacle in Meimi and Asuka Jr.'s school life to either push them or drive them apart.

But while Saint Tail has these flaws, it doesn't hurt the enjoyment of the show. I still found myself eagerly returning to watch each episode and anticipating the inevitable reveal of Saint Tail to Asuka Jr. I was also surprised by the choice of having Meimi and Asuka Jr. confess their feelings for one another and even start dating before the big reveal toward the end of the series, even if it were for a short period of time. Saint Tail in this regard feels almost limited in what it could do; perhaps more episodes could've helped the show become more elaborate in the stories it wanted to tell. I still rank this show highly, as I think it serves its purpose as a cute magical girl show with a unique premise, and still manages to catch an interest years after its release. The relationship between Meimi/Saint Tail and Asuka Jr. is what you're truly here for and something worth seeing unfold.