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Someday's Dreamers
Manga Review
If you've seen the anime series Someday's Dreamers, you know what a nice show it is. It is a shining example of niceness. It's a great way to detox from all the violence, bloodshed, and death the other animes enjoy heaping on you. If it's not the nicest anime series ever made, it's certainly in the top ten. It can easily be described as a nice version of Witch Hunter Robin.
 However, if you check out the manga that inspired all this niceness (brought to America by Tokyopop), you might be a bit surprised. It's a little edgier. Mage student Yume Kikuchi is eighteen here (she's seventeen in the cartoon), and disrobes more often. She also has a friend whose suffering from a terminal illness. One of her clients is self-immolated. A cab driver gets robbed at knife-point. Who knew Someday's Dreamers had a body count?
Still, you'll never confuse either version of Someday's Dreamers with Hukoto No Ken. It's still an enthralling tale of a young novice learning magic in a modern (if slightly alternate universe version of) Tokyo. It's Harry Potter for people who hate Harry Potter. Just enjoy the clean line-work of Kumichi Yoshizuki and the provocative storytelling of Norie Yamada. Valdemort and the exploding heads can wait another day.
Reviewed by Lawrence Sufrin, June 2008
Someday's Dreamers
Anime Soundtrack Review
A Japanese anime soundtrack as good as this one should not be missed. Plenty of piano scores that will keep you reliving the moments from the Someday's Dreamers series. The scores are a perfect blend to the series. A must buy item for someone who loves a serene and uplifting musical score. It's not just any classical music soundtrack, but it's more than a normal one too.
If you're looking for the slightly melancholy and curious setting which the series presents, this CD is the one for you. It's full of gorgeous classical-piano works that are at the same time pastoral and dramatic. If you're a fan of Frederick Chopin and want beauty that's a little lighter than his Nocturnes, get this CD. It's all done with a refreshing amount of taste, restraint and subtlety. We find it fills a void and reminds us of beautiful dreams we had as children.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, January 2007
Someday's Dreamers - Volume 1
Anime DVD Review
17 year old country girl Yume Kikuchi is a powerful mage like her mother before her. She's assigned an instructor in the city, the enigmatic, yet handsome Masami Oyamada. As his apprentice, Yume must contend with Mr. Oyamada's curious habits and secretive nature while learning to deal with her new life in the city, while he must contend with her naivete, warmth, spirit and charm. However, the spells she manages to conjure up are way too powerful for the tastes of his harried superiors...
 One of the most appealing aspects of the series is how "magic" has been realistically and thoughtfully incorporated into "modern day" life. Those with magical abilities must operate within strict standards of behavior.
It's all done with a refreshing amount of taste, restraint and subtlety. It's Kiki's Delivery Service in modern-day Tokyo and compares favorably to movies like M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs". It's the Harry Potter movies with fashion conscious wizards and feels much like Peter Weir's The Last Wave. Someday's Dreamers is a welcome addition to the fantasy genre.
Reviewed by Lawrence Sufrin, April 2004
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