Balala is a Chinese magical girl metaseries. Rainbow Heart Stone is the first animated series, and the second season overall. Every season is different, but some are more connected like sequels/prequels than others. We recommend starting with Over the Rainbow, which is fully subtitled and completed on Youtube! AboutSara, a young and incredibly talented fairy set to inherit the Fairy Castle, runs away to Earth to find her missing Mother Michelle and Maggie, twin humans with magic, have just finished Fairy summer school. Returning to Earth to attend human school, they encounter the mayhem-causing Sara. Shirley, an older teenage fairy, is sent to Earth as a mentor and aid. Unfortunately, a new evil is trying to destroy the fairy castle, and the four must choose between saving Sara's Mother, or saving their world! The show's tone focuses of comedy and slice-of-life elements, with the girls' daily lives and use of magic to make thing easier being both the solution to their problems, and the cause of it. The 'evil' is often left in the background, which can be frustrating as the storyline can drag, but it does lead to a less monster-of-the-week format than similar shows which is a nice change. Overall, there's very little violence, and minimal romance, so it's very family friendly. The animation is a little lacking, given it was quite low-budget, but it does produce some unique wands and interesting costumes. It does utilize CGI as well as 2D animation, for some rather interesting effects. Unique FeaturesIf you're used to Japanese anime, or Western series, you'll find the more you watch it, the more unique features this franchise has to offer. For one, the girls ages vary greatly, from 5 to at least 18 (Shirley's age is unstated, but she's old enough to be living alone, but young enough to relate to the younger girls still.) This is quite rare in magical girl series, as often the main cast are in the same schools and therefore within 4 years of one another. Another thing is cultural references. While not always obvious, there are references to Chinese beauty standards, school systems, mythology, and general way of life throughout the series. Because it is intended for kids, everything is explained as if the viewer knows nothing, so non-Chinese viewers may simply come to think of these qualities as part of Balala rather than as a taste of Chinese culture. A big break is the unique team structure. The group leader is Shirley, yet the main character and the point of view seen most often is Sara. Unusually, Shirely is orange/yellow themed, and Sara is purple, colours usually attributed to secondary magical girls. Michelle and Maggie, who were the focus of the live action series, take a back foot in RHS, yet are still very much part of the narrative, which again is uncommon for sequel series which usually keep the same leads of the original. StatsLanguage: Mandarin (Dub,) Various Chinese (subs) English (subs) Length: 36 episodes Status: Completed Who Should Watch ItIf you've seen a ton of anime an want to try something with a different cultural view, if you're interested in learning Mandarin, or about Chinese culture, or if you just need a new magical girl fix, why not give it a go? Similar Shows:
Where To Watch It:It's entirely free to view in all regions on Youtube! You do need to click the 'CC' button or select "Subtitles > English" in the player's settings. But the entire season has been subtitled! The grammar is occasionally a little odd, or the translations a bit too literal, but it's plenty good enough to enjoy the show.
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