Saint Tail is an interesting foray into the world of a magical shoujo (girl) crime fighter. And unlike her predecessors here in the West, relies little on supernatural powers, but rather magician's tricks and stealth like abilities, likening her more of a spy rather than a simple middle school student. With her magician's assistant outfit, top hat and cane, Saint Tail proves that a slight of the hand, stealth movement, and prayer can bring about awesome miracles.
To many, Saint Tail is no hero, but rather a thief who seems to be plaguing the homes of many upstanding residents. However, to others, she is a modern day Robin Hood, which in fact is a good comparison, since Saint Tail only steals property that was taken from its rightful owner. Of course, in atypical super heroine fashion no one knows the true identity of Saint Tail, who just happens to be an ordinary middle school girl named Meimi; whose father is a professional magician. The only person who does know about her double life is Meimi's best friend, liaison, and spiritual advisor Seira. Seira is an interesting, complex character. She always has the inside information on all of the supposed crimes of Tokyo. What even more interesting is that she is only in middle school, but already is preparing to become a nun! When she and Meimi meet to discuss their next case, even Meimi questions her ability to obtain her information.
Unfortunately, since most people are totally unaware of the work Meimi and Seira are involved in; they want to capture the vagrant youth, Saint Tail, immediately. One of her chief rivals is Asuka, Jr, a classmate of Meimi and Seira at Saint Paulia Junior High. Saint Tail has been eluding Asuka's detective father for months, and Asuka Jr. aims to help him, at any costs. This of course becomes a sore point and causes several love/hate confrontations between Asuaka Jr., Meimi, and Saint Tail (Much like the 80s series Jem and the Holograms).
If this series sounds too magical for you (yes, Meimi does have a transformation scene in which she becomes dressed in her Saint Tail outfit), fear not. There is plenty for the more "mature" mind, in particular, the use of Christian and mythological beliefs that create the morality base for the series. Though Meimi is a Catholic School student in typical anime fashion, other religious and or spiritual beliefs pop up adding a romantic flare to the series. For instance, before every mission Meimi and Seira pray: May fortune smile in our efforts to do good. This obvious reference to the Greek Goddess Fortune in a prayer to the Judeo-Christian God is just an interesting cultural perspective. Also, as the series progresses the secret of Meimi's mom's identity is eluded to, and leaves the viewer wondering if any of Saint Tail's talents come from her mother's past.
In regards to the animation, it is a typical TV series, very rigid with very little fluidity. As if cells had to be cut in order to maintain the series budget. The most active scenes are Meimi's transformation to Saint Tail. But this one flaw does nothing to take away from the series, as any die-hard anime fan knows.
This series is a keeper and refreshing, considering that most of the anime brought to Western audiences is geared primarily toward males. I hope to one day see this series on TV here in the West. Saint Tail had a decent run when it aired in Japan from 1995-1996, totally 43 episodes in all. Volume 1: Thief of Hearts contains the first three, I looking forward to the next 40!
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