| | Alternate title : Familiar of Zero, The
Studio : J.C. STAFF
Licenced by : Geneon Entertainment (USA)
Length : 13 Episodes
Year : 2006
Genre : Magic - Fantasy - Fan Service - Comedy - Adventure - Romance
Synopsis :
Louise de La Valliere is a young magician at the Trysting Kingdom Magic Academy. Her spells don't work the way she wants to and on top of that, they usually result in a big explosion! This is how she earned the nickname "Zero Louise."
Her first test of her second year was to summon a familiar as a servant that would assist her for the rest of her life. Everyone else succeeds in summoning useful things like a cat, dragon, even fire-breathing salamanders, but what does Louise ends up with something a little more different.
Additional Notes: This series ranked #11 in Anime-Source's Best of 2006 poll.
Added : 2006-07-08
Synopsis by : Himitsu
Last update : 2007-05-15
Last update details : Modify info
Score : 8.56
Number of reviews : 25
Link(s) :
Official #1 : J.C. Staff's Zero no Tsukaima Website (Japanese)
Official #2 : Official Zero no Tsukaima Website (Japanese)
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : ICHIKO - First Kiss
Ending #1 : Rie Kugimiya - The Real Feeling
Release(s) :
2007-07-07 -- Episode(s) 9-10 by KuroNeko. BT Link
2007-05-04 -- Episode(s) 13 by Static-Subs & Ayu. BT Link
2007-05-03 -- Episode(s) 12 by Static-Subs & Ayu. BT Link
Found 74 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
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Posted by : kevinchaosvs 
Posted on : 2009-03-11 
Story: 77%
Sure, it's a harem series all right, but it is enjoyable – more enjoyable than the average harem, at the very least. The overall mood is light hearted and not dwelling very deep on the romance, plenty of comedy and decent amount of ecchi. Also, it's good that the story itself isn’t particularly complex. As such, Tsukaima is a great series to watch if looking for something simple and enjoyable. And oh, just to be a combo breaker: No, no Shana. I don't like Shana (the series as well as the character herself) and I don’t see the need to compare this series to Shakugan no Shana. Yeah, same voice actors and it’s Rie in another familiar role... but nah, don’t really see the need for the comparison.
Characters:75%
True, the casts consist of all the usual archetypes (tsundere, seductress, klutz ... ... you get the point) but they are nonetheless fun to watch. Also, unlike the generic harem, Saito isn’t a wuss: he actually has some personality (and can be badass), making Zero no Tsukaima among the few series of its genre in which it actually makes sense that the protagonist has girls flocking him.
Arts:85%
Character designs are good and the same goes for the animation quality. The key point here is cute. The characters are drawn to look very cute.
Music:90%
The scores are great too! Nice bit of classical style bgms for the aristocratic settings. OP is all right. ED was...cute, and there really are no other words to describe it. However, while the bgms are good, I’ll have to say that they aren’t memorable; they certainly don’t stick in my head and neither will it be in my Music Playlist.
Summary:
Not anything particular outstanding or memorable, but it’s still worth the watch.
Personal Overall Rating: 85%
Posted by : Chikage_Shampoo
Posted on : 2008-05-02
Zero no Tsukaima is pretty much an anime with one saving grace: Louise.
Besides her, I felt quite out of touch with the other characters. Let's not mention that Saitou seems quite cliche in himself. As for the others, they were not too memorable. We have the typical anime stereotypes: A loser "Prince-type," a quiet girl, and a seductress. These did not make up for the anime's lack of character design.
Louise was another story. Whenever she appeared - which seemed a little too rare in the latter episodes - the storyline actually flowed and stopped dragging. Unfortunately, when she was not there - I wanted so much for the episode to end. Louise had the cute looks and cute actions to keep it going. Whereas Shana seemed a little annoying as a tsundere, Louise turned out to be pretty likeable.
As for the storyline, Louise no Tsukaima fell a little short. What else could you expect, after all, for a romance/comedy? Sure, there are politics and a "deeper/darker storyline" involved, but they do not really flow. And because this is such a short series, the ending came a little too quickly. Well, I say quickly, but some of the episodes dragged for the lack of Louise.
Unfortunately, some aspects reminded me of Harry Potter, including the all-magic school. Yet Zero no Tsukaima is almost nothing like Harry Potter except for that, and for that I am grateful.
I liked some of the BGM, especially "Noble" and "Louise." These themes correctly brought out the fantasy-like atmosphere that suits Zero no Tsukaima well.
The animation was typical except for certain characters. It brought out the bright/happy times of the anime, with the bright colors and the bright sun, but did not do quite so well in the darkness. The cuteness factor just didn't mesh.
All-in-all, Louise no Tsukaima lacked quite a bit of interesting aspects, except for the main character.
Posted by : sssl0202
Posted on : 2008-01-13 
Zero no Tsukaima is rather deceptive anime, deceptive like Fullmetal Alchemist.
Most of the first few episodes will convince you that this is extremely light hearted romantic comedy that's just filled with gags. However, what's hidden in it is quite a bit of drama, political plots, and rather heavy moments involving deaths mostly at the end half.
It is still largely romantic comedy and other elements are rather small to give some different taste within the anime rather than being fully fleshed out, but such different elements just keeps the anime fresh and interesting.
Also because of such different situation main characters goes through, their romance becomes much more fully developed than most romantic comedy. The issue of self interest, social status, inability to express their feelings, the temptation of other sexes, duty to their nation, etc etc etc allows the romance to develop much more than other animes.
It does have rather shallow initial set up. Zero no Tsukaima comes little too close to being another anime cliche, but never forgetting their roots of romantic comedy while adding all the different element to the plot just makes Zero no Tsukaima rather unique anime experience. Because of large amount of effort put into development of characters and plot, that shallow initial set up becomes something you can overlook.
13 episodes in 1 season is rather short, and the season ends with the story not being fully fleshed out. However I can't take off any points because Zero no Tsukaima does follow it up with second season.
If you like moe, ecchi, gag, romance, political plots, action, fantasy, and drama this is pretty much a must watch for you. And considering how wide range of genre it covers, this anime should be a must watch for most of you out there.
Posted by : ErwinRommel
Posted on : 2007-12-01
Whenever I'm bored I would find myself constantly coming back to this anime. It's lighthearted (no deep philosophical existence questions here) and quite funny sometimes.... the Love Hina type of humor. Watch this anime if you feel bored and are looking for some light comedy anime.
There really isn't much to say about the story. A no-skill magician gets a guy for a pet. The guy turns out to be more than what she bargained for. The series never goes beyond this premise and thankfully it doesn't; for a 13 episode season it really doesn't that much time for it.
Here is where I decided to base my mark of 7/10 on, Characters. I think the characters are typical. There isn't anything very special about each one but they work wonders for the series. In other words they are there simply to keep the comedy going. And it works, I keep going back to this anime so I can't really say that the characters were doing a horrible job.
Posted by : lilaznmans
Posted on : 2007-08-18
I have watched the entire series and it gave me an ‘okay’ feeling.
Animation 8/10
Very Cute Animation, I didn’t mind the drawing style, it was pretty original and well detailed.
Story 1/10
One thing I can say is it is so unoriginal and it copies other sources. I guess it has a decent love story, but that’s it.
Characters 3/10 *SPOILER*
Characters are also unoriginal and boring. Ok, the main character, De La Valliere, is a magician who is very bad at magic, but she is some destined magician who uses void magic, but only if she is teamed of with some legendary swordsman called Gandalfr. Do you see a similarity with LOTR Gandalf? Gandalfr, and this series is about magicians that sums it up
Sound 8/10
Music is very good. The in-anime music isn't bad either. Music's probably the best thing in this anime.
I know this anime isn't supposed to be a serious, but a humorous one. I guess the romance isn't half bad. I liked how Saito and Siesta interact. I don’t really like Louise, too bossy. (Not my kind of character, but I didn’t mark it down for her) It would have been better if it built the plot better and gradually make it more dramatic. Not one of the worst and not one of the best
Posted by : Leuconoe
Posted on : 2007-08-10
Zero no Tsukaima will never win awards for originality but if you'd like to see a light-hearted, action/romance series then this is probably just the show for you.
The bones of the plot are fairly simple. Louise is a student at a (Potter-esque) school for magicians in a stock fantasy world. Because of her magical success rate of zero, she's mocked as 'Louise the Zero'. When the school's students each summon a familiar animal who will become a lifelong companion and guardian, Louise summons Hiraga Saito, a human from our world, much to her disgust (and her classmates' amusement). Given that Saito appears to lack any useful abilities, Louise puts him to work doing laundry and initially treats him little better than a dog.
The growing (if rather dysfunctional) relationship between Louise and Saito is the engine of the series: there's an undeniable attraction though neither is prepared to admit it. Thankfully, while such a relationship is nothing new in anime, it is handled well and regularly made me laugh. This is a good thing, because the main plot is inconsequential and many of the other characters are rather one-dimensional.
The quality of the animation is acceptable, and the character designs are commendably cute. However, there were times when I felt that the drawing was, frankly, lazy. The music won't blow your mind but it does its job, and the voice acting is actually quite good - anyone who thinks that Louise and Saito sound suspiciously like the lead characters of Shakugan no Shana is quite correct - it's the same pair of voice actors. Rie Kugimiya (Louise) sings the closing tune as well, which is a good move on the studio's part.
If Zero no Tsukaima were a cheese, it would be Edam: bland and unexciting but perfectly enjoyable in its own way. It's a show which will never be anything more than average, but if you just want to relax with something relatively short and simple, then it's worth considering.
Posted by : JaMaJuice
Posted on : 2007-08-01
Awww, this was a cute anime. Although it seems like a rip-off of Harry Potter( with the headmaster looking like Dumbledore), it's actually not concentrated on magic too much but on Louise the Zero and her "pet", Saito, a normal high school boy that was summoned by Louise to a magical world and far away from Earth. And the story begins...
Plot: Well, it's basically about the life of Saito and Louise living together, confused and frustrated at the same time. It's also about their growing relationship. Also including Saito going back to Planet Earth. However, I just concentrated on Louise's cute way of trying to "tame" Saito with a horse whip, then his reaction to Louise, and all the things they go through together...so don't ask me if you want to get specific about the plot!
Animation: It's cute. The scenery and background is bright, bubbly, and colorful. I like the "pets" because they reminded me of Pokemon, which was a favorite of mine when I was young. The animation did not seemed rushed and I have to say, they make very cute eyes for the characters.
Sound: This is the reason why Zero no Tsukaima got a 9.5. The opening and ending songs were not that great and was very slow-paced despite the cheerful, comedic plot. However, I liked the music that was featured in the anime.
Character: The characters are cute in their own ways. Louise, the girl who has has ZERO talents and Saiko, her "pet" is mainly focused throughout the whole series. However, there are a few characters that are absolutely hilarious such as the Inn owner, who is obviously gay and Kirche's ways of seducing Saiko and definitely the headmaster who is perverted and does not seem to be ashamed of it.
Overall, it's one of my favorite animes because of the cuteness. The way everyone teases Louise about her ZERO talents, ZERO tolerance, and ZERO everything and the way Saito has to work as a maid or slave for Louise like washing her clothes, including underwear. Although the "flat-chested" main character was used in many other animes, Louise is an exception because she has pink hair, arrogant, bubbly attitude and has a cute voice. I also liked how the "Wand of Destruction" was a rocket launcher. Haha. Too bad it was only 13 episodes but I'm definitely ready to watch the second series which must be coming soon. I hope.
This cute, enchanting anime is recommended by JaMaJuice.
Posted by : Xristyan
Posted on : 2007-05-23
A good description of this anime is short and cute. Just by glancing at the characters (especially the female characters) and you will have to agree they have that cute factor down pretty well.
Story (8) Nothing big, since the series is short there is nothing much to go on, and pretty much a whole lot of things were unanswered. But for a short series they wrap up pretty good.
Animation (9) Cute is the word. You would notice the softness of the color tones on the whole series. Gives you that good feeling you know? And there is that thing with the blushes, it’s a good thing.
Characters (8) The build up of the characters are average, no major changes or development aside from the thing with the male and female protagonists.
Music (8) There isn’t really anything significant that I could point out in this regard. At most it’s decent enough to complement the series but nothing that would stick long enough in my head to become a recent favourite.
This is a recommended show if you want something relatively short and worth while to watch.
Posted by : kyukam
Posted on : 2007-05-21
I watched this series and I have to say it was great. I enjoy this series but it was sad to know that it was only 13 episodes. The story was nice and characters were well drawn. There was some funny parts and also interesting choice to introduce weapons from Japanese during the world war into this anime.
It was well thought out and the magic seems to be very convince-able (ex: the elements, the creatures, etc) but I find it hard to believe that the weapons from the war can be stronger then magic but hey! Anything can happen?! Anyway the point is Zero no Tsukaima is a cool series and I enjoy watching it, but it was sad to see it end so fast. All in all I give this anime a 9 since I enjoyed it even though it’s short.
Posted by : ranmag
Posted on : 2007-05-04
First off, if you are a sucker for funny romance anime, I would recommend this. It's funny with some twists that might go into the bizarre (as far as the "punishment" goes) but in the end it's a Good love story. I was surprised of the good quality, because the screenshots made me a bit unsure about the quality of it.
Story:
Good story even if it sometimes can be a little violent. a little to obvious when it comes to the layout as you understand what is going to happen in each episode pretty fast. still it's funny and entertaining, if a little too short. 9/10
Characters:
The characters themselves are given little or no background info so you might have some questions. there is a little character development for the main characters, but not for anyone else in a big factor. some of the characters are a little special. but I guess that's anime for you :) 8/10
Plot:
The plot is a very original one. but with a funny twist. girl/boy meets boy/girl. they both dislike each other at start but then starts to fancy the other one little by little. kind of classic, but in the end I like this kind of plot and I see nothing wrong with it. 10/10
A little too short. but the story ends well enough for my taste. even an OVA or 2 wouldn’t hurt.
Posted by : Faebinder
Posted on : 2007-04-15
I don't know what to say. It was good but very typical. Details.
Graphics: 7/10. Everything was typically drawn. some were too basic. No fancy animation. Couple of nice sceneries. Overall the drawings were very typical.
Music: 7/10. Again nothing special. I did enjoy some of the hype intra-episode music but overall the music was average. The opening and closing songs were alright.
Story: 8/10. Well the comedy was good and the romance was average. The mystry, fanservice and the rest was just plain dumb. Too bad the story didn't do a better job adding a couple of better layers to the setting. The basic idea of the story was very good. Luckily, not many of the episodes can be considered fillers.
Characters: 8/10. Awful villans. Regular typical clueless main male but surprisingly the main female is not a bad ass, so that was good. The side characters were bad with some being too typical. Even the servant was typical. Many useless side characters.
This could have been much much better but now it turned somewhat above average for me.
Posted by : xxscrimagexx
Posted on : 2007-04-05 
I am very lenient to all romance anime because I am a BIG sucker for romance/love/shounen-ai. This anime is very interesting and the length fit the story just as well. This anime almost reminds me other ones like Shakugan no Shana and also Ichigo 100% and this is how rate the anime.
Music: 10 - The opening and the ending just made this anime perfect. It also made me cry at the last episode because i felt kind of sad. The background music just connected everything and fits the story and characters.
Animation: 10 - I had a high expectation for 2005+ anime and I guess this one went above and beyond it. The style of the drawing was very consistent and through out the changes, none was practically noticeable. Everything synergized and with the help of the background music, it almost made me think magic really did exist and that I could go to Louise's world. Which I want badly!
Story: 9 - Kind of simple and not plain. It was very detailed and i wish they could've have extended to 24 o 26 instead of a classic 13 like Shingetsutan Tsukihime. The beginning of the story was pretty much breath-taking and follows it right up with a "explosive" middle parts and side stories. The ending was the most outstanding part. Not because of the kiss or the fact that they're having a second season! But because of the fact it ended cliff-hanging and believable.
Characters: 10 - The artist(s) pull this one of quite nicely. Since it was short I figured the intimate parts about the characters were left out but they weren't. It was very detailed and you actually think you know them up close and personnel. The development between characters also engulfed me and probably a lot of other people. The intimate and all the sad part made this story an instant classic of 2006 in my opinion.
Overall: 9.5 - I wish I can say 10 but that would make me a hypocrite. This isn't perfect but it is flawless. I feel there are elements missing not just due to the fact of the short length or the happy ending. But because of those, I expected more "juicy" stuff and details. Anyways it is a very good anime and I totally suggest it to magic/romance lovers. I bet even Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl fans might even like it.
Posted by : Vigorous
Posted on : 2007-04-04
Zero no Tsukaima had a great story line. Set in a magical world the story is centered around Louise who is a total failure at magic. In fact when it came to summoning a familiar to serve under her she wasn't able to achieve anything more than a commoner, Saito. From there the story takes off to follow their adventures while both go through physical and psycological transformations. The story was easy to predict from the very beginning. From the first mention of the 'Pentagon' and Square Mages in the second episode, as well as the speaking sword (particularly his first words) I had a general idea of how it would end. By the the end of the fifth episode I was 100% sure of the ending. However the story along the way way was great, particularly the last three episodes. I would love to see a second season with the more developed characters, particularly Louise, who seemed to lag behind Saito in both the mental and physical aspects of the show.
The characters outside of Louise and Saito showed little to no growth through the story. Guiche offered a majority of the comic relief. He was a playboy who's love struggles with "Monmon" often lightened the mood in even the most important of scenes.
Both the voice acting and animation seemed familiar to me right away. After a small amount of research I found that it was made by the same people as Shakugan no SHANA. That would explain the similarity between the two main characters, and Louise's way of screaming "SHUT UP!". Not surprising at all was the fact that the ending seemed similar to the ending of no SHANA.
Overall the show is definetly one I would recommend. It leaves you wanting more at the end of each episode. It also keeps a balance between the love, drama and action. It never spends too much time without some violence keeping all of the action junkies happy, but in no way does it approach the senseless violence of Elfen Lied.
Posted by : Kaisa
Posted on : 2007-03-20
Plot: 8/10
The storyline was really interesting. I often thought of it as the anime version of Harry Potter. I hope to see the next season, if there is one, so it plays out better and longer. I think it's a good start to make this a great anime.
Animation: 10/10
I thought the animation was great; not one thing seemed bad or wrong.
Music: 9/10
I loved the music. I found it catchy and fun to listen to. I liked the opening and ending theme.
Characters: 8/10
I thought they all had the right voices to match their personalities. They were all very different and I found them all very original.
Overall:
I thought this was a pretty good anime; maybe after seeing hopefully a second season. I wil become a great anime series. :)
Posted by : Glance_3
Posted on : 2007-03-09
This is one of the anime that has good story, graphics, and sounds. It is somewhat similar to 'Maburaho' where technically magic is an everyday thing, and they also have a school where they teach magic. Well actually the story begins at the school when Louise the Zero (she was given that nickname because she was reeeeaallllyyy, I mean, really bad at casting magic, and it ends up with a huge explosion) summoned Saito as her familiar. At first, the story is a bit plain, but it gets somewhat exciting every episode. To tell you the truth, I finished this one all in one night, just because I was eager to finish story that I couldn't sleep.
Plot: 8/10
The story was good and has its unique plot of master and her familiar which also the same time a mage and a swordsman relationship, with romance(although she treats him like a slave) and this is the thing about this anime that makes excited watch the second episode. However, the twist was somewhat predictable and easy to read. That's why the final episode didn't satisfy me much.
Characters: 8/10
Louise and her being weak in magic is quite common, what is interesting is about her familiar, Saito, I mean, where can you find a familiar that kisses his master and can also use a sword very well.
Animation: 10/10
The animation was great I must say. Every movements was detailed yet it's simple.
Sounds: 9/10
I liked the voice of Louise, it suits her. And also opening song was great.
Overall:9/10
This anime is good, I recommend everyone to watch it. Trust me, after watching it you also want to watch the second season (which they say is still under development).
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