AKA: コレクターユイ, Collector Yui (mistranslated title)
Genre: Cyberspace magical girl show
Distributor: R1 DVD from Viz
Content Rating: Y7 (mild violence)
Related Series: N/A
Also Recommended: Sailor Moon, Cyber Team in Akihabara, Rayearth
Notes: The title is meant to be "corrector", as in "correcting" computer viruses, not "collector", as it has often been mistakenly romanized. There are two versions of the Corrector Yui manga series, by Kia Asamiya and Okamoto Keiko. The Okamoto version is currently available in North America from TokyoPop.
Kasuga Yui is a fairly typical schoolgirl whose main problem is that she's not really good with computers - a real problem in a world where computers run practically everything. However, one day she meets a robot companion, called I.R., who has the magical power to transport her inside cyberspace itself, where she must fight back against the evil Grosser and save the world from destruction. Of course, she'll need some cute outfits first.
I had the privilege of watching this in the presence of the show's character designer, Asamiya Kia, who is actually not known for doing shoujo anime or manga at all! He says it was an interesting experience for him - and I'll have to say it was interesting for me as well, as it's certainly not your normal magical girl show.
Corrector Yui, when first described to me by various anime fans, was compared to a "carbon copy of Card Captor Sakura", which is unfair, and completely inaccurate - Yui doesn't "collect" anything! In fact, almost nothing about this show is reminiscent of its distant cousin, except perhaps the banter between Yui and her familiar, I.R.
However, that's not to say the show isn't good. Corrector Yui is a very cute show with an intriguing look at the magical girl genre as a part of cyberspace - basically, Yui is akin to a programmer going in and trying to debug the system using programs (kind of a magic in their own right) and it's a unique concept for the genre, distantly similar to Cyber Team in Akihabara in usage of technology as magic, but completely dissimilar in actual execution of said technology. Though we can't say we didn't see the robot show mascot coming!
The plot is actually more serious to begin with than most, with the evil program, Grosser, constantly attempting to subvert cyberspace to his will. The interesting thing is that while Yui is off fighting his minions in cyberspace, it looks to all the rest of the world like she's asleep at her computer, which is a funny touch. It also helps that the animation quality is very high, and the designs are cute.
Thanks to the now-widespread manga release, Corrector Yui has now had time to garner some attention in North America, and it deserves a further look from American fans, as it's cute, and quite different than most shoujo in its premise.
An average rating for now (since this is just a first impression), but it's a show worth looking into if you're a fan of shoujo anime, or are into computers. — Carlos Ross
Recommended Audience: There is an intentionally caused car crash and implied offscreen violence in the first episode, but other than some visual effects than might scare younger children, there's nothing particularly objectionable at all as far as I've seen.
Version(s) Viewed: Comic Con screening, Japanese language (courtesy of Kia Asamiya)
Review Status: Partial (1/52)
Corrector Yui © 1999 NHK