Fantasista Doll is a 12-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Hoods Entertainment and directed by Hisashi Saitō. Gorō Taniguchi serves as the creative producer, while the series composition is handled by Noboru Kimura and Yūko Kakihara. The series aired in Japan between July 7 and September 28, 2013. Three manga adaptations are published by Kadokawa Shoten and Media Factory.
Plot
Uzume Uno, a girl who used to be an elite player at card tournaments, is one day given a curious device which uses special cards to summon artificially intelligent female warriors known as Fantasista Dolls. From this day on, Uzume spends each day spending time with her new friends, while also fighting battles against other card masters who seek to have their wishes granted by the Mutual Dream Association Group in exchange for defeating her.
;The Rafflesia Man ;Rinto Mikasa ;Miko Uno ;Mikoto Uno ;Reika Okazaki
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Anmi and titled Fantasista Doll Mix, began serialization in volume 20 of Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine sold on April 10, 2013. It was later transferred to Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq magazine with the September 2013 issue. A spin-off manga, illustrated by Tomiyaki Kagisora and titled Fantasista Doll: Prelude Kagami, began serialization in the July 2013 issue of Media Factory's Monthly Comic Alive magazine. A third manga, illustrated by Mekimeki and titled Fantasista Doll, began serialization in the July 2013 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine.
Novels
A web novel titled Fantasista Doll: Osatō to Spice to Nanika Suteki na Mono de Onna no Ko wa Dekiteiru, written by Hiroaki Jinno and illustrated by Anmi, was serialized 14 chapters on the official website of the anime series between April 19 and July 19, 2013. A novel titled Fantasista Doll Eve, written by Mado Nozaki, was released by Hayakawa Publishing on September 20, 2013. A novel titled Fantasista Doll, written by Akane Mizushima and illustrated by Webisu Daikanyama with the cover illustrated by Hiromi Katō, was published by Fujimi Shobo on October 19, 2013.
Anime
The 12-episode anime series, produced by Hoods Entertainment, aired between July 7 and September 28, 2013 on MBS and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The series is directed by Hisashi Saitō and is written by Noboru Kimura and Yūko Kakihara, while Gorō Taniguchi is the creative producer. The original concept is credited to the Fantasista Doll Project. The character designs are by the animation director Hiromi Katō, who adapted the anime designs from Anmi's original designs. The music is composed by Yasuharu Takanashi, and the sound director is Yōta Tsuruoka. The opening theme is "Ima yo! Fantasista Doll" and the ending theme is "Day by Day", both performed by Ayaka Ōhashi, Minami Tsuda, Sora Tokui, Chinatsu Akasaki, Akiko Hasegawa and Sayaka Ohara. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for streaming and home video release in 2014. Anime Network streams the anime online.
Episode list
Games
A video game titled Fantasista Doll Girls Royale playable on Android and iOS smartphones, developed by Drecom, was released on September 2, 2013. Fantasista Doll will be featured in Bushiroad's Five Qross online trading card game starting November 8, 2013.
Reception
Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network gave Fantasista Doll an overall B− rating. He was critical of Taniguchi's production team being over-reliant on the magical girl formula throughout the first two-thirds of the series, highlighting the underwritten characters, cornball relationships and lack of "consistent artistry" in the animation as problems. But Kimlinger gave credit to the series for having a "maddening aptitude" to keep viewers interested for the next episode, empathy towards the Dolls' fear of abandonment and wrapping up their ongoing plot points into a heartfelt conclusion, calling it "a surprisingly poignant finish to a previously undistinguished trifle."
