YMMV / Jewelpet (2009)

• Awesome Music:
  • "Strawberry Time", an insert song from episode 37 used to defeat Dian.
  • Background music isn't anything shabby either. Hear the epic sounding introduction to every episode.
  • "Ready, go! Kira kira kirari hikaru yume no kakera sagasou..."
• Broken Base: When the anime was first announced, a lot of Onegai My Melody fans were divided. The nay-sayers thought that Onegai My Melody should have had a 5th season to compensate for the mistakes of Kirara. The others thought it was great that My Melody was finally put to rest and that it was about time Studio Comet tried something new.
• Evil Is Cool: Diana and Dian. This and the following season are the only ones in which they play major roles. Diana can use Force Lightning and drop kicks. Dian in particular is hammy in this season, strong and skilled, and his human form resembles Lelouch Lamperouge.
• Fan Nickname: Due to lacking additional words in its title, the entire show is sometimes called Jewelpet Unlabelled by fans, to better distinguish the season from the franchise.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: The Phantom Herb Thieves. Mint looks like a punk reject and Aojisho just looks plain outdated.
• First Installment Wins: It's the most popular season in a few European countries, particularly if it was the only season to be aired on television (Italy comes to mind). Averted everywhere else due to the quality and popularity of the following season, Jewelpet Twinkle☆.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Dian has quite a few similarities to two other Big Bads created later:
  • Thousands of years ago, he plunged the world into chaos before being defeated by the Four Great Magicians and then frozen while posing dramatically. One of his powers involves turning Jewelpets to the opposite of their respective virtues. Eventually, he turns characters to stone. He's also good after his debut season. Hmm...Are we talking about Discord or Dian?
  • Dian also has quite a bit in common with Senator Armstrong, the true Big Bad of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: Both are Well-Intentioned Extremists who want to give freedom to their people (Jewelpets in Dian's case), both are hammy, both are friendly to the main character, both have played ball-related sports (basketball and football, respectively), both are so tough that only specific weapons can do any lasting damage (Wave Motion Guns and Sam's sword, respectively), both fight with Good Old Fisticuffs and explosive energy attacks, both are Genius Bruisers with Super-Strength, both have red eyes (in the former's case, when he's in his human and Dark Dian forms), and both eventually turn black while powered up. A fan saw said similarities and made a fanvid of Dian as Armstrong.
  • In Episode 47, Dian also snaps his fingers and disintegrates Rinko.
• Memetic Mutation: Mostly generated Japanese memes of short lifespan.
  • Onegai My Ruby for the first series, due to the similarities between it and Onegai My Melody.
  • Genshiro Hattori, the 65th successor of the Hokuto Shinken.^* Hattori is loosely based on the main character of Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro.
  • Code Dian: Andy of the Rebellion.^* In episode 36 of the first series, Dian transformed into a human guy named Andy Samael, who actually looked like Lelouch. Fittingly, he is voiced by Jun Fukuyama.
  • Keigo Tatewaki, the lost member of Celestial Being.^* Fans had no idea who Tatewaki's voice actor was when the series first aired. Then the ending credits revealed that Mamoru Miyano was doing his voice, which is hilarious considering he voiced Setsuna. Miyano doesn't usually voice Butt Monkeys. Until the gag OVA of the series and some CD Dramas showing Setsuna's humorous side were released, fans were rather shocked with Miyano's role.
  • Dark Magic, son!^* As mentioned above, Dian has some similarities to Senator Armstrong.
  • Ruby, I don't feel so good.^* In Episode 47, Dian snaps his fingers and disintegrates Rinko.
• Moral Event Horizon: The Colony Drop is considered the point at which the villains have gone too far. Even the characters think so.
• Narm: In the Spanish dub, Lapis proclaims her motto in Gratuitous English during her introduction. No, not the entire sentence, but the "motto" word, which is left untranslated. Why this was done so is indiscernible, especially because that term is not used in Spain and is not a precisely known English word for the average viewer, so a keen one might get a chuckle out of it.
• So Okay, It's Average: The general fan opinion of the first series.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley:
  • The Jewelpets have eyes with a weaker shine than in following seasons. This might make them look more like puppets than living beings.
  • The non-Jewelpet character designs can also come across as this to some, due to how gaudy and just plain weird a lot of them are.
• Unnecessary Makeover: Mint, at least, looked cooler and more unique (perhaps even sexy) in her "punk hobo" get-up than when she cleaned up by joining the military.
• Values Dissonance: Westerners will at the very least tilt their heads in puzzlement when hearing about how Rinko's dad bought her a toy piano instead of a real one because he just had to lend money to a friend. In Japan, putting others' needs ahead of your own is the moral thing to do; the problem is that "your own" also includes "your family's needs".

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