Mamotte Shugogetten is a cute anime centered around a high school boy or possibly middle school boy named Tasuke who comes into possession of an ancient Chinese spirit. This spirit takes the form of a sweet and gorgeous girl named Shaolin who is able to summon certain helpers called Hoshigami in order to protect and support the life of her new master Tasuke. The story is told through a generally episodic formula and features supporting characters in the form of rival spirits classroom love rivals and family members. The mood of the anime is primarily light and comedic but it also presents the overarching exploration of Tasuke and Shaolins deeper feelings for each other. I have yet to find an earlier modern anime romcom than this but I also obviously havent seen every anime in existence and the idea of a modern anime romcom is very subjective. Still Mamotte Shugogetten undeniably passes along more than a handful of elements to its many supernatural or scifi romcom descendants like Mahoromatic Omamori Himari Cubed Cursed Curious Inukami and more. These elements can be anything from setting story or character motifs and can get extremely specific like the archeologist parents tropewhich I believe Ive now seen 5 times Mamotte Shugogetten being the first. Conceptually the anime is perhaps on the simple side but I think a lot is achieved with its bare bones structure. I guess more than the sum of its parts is an appropriate phrase in this case. There is a smalltomedium sized cast which is conveniently half male and half female. Other than the leads most of the characters are a little annoying on the surface but the episode writing always seems to make them matter in some way. So while the characters arent always my choice of perfect though I liked the leads the delinquent girl and the aneki I still think theyre above average especially when it comes to most obscure 1990s anime. Every episode is focused on the execution of a central theme and often spotlights a single character or pair of characters. Basically the cast begins each episode at status quo but an event happens which forces a characters to present another side of themselves in order to resolve the issue. The results are reliably fun and every episode comes full circle by the end. This kind of writing style would be carried out in later favorites of mine like Nagasarete Airantou and Maburaho. The individual scenes are always ridiculous and exciting often landing in the realm of comedic surrealism. Buildings are destroyed vehicles are anthropomorphized giants and dragons move through the city and the supporting/extra characters just seem to go along with it no questions askedits hilarious. The romance part of the plot is relatively substantial too and most episodes help to gradually unveil the feelings Tasuke and Shaolin have for each other. This delivery is nice since many episodic anime adaptations simply hit the reset button on their romantic concepts every episode. This is the earliest digitally produced anime Ive ever seen and the animation leaves a lot to be desired but it is not a major bottleneck for me since I enjoy the animes overall style so much. The art direction is stylish and invokes a nice feeling through the backgrounds interiors and props. Something about the colors specifically reminds me of American cartoons from when I was a kid which I find surprisingly pleasant considering I dont watch western media any more. Other artistic detailslike the cute comedic faces the Hoshigami designs and concepts and the silly bodies given to enchanted inanimate objects also go a long way in contributing to this relaxed and comfortable feeling. Despite the successful manga in Japan receiving a US license in the early 2000s this anime adaptation never did. Nevertheless it is certainly a title I will keep in my permanent archives. I recommend this anime to anyone who enjoys silly 2000s romcoms since its so influential to them and feels as many as 5 years ahead of the curve.