NOTE: Written after I watched all episodes.

Oh Galilei Donna, I had such high hopes for you at the beginning of the show--original series featuring the character designer of SAO and by A-1 with a focus on European history? Sounds pretty different from the majority of the shows that aired in Fall 2013, no? Alas, a flashy opening and bright colors can't really save the convoluted, mess of a plot that this poor show ultimately turned out to be. I mean, I wanted to like it--I really did, but by the fourth episode or so, I started noticing a bunch of "really obvious" red herrings (hello, wasn't it obvious that Anna was, y'know, NOT on their side??), and failed attempts at making us sympathize with sorta-bad-guy(?) Roberto didn't make things better. In fact, not only was the plot extremely confusing after a while, it was incredibly rushed towards the end as the sisters just seemed to fall into the "find one sketch/side story per week" cliche, and then it all culminated with the bizarre "Hozuki goes back in time and meets Galileo" and then bringing all back up together in ONE episode. The worst part was, throughout the entire series, there seemed be very little character development--bad plots I can take, but when I don't even care about the characters, that's when I start kicking it off my queue. Out of all the sisters, Hozuki is clearly the most focused on, but even by the end she started to get on my nerves. I never really warmed up to Kazuki, the grumpy middle one, and Hazuki just seemed kinda...there. Many side characters, especially the sky pirates, were totally shafted in terms of screentime and development, which basically pushed them from "supporting" down to "minor" characters.

I was surprised this show was not slated for a continuing second season, because boy, I think it would've benefited from it a lot more. There were too many plot elements that were never explained or had to be left for the audience to infer, which really frustrated me. What bothers me the most is that they NEVER give you an exact explanation for just exactly what the hell the tessoro is, and why it's so important, let alone how it's going to solve the world's ice age crisis. When it first activated, I couldn't decide if it was science or magic, or some weird combination of both. And then the show just fell from there.

I think the core problem is, aside from being too rushed and not explaining things well, is that ultimately this show has an identity crisis: it can't decide if it wants to be a action adventure with a mystery twist, or a family bonding adventure. Instead, it tries to cram in as many elements as it can, but fails to really develop in one direction. In fact, I think I would've liked it better if the show had simply been about these three sisters learning more about each other while going on this quest to find Galileo's sketches. Oh, and cut out the weird tessoro blingy/magic crap too; I definitely could've lived without the whole Hozuki-Galileo-ancestor-decendent incest weirdenss.

On a final note, there are a few things this series did do okay: it definitely looks gorgeous, and the music is good, and the final episode kinda answers your questions and has some feel-y moments, but not enough to salvage the series. In fact, if you just want to know what the series is about but don't want to torture yourself, I'd say you can just watch the first two episodes and then the last one and that's the series in a nutshell.

The only reason I didn't give this series one star is solely for the goldfish A.I. Yeah. Grande Rosso. I think he was the only reason I slogged through this mess week after week.

One of the few things that can ruin a series or turn a series lackluster is that the story they wish to tell does not fit the time frame given to it. That is exactly the problem with Galilei Donna, while the series is pretty enjoyable to a start it gets more and more notable that the shows pacing and development took a severe hit because it was limited to an 11 episode series.

Galilei Donna tells the story of the Ferrari sisters as they travel the world searching for Galileo Gelileis lost sketches, the series tries to to fill itself with stories of sisterly love, loyalty, emotion, corruption and drama but it's all once again let down by lack of development and rushed plot points.
It also sports a big cast of characters who all could have been great but in the end became one of its biggest faults. All the characters except the main sister gets very rushed or overly convenient development, which is sad since at times the series shows how great it is but because it needs to fit the 11 episode margin, the pacing, development and tone was all over the place.
Also in terms of story it feels like it just played out just like you though it would. The story takes no risks nor does it do something amazing, it started out as a journey story and played out just like one. For you people who wishes for something mind blowing, you will be disappointed especially since the series shows signs of being able to be much more.

Though I would still give this series a recommendation since the animation is superb. A-1 Pictures are certainly great animators and the CGI used withing the show is seamless blended in, reminding me of series like Last Exile. The character designs and art direction is gorgeous and is probably among A-1 Pictures best work with a really wonderful cinematic orchestral soundtrack that accompanies the series perfectly.

All in all it's a rather lackluster series for what it's trying to pull off but even with what it's trying to pull off it wouldn't have been anything fantastic but still quite enjoyable for it's beautiful production values. If you want something to enjoy while not thinking to much give Galilei Donna a go.
P.s Hazuki is like cutest thing ever.

I was in love with Galillei Donna in the first 4 or 5 episodes, but then it lost me. No, not in the story, but as a big fan. I had no clue it was only 11 episodes, but I began to see the tell tale warning signs of writers being rushed. The animation is striking. It's definitely worthy of the big screen. The writing does not measure up. The characters nor the story is fully developed. Mores the pity. The viewers are the ones cheated.

The animation is 5 stars. The story/idea of Galilei Donna is 5 stars. The writing is 1-2. I'm happy I watched it. I'd never re-watch it. I would watch a redo of it in a couple of years though.

After watching the entire series, it definitely left me wanting more. The ending is a bit rushed, and many of the characters could have been developed more. The plot is that three descendants of Galileo, who have no interests in him, are forced to look for the "inheritance" he left them. Amazingly without anyone one noticing, Hozuki had created an airship that the sisters use in their search and for protection. The show does touch on some social issues. However, after a few episodes it becomes clear that the show is mainly about Hozuki. The one "main" character that is left in the dark is Kazuki, whose opinions are never considered and you know little about her. While her character was definitely under used, you sometimes get the impression that no one really knew what to do with her character.
For it's potential, this is a very interesting show to watch.

Most people who gave this bad reviews are complaining about the plot being predictable and not exactly good, but I personally think that there are way more things that can entertain you in an anime aside from the story. Some of the anime I've enjoyed the most had close to no plot (stuff like K-ON and Lucky Star), but they kept me entertained with stuff like great comedy, creativity, great animation, cute girls doing cute things, good music, and everything else that anime has to offer. I believe that the score of an anime should represent the amount of enjoyment you've had watching it.
Galilei Donna is a really fun take on the legend of Galileo Galilei, it has superb animation (although the chara design is average) and some of the humor is great. I loved all of the historical references even though I'm not that familiar with Galileo Galilei. It's the kind of show you'd enjoy even just for the animation and the cute characters, I never expected anything serious from this.
I was kinda annoyed by the origami villain guy who's lame as hell. Also I'm kinda sad that the romance was just a tease and wasn't developed any further.
I would also have loved to see a real ending instead of that damn anticlimactic episode 11.

Galilei Donna tells a story about the Ferrari sisters, revealed to be the descendants of Galileo, and their adventure. Hozuki, arguably the main character of the show, is the youngest of the three sisters and more than a bit of a savant at engineering, having designed the airship they ride in herself without benefit of a factory. Kazuki is the middle sister and, despite being a skilled martial artist and the most physically capable of the three, is also the least decisive and willful. The eldest sister, Hazuki, has a strong moral compass which leads her to devoting her life to becoming a prosecutor, as she is constantly in pursuit of justice. Events force these three to search for 'Galileo's Legacy', a treasure that seems to hold unparalleled worth to the world's leading energy company Adni Moon.

Now that we know the basics, I'll be frank: this show is extremely uncertain of what it wants to be. Each episode seems to be pursuing a different kind of story, a different style of show... and while they do all add up to a not-entirely-incomprehensible whole, the show is far from successful. At first, the show seems to be a lighthearted adventure anime with the heroines escaping peril after peril on their search for treasure... but then, suddenly and without any real warning, it tries to become a gritty social commentary on the evils of humanity and corporations. Shortly after that, it switches tone and tries to pass itself off as a mecha/war show briefly before moving onto more slice of life territory. Confused yet? Well we're not done, afterwards it becomes a sort of time travel/underage romance story which culminates in a finale resembling a crime drama.

I've never seen a show this confused, nor one that fails so miserably to pull off any of its goals. Each of these segments is awkwardly unfinished due to their short length and they all just left me disappointed. Well, with one exception... the first few episodes - when the show is just trying to be lighthearted - are by far the show's highest point. They do a great job of endearing you to these characters in the early episodes, but destroy that good will later on. It's odd because the opening theme is clearly trying to convey it as a fun adventure show... but that is the furthest thing from the truth, with one episode making me need to take a break from the show for a few days simply because it was so distasteful. In fact, after this point my wife simply refused to watch it, so I watched the rest on my own. This anime seems to thrive on poorly orchestrated tragedy. Every event seems to find a way to result in tragedy, even when it makes no sense.

There are two redeeming qualities that Galilei Donna had. First, the sisters themselves were interesting, unique, and had a very believable family dynamic, considering they'd been largely estranged for years prior to the show. They were suspicious of each other, they fought, there was jealousy... and while sometimes their bickering was annoying, it was quite endearing at the same time. Secondly, the goldfish ship/mech that Hozuki designed was awesome, complete with a goldfish shaped AI who acted as the ship's computer. It was hilarious and awesome. And I want one.

But in the end, the confused message, awkward sideplots, lack of enough time to really develop any of the directions the story tries to go, and weird fascination with loss leave this show struggling. Struggling so much that not even a mechanized AI goldfish with a rifle can steady it on its feet.

If you're interested in more of my reviews on either anime or video games, feel free to check out my website: http://www.shadowedblade.net/

Im on episode 3 and so far this anime looks promising. It stands out from the rest of this season with a mystery to the plot and very creative/beautiful anime. So far the show has a mix of comedy,action,and drama feel to it.I feel this show is underrated for the season and wish people would give this a try. If the anime keeps it up like how it is doing now, it shouldn't disappoint anyone who is into it.