PRINCESS PRINCIPAL

DESCRIPTION

CAST

SPECIAL ActionPrincess Principal Picture Drama
MOVIE ActionPrincess Principal: Crown Handler - Chapter 1
MANGA ActionPrincess Principal

REVIEWS

• 

  CodeBlazeFate

  31/100
  Princess Principal is the condescending and obnoxious dreck from the same team that gave us Izetta the Last Witch

  “When you create a web of lies, you'll inevitably trap yourself and become everyone's meal instead”- someone, somewhere, sometime

  Princess Principal is an unorthodox title to be sure. Steampunk, non-linear storytelling, and rule of cool. Sounds like it should've been a winner, but it was a case doomed to fail as soon as it set out, exposing itself rather quickly as a fraud and a disaster. It's stupid, it's uncool, and most of all, it's insulting. It tried desperately to confuse you and come off as smart and then it tries to patronize you.

  Princess Principal is the condescending and obnoxious dreck from the same team that gave us one of last year’s most crushing disappointments, Izetta the Last Witch. As blasphemous as this sounds, that show was still better than this one in every single way. Keep in mind, Izetta was sort of a train wreck and plenty were hurt by its unkept promises despite the setting and premise. However, it's like this show decided to do it one worse yet still be seen as better. Let the truth be heard, let this series be exposed for its lies, and let it be cannibalized and demonized for ruining my hopes and dreams of having a better Izetta, just like with Youjo Senki only half a year prior! Let me, the man it deceived the cruelest, have my vengeance, for the lies end here!

  Case ST 2

  When a narrative starts out on such an awful foot as to have narrator exposition of the past as the opening scene and then have a bunch of asspull revelations and stupid moments (few of which ever come to make sense later), then your narrative needs to do a lot to make a recovery. It never does. In fact, those asspull revelations are occasionally present, like the ballerina revelation in episode 1. It tries to play itself as smart by creating information (that it claims that we missed) out of thin air; that obviously not smart. It does this a few times and it's annoying every time. The technology doesn't make any sense either and is poorly explained. Apparently, there is this C-ball that the main character has and at one point they try to steal the prototype that was just finished, except they already have the original so that officially makes no sense. Lastly, the factions are insanely difficult to keep up with thanks to how the executed their non-linear storytelling, and we don't even k is which side between the commonwealth and the royals is the east or west side.

  As stated earlier, this show treats you like an idiot. The asspull revelations that never add up aren't the only example of this. Hell, they're not even the most egregious. What’s more egregious is the fact that this show constantly beats you over the head. Every single episode, the show constantly drives home the fact that spies lie and that they're not good people, as well as that everyone always lies. More than 5% of the total dialogue is centered around these three things. The dialogue is so condescending and terrible overall, and with all this thrown in the pot, it's just an especially big insult to the audience's intelligence. “Did you know that spies are liars?” Gee, I sure did, hell, so did everyone watching. You don't have to remind us constantly. Anywhere between 3 and 25 times an episode, especially in the early episodes. Not everyone knows when they're being mocked or patronized but when you realize that it's happening to you, it's aggravating, so a show shouldn't ever do that to the viewer, who is maybe trying to use this as an escape from reality. Instead, Princess Principal, how about you instead focus on telling a coherent story and SHUT THE FUCK U-

  Lying is bad

  That being said, there are times where you can see a glimmer of hope in the narrative. As predictable as episode 6 is, the finale and tragic irony of the song to the situation at hand is brilliant, almost reminiscent of some of the other works this writer has worked on, specifically the final scene of the 23rd episode of Code Geass, a personal favorite. This series, especially in the second half, starts actually trying to elicit emotion, but it's not always effective at it. Sure there are good moments like episode 7 which was the only really solid episode of the show barring some of 6, but then we get episode 8 which while that did provide context to some scenes from earlier, it actually reveals another problem and missed opportunity in episode 2, one of the worst of the series; this isn't even speaking of the embarrassingly bad and mind-numbingly stereotypical episode 9 which feels like it would normally be a sappy kids show episode that also patronizes the audience. In a way, it's almost trying to be the reverse Izetta where instead of starting off decently and turning to complete shit later on, it starts off horrendously and gets better later, except it stumbles as that hallways through the second half anyway and ends up back where it started. Too little too late comes to mind. Besides, the finale is a sequel bait disaster anyway and anytime the show takes a step forward, it takes a stab back as well.

  Case C 2

  With the exception of Ange and Charlotte, none of the characters have any semblance of chemistry. Hell, none of the are memorable. Their personalities are beyond basic and not-fleshed out or progressed at all. There is no one worth giving a damn about, for they are so lifeless and static. If this show I supposed to be a rule of cool series, why does only one character try for this angle (the girl with the tits), and why isn't it one of the more prominent characters? They're so plain and tired, and one of them, names Beatrice, starts out especially bad and hypocritical. She’s the typical “princess loli bodyguard” trope except more annoying, and then she becomes a mod benign version of this exact same trope with little to no progression. Hell, all of these people are little more than tropes! The two “best” characters are Ange and Dorothy. Dorothy because she tries at rule of cool and she’s hot (and she actually has an explored past), and Ange because she has this weird thing about the Black Lizard Planet she keeps lying about nonchalantly. Oh, and she and this princess kinda sorta love each other...I suppose. Reasonings loosely related to it are dumb though. Regardless, the idea that such straws need to be grasped just to say something interesting about these characters is proof of their failure as a cast. This isn't even speaking of the other characters that come later since they're not worth mentioning and they exacerbate this issue.

  Case A 4

  The show’s visuals do not fare much better. Studios Actas and 3Hz did a joint effort for this project, and if nothing else, they were consistent...ly bad. The Light Novel default art style aggravates and does not look appealing in the slightest, and the designs range from mediocre to abysmal, with the worst being Chise’s design. The rest of the art looks decent and occasionally pretty detailed, like with the C-ball, and that's the only praise I'll give the visuals. The animation is ok at best, though the fights are pretty badly choreographed. The CGI ranges from mediocre (for the cars) to abysmal (for the people) and there is even a moment with a CGI room for the foreground and background and it causes a long 7 seconds of bad slowdown (what is it with anime that have CGI and slowdown and why are all of them always shitty anime?). When we see these backgrounds in situations of motion, or any time for that matter, they look terrible, and so does the photorealistic backgrounds of the school garden, which you will see from time to time. Shame since the steampunk-esque setting is an interesting one in terms of potential visuals yet these don't warrant much merit.

  Case SO 6

  One of the most renowned composers in the industry, Yuki Kajiura did the music for this anime. This is honestly one of the weaker OSTs I've heard from her to date. The songs are mostly pretty reserved and thus aren't very memorable, and the few that are more blaring and interesting aren't nearly of the same quality of some of the best tracks of her other works, like the SAO and Fate/Zero OSTs. The tracks are repeated quite often too to make matters worse. The OP, "The Other Side of the Wall" by Void_Chords feat.MARU, is easily one of the best of the season. It emphasizes rule of cool and is filled with the frantic energy that makes you pumped to watch each episode of the show, as awful as this show is; it is the only real good thing I could find in this show, which is unfortunate. The ED, "A Page of My Story" by Ange (Ayaka Imamura), Princess (Akira Sekine), Dorothy (You Taichi), Beatrice (Akari Kageyama), Chise (Nozomi Furuki), fares nowhere near as well, as contrarian as this apparently sounds. It is an ok enough track on its own but intro in particular gives me major mood whiplash every time I finish an episode. Overall, it was a decent enough repertoire of music but little was special and it was honestly underwhelming on the whole.

  Case E 3

  This show was very difficult to enjoy. The action wasn't even that competent, the characters were unbelievably dull and bad, the plot was wrecked beyond belief, and the show treats the audience like a dunce. The most enjoyment I got out of it was listening to the OP theme by you can do that as well as engage in the full version without having to see the show anyway. Not to say that the experience was heinous but it was continually frustrating and I am left bitter for it.

  Case O 3

  With that, the case is closed. Princess Principal is hereby found guilty of lying about being a good show, treating its audience like an imbecile, being caught so far up a web of lies and lack of proper establishing that everything is convoluted, and all around being a massive disappointment. For a rule of cool show, this didn't even try that hard in any aspect, even visually or musically, and for a show of emotion, it shot itself in the foot almost every time it tried. It's off to the cellar, Princess Principal; good riddance.

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• 

  APortInAnyStorm

  90/100
  A spectacular take on a straightforward premise.

  It's always a pleasant surprise when a seemingly uncomplicated and straightforward premise is taken to its full potential by stellar execution, appropriate pacing and high-quality audiovisual spectacle. The anime series Princess Principal is exactly that and more: each episode is an extension of a world that is developed in parallel with the characters themselves, their journeys and backstories told through bursts of fast-paced action, emotional flashbacks, and myriad mysteries that provide the greatest satisfaction when fully unraveled. Whether the story arc at hand either is peppered with twists or offers a more elementary venture, Princess Principal never fails to bring it to the screen in exciting, relentless form.

  (Each major aspect of the anime is given a rating in brackets, followed by an explanation of that rating.)

  Premise (4/5): At first glance, there's little to separate Princess Principal from other anime series of its kind. It follows a group of high school girls who have been trained in the art of spying and (if need be) assassination, and though little of their actual classroom experience is seen, the real spice of their story lies in their extracurricular activities, which feature an array of different missions that allow each character to show off their respective skills. Yet the true appeal of the premise, at least in my opinion, lies beyond the girls themselves: the whole series is set in a steampunk alternate-history version of industrial 19th-century Britain, where a giant wall has divided the entire island into two hostile nations. The two factions stop short of outright war with each other, instead utilizing the aforementioned spies in order to get their dirty work done. Double- and triple-crossing is the flavor of the day, and never more so when a princess of one of the nations gets involved in spy work, her reasons for doing so being revealed piece by piece as the story drives forward. Throw in frequent magnified looks at the dilapidated state of the streets of faux Britain, a rebellion brewing behind the scenes, and a case of mistaken identity that runs central to the series' plot, and you have a rich, well-realized setting within which the characters freely interact and bring their best characteristics to the fore.

  Characters (5/5): For a series like this, it's very easy to fall into the trap of giving each character a tremendous power creep that not only throws the story off-balance and ruins the pacing but also denies the series the opportunity to exploit the inherent weaknesses of each character, which can be a major factor in determining whether viewers are able to form emotional bonds with the characters whose lives they are watching unfold. Princess Principal has no such concerns in this regard - each character is a wonderfully unique product of their own upbringing. Ange is a remarkably talented bag of tricks whose stoicism and dedication to duty belie a traumatic and desperate past - her backstory contains a dramatic twist that strikes at the very heart of her personal dichotomy. Chise is a trademark foreigner from the East whose clumsy fumbling with the customs of the West endears her to her companions, which in turn breathes life into her convictions and lends her strength in times of need. I could go on, but as a whole the cast of this series is a rare case of tropes and archetypes done excessively well, reaching a standard far above what is required to entertain.

  Audiovisual (5/5): The most impressive facet of the artwork is probably the unfailingly meticulous background art, portraying each and every derelict structure & feculent alleyway in painstaking detail, with depictions of the physically and figuratively imposing Wall serving as ubiquitous reminders of the divisive conditions under which the denizens of both nations live. But any few shortcomings the animation may have in providing the best audiovisual container for the story are quickly compensated by the sublime, atmospheric qualities of the soundtrack composed by Yuki Kajiura, who has fast become one of my favorite anime composers. The steampunk bent of the music manifests itself in the thumping machinery of the drums and the jazzy themes of the more upbeat numbers in the repertoire, yet there is also the regular presence of the ruthless, driving electric guitar accompaniment that is a hallmark of Yuki Kajiura's compositions. Ultimately, as a whole, there is almost nothing to complain about in terms of the actual spectacle itself, and the anime is all the better for it.

  Execution (4/5): Each episode usually has its own mission through which to follow the characters as they canter about the city. The narrative itself is told in an anachronic order, which may take a little getting used to, especially when characters that appear earlier in the story are re-introduced much later. Yet this results in one of the most fascinating first episodes of any anime I've watched - viewers are immediately thrown into the midst of a mission in progress as the girls showcase their full array of physical and cognitive weaponry, the episode concluding with several nested twists that require some depth of thought in order to understand fully. It may be a little confusing to follow at first, especially when characters vanish and materialize at will throughout various points in the story, but rest assured that all mysteries are gradually cleared as the plot goes on, and the anime actually benefits in terms of the scale of emotional impact that it achieves - for example, a twist that a viewer may have figured out in their head might turn out to have a shockingly different answer, which is a great way to keep them hooked on the story.

  Overall (5/5): It was a brief burst of boredom that led me to watch my first anime series in a little over half a year, but it was more than worth it for the indelible impression it left on me regarding Princess Principal's particular genre and the potential for thoroughly enjoyable storytelling that lies beneath every ostensibly simplistic premise. It is hard to proclaim it a masterpiece, but it comes agonizingly close, and the ending, though a little anticlimactic, sets the scene for a six-film sequel series due to begin airing in April 2020, something that I will be looking forward to eagerly.

  Is the anime everyone's cup of tea? Certainly not, and despite its excellence in execution it is easy to see certain aspects of the story that may not feel fulfilling to some. But I think that the intrinsic strength of the series lies in its ability to surprise you at every appropriate interval, leaving you hungering for more until the curtain is brought down upon the show in a tense, emotionally gripping finale. It is the gestalt combination of a charming and sympathetic cast, an audiovisual platform that enhances the already considerable strength of the plot, and the breathless pacing of each episode that gives the story what it needs to flourish, which it does with unabashed gusto. There are many series that do what it does, and yet there are exceedingly few that do it as well as Princess Principal. All in all, it is an unforgettable watch.

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• 

  MasterHavik

  90/100
  Anime Totally Spies but much more serious.

  Cute girls show that actually takes itself seriously? Well....anything works I guess? Who would have thought this show would work so well? This is easily one of the most surprising anime of the year! This show was a joint project between studios Studio 3Hz and Actas. This series is directed by Masaki Tachibana who is best known as the director of Barakamon. He has also worked on shows such as Flip Flappers and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex and 2nd Gig. This is his second director gig. The writing for the series is handled by Ichirō Ōkouchi who is best known for his work on the Code Geass series.

  Princess Principal is one of the few CGDT shows to get something right that many of the shows of this genre don't do.  What is that? Well to put it simply, its the characters and writing.

  Before I jump into the meat of this review, I just wanted to explain my main complaint with CGDT (Cute Girls Doing Things) shows. My main problem with shows like these is how the characters lack depth, and there is no clear end goal. It just feels like 12 or 24 episodes of them checking off a list of anime tropes and clichés. There is no attempt to make the characters stand out besides being a whatever anime archetype they are.

  Thankfully, Princess Principal is one of the few shows to get this right. A show like Princess Principal doesn't need to be just cute for their concept to work. What it does do is show you, that giving a character an episode to flush them out can pay off in the long run. We start to like the character for who she is and not because she is cute. Cute can be an aspect of liking a character, but when it is pretty much their whole character. There is nothing.

  Now, let's get onto the review. I know that is what you have been waiting for. I'm happy to give you what you want. We are going to Black Lizard Planet.

  Story (8 out of 10): Our story takes place in the fictional world of Albion, England. During the 20th century of the Kingdom of Albion has control and monopolized this mysterious substance. This has led to unrest among the citizens of Albion. So, a couple of years later, the Commonwealth launches an operation known as Changeling in an attempt to replace the current ruling class in power with a small group of girls. A girl that looks like the princess catches wind of their plan and offers to help them with their plans if the Commonwealth promises her that she can become Queen of the Kingdom.

  The story of Princess Principal isn't an overarching plot but more so episodic plots that end up connecting later. They make sure each character gets their moments in the spotlight to shine. Mr. Ōkouchi really makes sure every character is flushed out to the best of his abilities. But he doesn't do the same for the villains of the show as they are barely around. He does a good job framing them as a threat, but they rarely cross paths with our main heroines making them seem like wasted potential.

  Besides that, it also can be unfocused sometimes with focusing on things that are not important to the plot. For example, in episode 7, it feels like more of a side mission in an open world game than an actual meaningful episode to advance the plot and characters. The same can be said for some missions they go on. I am always asking myself, "What does this have to do with the plot?" Like there is one mission at the end of the series that felt out of place to me.

  Overall, the story is good but lacks a good villain to oppose our girls. So, you're left with cute, interesting girls beating up grown men. I really like the beginning of the series as it serves as a good introduction to our cast. I also like the direction they went with the ending leaving it open for a season two since a season two is the only way they are going to fully realize their vision for what they want to do.

  Art (9 out of 10): As stated before Studio 3Hz and Actas did the animation for this project. They both really come out swinging this time around. Actas doesn't always have the best animation, but they really surprised me here with this show. I can tell Studio 3Hz handle majority of the action scenes as each one is unique and different. I think Actas handled the big booming perspective shots. All of them were exciting and intense. So, they knew what they were doing in that department.

  The character designs were done by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. Who I know from his illustration work from Kino's Journey. First off, I would like to tip my cap to Mr. Kuroboshi for his unique designs for all the female characters. He really makes every girl in the show look different. You can tell who is the oldest and youngest among our five main girls. He really gives them expressions through their clothes, that can really tell who they are as a character. He also makes sure their eyes are designed. When you look at the girls you can tell how each of them looks different. Ange’s eyes have a sharper and darker look while Beatrice’s eyes are a lighter color.

  Though, I feel this is lacking when it comes to the male character designs. Every guy in the show looks bland and boring. No one really stands out even the boss of the girl has a mediocre design. The same goes for our villain. I can say overall, he really nails the 20th century Victorian London style. I think my favorite designs of the show are Ange, Dorothy, and Gazelle. So, overall, I think the artwork and animation were really good.

  Characters (10 out of 10): Now onto my favorite part of this show. This show is really driven by its amazing characters. The characters of this show are nothing less than fantastic. I am talking about the main characters of course. Let's down the line and talk about how effective each of them is.

  Ange: The queen of Black Lizard Planet. Ange is just a lot of fun. One of her main concepts and calling cards is her ability to lie and tell when someone is lying. She also has the ability to change her personality depending on the situation. You can never tell when she is being honest unless it involves one of the other major characters in the show. She is very laid back and is very aware of her surrounds. Ange never tells you who she is unless she uses the cover of "Black Lizard Planet" to tell someone about herself.  Yes, she can use the anti-gravity machine she carries, but I feel her power to outsmart everyone around her is even better. She is the all-around member of the group if you ask me.

  Beatrice: She joins the team later. She is the younger member of the group but has a very dark backstory that involves her father using her as an experiment. So, she now has a voice box. With this voice box, she is able to change her voice to match any voices she hears. This is very helpful when they’re on missions. It's a really unique ability. She isn't the best fighter of the team, but combat isn't her focus. She plays more of the role of gathering intel. I love her expression and how she really keeps herself calm when on these missions since she is the most likely to die. Great character, and really has her heart in the right place. She only joins because the person serves joins. So, she is very loyal.

  Chise: Up next is the only Japanese member of the group. Oh, I forgot to mention everyone is British in this show. Anyway, Chise is the samurai of the group. She is the main the hand to hand fighter of the group.  So, she takes care of any bad guys that get close. Her character reminds of a rule 63 loli Goemon. That doesn't mean she is bad. Her backstory in her first episode it was okay. The other episode she got was really cool. I do wish they went more into the reckless side of her. Overall, she is just a solid character being the typical samurai. Her costume is really cool.

  Dorothy: Now time to talk about my favorite character of the show! Dorothy is the femme fatale of the group while also being the leader. She is the most level-headed of the girls and is cool under pressure. Dorothy never really does enough to much of a whore. She knows how to use her body right. She really plays the role of the femme fatale. Dorothy is very sexy and a very strong female character. She always knows what to do. Her backstory is not a bad angle with her being abused by her father either. IT tells you Dorothy never always had it figure out. Her real name is Daisy. She changed it to Dorothy. In her episode, you really got to see how she became the strong and powerful woman she is today. It's very well done.

  Princess: The last member of this group and one of the most interesting. She is the public figure of the group. Princess is also the only reason Beatrice joined the team. She is the only one that can freely move around without having to hide her image. Princess is the most inexperienced in being a spy (same goes for Beatrice) but she proves to be very clever. She isn't one for combat, so just like Beatrice and a little bit of Ange. Her best ability is to be able to outsmart her foes. Now there is a huge plot twist involving her and Ange that I won't spoil, but I will say it was amazing and really will make you like Princess and Ange even more.

  Lastly, I want to talk about Gazelle. I really wanted to see more of her because I felt she could have been a good foe for the girls. When she is on the screen she is really making her presence known. She is evil and very brutal. Episode six is one of the best examples of her being outright brutal to someone. She along with the other guy really needed more screen time. I hope they get more in a second season. I do think she has a great design though.

  Sound (9 out of 10: The opening theme is solid getting that spy theme perfect, but I feel the ED really nails the moe factor with a cute upbeat song with some really good animation. I also felt the voice acting all over was solid. I felt the voice actors really did a good job of being the characters than just being an archetype. I think the strongest performances of the show were Ange and Dorothy if you ask me. Lastly, I felt the sound effects for the guns and explosions were nice and didn't feel stock. So, I feel the show has some good sound design.

  Overall (9 out of 10): Princess Principal is easily one of the most underrated shows of the year. This show was such a treat to watch. I really like how they made the character the center focus, and we could take what they're doing seriously. This wasn't cute girls playing Kickball. These young girls working deep undercover as spies and acting like spies. I highly recommend shows for anyone who is a huge Lupin the Third fan and those that have wanted more depth when it comes to moe shows.

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