Princess Tutu Review

I can't believe it, I finally finished Princess Tutu. I was talking with a friend at orientation today and brought it up, and she said Anime Network had (finally) put episode 26 up. Then she proceeded to try to tell me about it, but I stopped her. As soon as I came home I watched it. So I'm just going to review the whole series right here: (It's too bothersome to review separate anime episodes, I've found out)

Synopsis

"Princess Tutu is based on a story within a story. It begins by telling the story of a storyteller who died, leaving his tale of a battle between a prince and an evil crow unfinished. Frustrated at their battle being left unfinished, the prince and the crow flew out of the story--and the prince sealed the crow away using his heart. But the story didn't end there. What happened to the prince without a heart, the crow who was sealed away, and the storyteller who died before finishing his story? Each one of them has a part in the town and story of Princess Tutu."

Story

When I first saw a description of PTutu at Totallychibi.com, (now .net) I thought it looked like the silliest, stupidest looking anime ever. And with a name like Princess Tutu and ballet being a major theme, one would see why. At first it is your typical shoujo; Clumsy, pure-hearted girl with a crush on the most popular boy at school is offered a magical object and sets off on a magical quest. It also follows the "shard/person/etc of the week" and isn't very deep. The title is deceptive though. Though ballet remains a major focus, the story is truly a dark fairytale. If you can weather the first 8-9 episodes, the true story will start to uncover and begin to draw you in. It begins to become darker, and the character development (especially of Rue and Fakir) add depth. The finale of the first season is very dramatic and you can see the change from episode 1. But to me, the second season is the better of the two. Maybe it's my Fakir fangirl talking, because he does come to play a bigger role. Though it is a "Magical Girl" anime, Princess Tutu is a lot deeper and complex than the title suggests, from dramatic sword fights to suicide contemplation, once you get into this, you don't stop. XD

Animation

Of course, what will come up when talking about PTutu is that the animation is more on the childish side, and I do agree. The animation, though, couldn't be more perfect in the ballet sequences. Though a good third or half are just stills, the animated ballet scenes are fluid, and very true to the actual ballets they're based on. I appreciate the time they've taken to carefully recreate them. (infact, I heard that Ikuko Itoh and some of the staff took ballet lessons) So, if the slightly basic character designs bother you, please look past it for the ballet.

Voice Acting

Personally, I liked both the sub and dub versions I've seen. The japanese voices don't bother me, other than sometimes Ahiru's voice can grate on me a little. The dub is very well cast (I only have a problem with Good Mytho's voice, sometimes) and all the actors do a very good job. Luci Christian's range still amazes me, and even though her Ahiru can grate on me a little as well, I think it's very suiting. Mytho's VA (can't think of name) is a lot better when it comes to Evil Mytho, he can sound pretty menacing. I LOVE Chris Patton as Fakir, but again, I think I'm biased. He could make him very commanding, and yet somewhat vunerable. I would never have guess that Jessica Boone voiced Rue (I'm used to her Chiyo-chan voice) and I think she as well did a very good job. OK, basically I like everyone, but you may not, I've just adjusted to dubs and don't have much problem with them.

Music

This is where the show is it's strongest. Each episode uses a ballet (Nutcracker, Swan Lake) as a theme, and to follow up with that theme, uses the original music from that ballet as well. I really appreciate them for keeping with the original soundtrack. You can't do better than some of these original pieces, so they didn't bother to try. I can't hear anything now from the Nutcracker and not think of PTutu. The OP and ED are original (though the OP fades into "Waltz of the Flowers" from the Nutcracker) and are pretty good, nothing that I am blown away by.

Overall

This anime, after a second look, became one of my instant classics. From a unique and original plot, to great character development, to the enchanting classical music, there's little here that Princess Tutu doesn't do right. What it lacks slightly in can be adjusted to and overlooked. Actually, I don't know why I've written all this out when the reason to see this anime is spelled out in one word, "Fakir". *dodges the tomatoes and assorted weapons thrown at me* Anyways, I fully recommend it!

EMI'S RATING: 10/10

(phew, that feels MUCH longer than it should be. TT_TT)