Ranked #1093

Scrapped Princess

Overall/Enjoyment:
As you can see, I really liked Scrapped Princess. It's a familiar song played to a different tune. The way it starts off gives the appearance of being slow and uneventful, but it all depends on your point of view. The action is light, and it builds up gradually to some pretty big battles as the story progresses, but what the show may lack in action it makes up for with some really potent drama. In this way it excels beyond the usual sword and sorcery fare. If you prefer the myth and the magic over character dynamics then this may seem dull and ordinary to you. I enjoy stories about escalating climactic battles, but life isn't always an epic series of conflicts, so stories like this are nice as well.

Story:
The story of the Scrapped Princess is one of prophecy and death, and it never lets you forget that. There's always an essence of tragedy and suffering looming in the air. There are moments of endearment and playfulness mixed in with those of doom and gloom. So on the surface it may appear to be just another medieval adventure, but beneath it lies an emotional one as well.

Sure there's the occasional sword fight or spell casting or sci-fi tangent (there's even some mech-like things), which are interesting on their own, but what I found myself instantly drawn to were the characters. Even though in the beginning I could tell the action was pretty low key, I was still no less interested in watching more. There was an allure not so much in what they were doing, but how they were going about it.

It's a very well written story. The character's are surprised when they are supposed to be, they're not omniscient and are often ignorant of knowledge the viewer already has. Events and precedents are recalled correctly so there's no plot holes. There are no real loose ends to speak of and the ending is solid. There's plenty of good humor, romance, and really touching moments. It's one of those stories where there's a big world of big burdens and a decisive destiny waiting for them at the end, but it's the journey itself and the little things inbetween I enjoyed.

The only flaw, if I had to pick any, I could see was that the whole Peacemaker angle was never explained too clearly or thoroughly. This leads to an ending that's wrapped up just a tad too neatly/ideally for my taste. In fact, I'd say the whole sci-fi thing probably hurt the series more than helped. It could've done just fine without it. I would've liked a little more definitive clarification on how things got to the way they were, and some kind of indication of where they were going to go from there (such as what happens with magic?).

Characters:
Given the kind of story this is, I think you get a pretty good feel for the characters, though none quite as well as Pacifica and Shannon. Everyone else are just supporting characters by comparison. Still, characters are fleshed out fairly well. Even if you don't particularly like a character, you get some kind of sense of who they are. Not just in actions, but how they feel and think.

People are not one-dimensional automatons programmed with a set of unshakable and predictable reactions. They have moments of fear, doubt, impulsiveness, and weakness. It's essential to establish these things as well for any story to have any semblance of authenticity. Some of the extra characters may not have been necessary but I think Scra-Prin did a good job anyway. No one was particularly overpowered or unbelievable, and the main character's "spoiled innocence" lent itself well to this story.

The one oddity I would say is that the Winia character looked bizarrely identical to the Senes one. Were they related or did the character designer reach his creative limit?

Art:
Maybe it's just me, but I really like BONES art. Their shows are always vibrant and colorful, their lines are sharp and clean, the character/outfit designs are beautiful, the backgrounds are lush and the animation is always fluid. I guess it may seem pretty "average" by modern standards, but I'd still say they're my favorite to date.

Sound:
Well, although no particular tune comes to mind, I'd say as far as setting the mood and tone are concerned, the music was always right. There were never any odd moments of silence and when a scene called for action or suspense there was always the appropriate music to accompany it. I thought the dubbing was pretty good, which is not a compliment to take lightly as I'm pretty critical about, well, everything, but especially dubbing. The subtitles on the other hand were littered with spelling/grammar errors.

Other:
Scrapped Princess is a rather misleading title. As a show it doesn't sound quite right, and it's certainly an awkward way to keep addressing someone. That is, it makes about as much sense as calling her the "Killed Princess" or the "Trapped Princess". Perhaps Cursed or Forsaken would've been more appropriate, though certainly less original.

This show was kind of strange for me because it had the flair of Fullmetal Alchemist and the heart of Eureka 7, but wasn't as good as either of them in those regards. However, I would say it had the more complete ending of the three.

I'm not sure why, but in the world of Scra-Prin the average woman is very.... voluptuous, that or they are wearing some of the most form fitting clothing ever made. This is either a statement about the lack of bras in medieval times, or that women in our future will be very well endowed.

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Scrapped Princess has been a show sitting on my shelf for quite a while and for some reason I had never gotten around to viewing it. For that I am rather disappointed in myself as it turned out to be a wonderfully entertaining and charming series.

When starting the show you will be treated to what is seemingly your normal medieval era sword and sorcery fantasy adventure. And for the first half of the series that is exactly what you get. The second half in some ways almost feels like a completely separate show as mecha like combat starts to replace your standard swords and magic fighting. I imagine some people who are expecting a more traditional kind of adventure might feel a bit disappointed but I thought the transition was logical and seamless. Pacifica, known as the Scrapped Princess is on the run with her two older siblings because everyone wants her dead as she is prophesied to destroy the world on her 16th birthday. Of course it will become obvious to the assassins sent after her and the viewers that she is nothing but a sweet girl who poses no threat to anyone. The plot moves along fairly slowly but the pace was quick enough that I never got bored with it. A number of interesting twists emerge, some predictable others not so much but all and all I found the mix of the old and modern technology quite fresh and original. The action and special effects are quite good but my one complaint with it is that towards the end it does feel like it drags on for a few episodes with little really going on. The ending was also pretty solid and I felt very satisfied with how many of the storylines wrapped up.

Pacifica shines as the main protagonist of Scrapped Princess. She is a very likable and character and I think most people will find it very easy to relate with her. Rounding out the rest of the main cast is the siblings and Pacifica's guardians, Shannon and Raquel. They were very fun characters and I liked them both a lot. Unfortunately we didn’t ever get that much back story on either of them. Things were hinted at with them both but I was left feeling a little let down that these were not better developed. The supporting cast is also very strong as several characters shine, particularly Leo, but others feel a bit flat and stereotypical.

The music was very good. Both the opening and ending songs felt very appropriate and set the tone of the series. Voice acting is also very strong. Do to some issues I had with the subtitle timing on my DVDs, I was unfortunately exposed to the English dub of this show for an episode before I couldn’t take it anymore and had to download the corrupted episodes online. Honestly I don’t know how or why people watch English dubs, particularly from Bang Zoom! who has some of the worst actors in the industry. Why do I always feel like you’re trying to hard when you speak? Just talk normally, you don’t have to talk like your trying to be 12 years old. Just stay away from the dub. Remember: friends don’t let friends watch dubbed anime.

One of my favorite elements of SP, is the artwork and animation. The backgrounds and spell effects were beautiful. The character designs were truly exceptional though. The girls were all adorable and the guys were handsome and manly and bishounen free. Some of the girls bosoms were a bit out of hand though, particularly Winia's. Those looked like they might get in the way.

Overall I am left with a very favorable view of this anime. A satisfying ending, great characters, I am sad to see this one end. The story feels very original and delivers a unique cautionary tale about mankind and his struggles to not destroy himself.
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