Ranked #1972

Princess Princess

To watch Princess Princess you have to keep in mind, it's a bit weird.

First off, the story. If we're really being honest here, it's kind of something out of a fangirl's mind. A prestigious all-boys school where a lucky few [/sarcasm] are picked to dress up as princesses. Yes, you did hear that right, boys dressing up as princesses is the basic idea of this anime. And is there any more story than that? Not really. There's a bit of character development, one actual relationship involving one of the main characters and a teeny bit of shounen-ai to make the fangirls, who are undoubtedly watching, happy. So the story gets a 6 from me, it's not terrible but it kind of makes you go '...really?' to accepting the fact that, not only would this happen, but that anyone would agree to it (thought the perks the princesses get are nice).

Don't be fooled by the anime's picture. The art is decent enough, but it's nothing special. I do have to give props to whoever designed the princesses outfits, at times they were really cute. Character design was alright, but it's all stuff you could find in any other anime, therefore it's just good, nothing more than that.

Sound, well it's nice. I'm a big fan of Romi Paku who does Yuujirou's voice and the other voice actors are good enough. The music was so-so. Usually I love or hate OPs and EDs, Princess Princess didn't give me much feeling either way. Sometimes I half-listened to them, other times I skipped them. I don't actively seek the songs out to listen to them, but they weren't bad.

The main characters are pretty typical, yet you're almost sure to love them anyway. Yuujirou even made it to my favorites, though I rarely put a character on their who isn't from one of my absolute favorite series. They all have their own quirks and backgrounds which, for a series of only 12 episodes, were explored adequately enough to leave you hoping for, but not needing, more. In a way I wondered why I loved the characters because I've seen them all before, but I think it's the weird situation Princess Princess throws them into, forcing them to cope with it, it's fun to see.

So enjoyment? That's a 10. Despite all its flaws and drawbacks Princess Princess is a fun watch. If you're looking for a blatantly yaoi/shonen-ai series, that's not what it is. Nevertheless I'd recommend it to anyone who can stand just a bit of boy-on-boy action and those same boys wearing dresses at school. As I said, Princess Princess is weird, but if you can take the plot for what it is (something that would never happen, but somehow does) you'll have a good time watching.
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Clearly intended and marketed as a yaoi/shounen-ai series, “Princess Princess” will no doubt find most of its fans in that demographic, but those not akin to that genre will surely enjoy the series too purely for its comedic value. While not as a funny as “Ouran High School Host Club” or using offbeat humor like “School Rumble”, “Princess Princess” still delivers solid comedy.

To really enjoy “Princess Princess”, you do have to accept its somewhat ridiculous premise, an all-boys school where the most effeminate and pretty boys of the first year students get designated as 'hime' (aka princess) and cross dress as girls in order to boost the morale of the boys all round the school, much like some sort of cheerleaders. While the princesses have many chores and duties, they do get benefits so one could view it as a paid part-time function.
Then again, such a premise isn't all that silly if we look at that of “Ouran High School Host Club” for instance. Anime series have their share of silly premises one must accept to enjoy them.

“Princess Princess” focuses on Shihoudani, Mikoto and Tooru, how they live their year as princesses and reconcile with this rather peculiar job.
Even excluding the comedic scenes, Tooru and Shihoudani are brought forth as a possible romantic pairing and part of the plot is spent on their relationship which may be more than friendship. It is never explicitly stated they are or will become involved, but it's a clear possibility. Even those who are not into the yaoi/shounen-ai genre will not mind it one bit as it's handled well.
With the main plot focus being on Tooru's character development and past, Shihoudani's character is also sufficiently fleshed out so they're less two-dimensional and their respective past experiences helps in set up the believability of their mutual understanding and bond.
Mikoto's character provides a nice contrast, being the most effeminate of the three yet also the one who opposes his job as a princess the most, and who has a heterosexual relationship. Regardless, he does seem to fantasize about wearing matching female attire with his girlfriend Megumi. (No one would mind, they'd definitely look gorgeous together.)
Other than that he gets little background for his character, one could say even Sakamoto, a friend of the three, gets more character development than Mikoto.

The student council was another matter, they were so blatantly gorgeous, perfect males and aimed at the yaoi/shounen-ai fan demographic that it did bother me at some times and put off some of the comedic aspect of the student council presidents shenanigans and plots. But one might rack them up as pure fanservice.
Sayaka's character is another matter entirely, largely used as plot development vehicle for Tooru, it's hard to try to understand her perspective. Even though one could imagine her parents' dire situation in how to deal with a daughter's predicament like Sayaka's, often you wonder why they simply do not get her professional help.

Speaking of fanservice, all the scenes of Shihoudani, Mikoto and Tooru cross-dressing as girls are off course, purely aimed at that. One mustn't fear to recoil at seeing cross-dressing males appear on-screen, in those scenes Shihoudani, Mikoto and Tooru are simply drawn as girls in typically frilly, gothic-esque girl attire. And yes, they do look very cute as girls in their princess appearances.

The animation in “Princess princess” is decent, most budget and effort clearly having been put into the above mentioned fanservice scenes. Other scenes are visually unremarkable, backgrounds are very simple and plain. The lackluster animation will not put off enjoying the series, but it does not add positively in any way either.
The same applies to the soundtrack, which is unremarkable, standard fare as well.

One will no doubt enjoy “Princess Princess” as a comedy, and if you're into yaoi/shounen-ai, then you've probably already watched this series. read more