Aired in spring 2013, Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince is one such anime that certainly did not appeal to many viewers. One of the reasons might be because of its stereotypical plot and characters. However, Majestic Prince does offer a decent story progression and also manages to cover some of its plot holes. Now then, extenuating with lame excuses such as “decent story progression” will not make some fastidious viewers to overlook the obviously predictable and insipid premise.
The story is pretty simple; mankind is on war and is fighting for its very existence with aliens christened ‘Wulgaru’. From the very first episode it is pretty apparent that the highlight of the show is on the protagonist and his fellow teammates, collectively known as ‘Team Rabbits’ or ‘Fail Five’. Out of nowhere they are selected due to some unexplainable reasons for piloting the latest model armed robots ‘AHSMB’, despite them being the least performing team in the whole school. Hence, we embark on a journey with the five leads and come across on how they affect the war.
Now this is what you can refer to as ‘from zeroes to heroes’ situation or rather in more presentable terms as a stereotype that follows a conventional and monotonous format to portray an anime. The first few episodes are fast paced following Team Rabbits from one mission to another, which make it seems like the plot is progressing blindly, without any real motives. But this is just a preamble to a more entertaining time in the second half of the series.
There are many anime that start slow and are boring, but after some progression they turn out to be more promising. Majestic Prince is one such series, wherein the second half saves it from chastising. Right around 10th episode the series takes a slow turn and progresses into a show with proper explanations to current circumstances and somewhat little character development.
Majestic Prince is definitely a story driven plot and offers very little room for character interactions and them to develop. After the miraculous 10th episode, the production house finally decided to show some character interactions which regretfully was still next to nothing. But nevertheless, there is development to its frivolous characters.
The protagonist, Izuru Hitachi is honest with his feelings and because of his obsession with manga he aspires to become a real life hero. He is the leader of Team Rabbits and surprisingly does a good job in directing them during battles. Next to Izuru is Toshikazu Asagi, who is not as honest as Izuru, on the other hand is feisty and sometimes rational. As the show’s affable character, Tamaki Irie is present to lighten up the ambience in the show and oftentimes tried to represent her endearing nature to the viewers, which might not be as satisfying as it should be. Kei Kugimiya is a transparent and under-developed character and albeit her shown as an introvert, she holds a vital position during the battles and as well in the team. Lastly, there is ‘the geek’ Ataru Suruga and a weapons enthusiast who despite being a geek actually shows interest in women.
This is the first impressions’ on main characters and they are all stereotypes and dull, but as I have mentioned earlier there is development. How these characters spend their time when they are away from the battlefront is where most of the development lies. That being said, you don’t have to actually compare them to Youko Nakajima from Juuni Kokuki or Erin from Kemono no Souja Erin, considering them as epitomes of character development. Now, continuing with characters, all the side characters are inevitably present for the plot advancement. The antagonists, Wulgaru, are there to repetitively assault the Earth’s forces and for the MC to become stronger. As much as it lacks in its characters, the same doesn’t applies for the art.
There are always high expectations for art department, especially if it is in a ‘mecha’ anime. But can the same be said in Majestic Prince’s case?
Ingenious designs for AHSMB robots and fluid action sequels are the strongest element in this show. Anime is one field where the author can run his/her imagination as wild as possible and turn it into a captivating experience. Not only the ASHMB units are product of those wild imaginations, but the alien unit designs are bizarre and they do give feeling of “Extra-terrestrial”. The action scenes are worth a watch and you’ll crave for more sequels every time one is concluded.
A single orchestral track is played in the background during action scenes, which if you’ll notice really affects the scene by intensifying the tension created. To accentuate the tension created to next level the production house made befitting use of several sound effects like explosions, fire shots from laser guns, respective sounds from AHSMB units and Wulgaru units as well.
The production house put in a lot of time and effort in robot designs and action sequences, but on the other hand the character designs lacked subtlety. We often come across the phrase “Simple is elegant”, however, here the simple and lackluster character design drag down the overall quality of animation.
The only act of justification done to the characters is in sound department. The seiyuu did adapt to their roles and expressed the character feelings with ease. Among the seiyuu, notable were Hiroki Aiba for Izuru, Yuka Iguchi for Tamaki, Akeno Watanabe for Ange and lastly my favorite Miyuki Sawashiro for Rin Suzukaze. The OP and ED are good, but the ending themes are better and are worth listening to till the end.
If watched with scrutiny and analyzing every section then this show does not offer anything new. Though being weak in characters and having a rather predictable premise, Majestic Prince offers a creditable story execution, wonderful robot designs along with gripping action scenes. Hardcore mecha fans might not appreciate this anime, but if you are looking for a good mecha-action anime, Majestic Prince is recommendable. If you decide to watch this show, make sure to watch all 24 episodes.
