Story - 5/10
The story starts off with a coup d'etat against the royal family of Forland, and in the process, the king is killed. During the chaos, however, he has his only daughter (he has a son who is away), Princess Alita Forland, escape. During Alita's escape, she runs into a bounty hunter named Falis. A series of events causes them to switch bodies. Alita, now in the body of Falis, begs Falis to save the kingdom. At first, Falis (who is in the body of Alita) refuses, but after Alita offers to be her servant and let Falis take the throne, she changes her mind. They then storm the palace and take back the throne.
The story isn't exactly a stand-out one - it's not terrible, but it's not great, either. Besides, when you're watching something like Murder Princess, you're not watching it for a deep and complex story - you're watching it for balls-to-the-wall action.
Art - 7/10
The animation was done by Bee Train, whose other notable works include Noir, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, and .hack//Sign (I cannot comment on those works, since as of writing this review, I have not seen them), and it's actually rather visually pleasing - it's not the best animation I've seen, but it is good for what it is. It's also rather colorful - in fact, watching this has actually made me want to watch other Bee Train works.
Sound - 8/10
This is a case where it's just easier to hear it for yourself instead of to have someone describe it for you. The OST fits the mood perfectly, and it's one of those things where I can't really think of the OST without thinking of the scenes that accompanied a track. The dub is also very good, with Colleen Clinkenbeard (Rin Asogi, Monkey D. Luffy, Nice Holystone, Ran Mouri) playing Falis, and Monica Rial (Haruka Shitow, Shiro, Chane Laforet, Stocking Anarchy) playing Alita.
Character - 7/10
While Falis and Alita are somewhat typical for their roles (Falis is a basic hot-blooded bounty hunter, and Alita's personality is similar to Princess Peach), they do manage to come across as likable - they aren't played to complete stereotypes, and we do get to see their characters get fleshed out a bit. Plus, Alita undergoes a lot more character development then you would imagine.
Enjoyment - 10/10
I love action anime. I was not disappointed after I finished this show. I wouldn't exactly call this a guilty pleasure. This is one that I would say that you should watch at some point (the next time you feel in the mood for a short action-heavy show, consider watching this).
Overall - 9/10
This is easily one of my favorite OVAs, and I'll definitely be rewatching this in the future.
RIYL: Black Lagoon, Scrapped Princess, Needless
