Arete Hime

Deviating from the princess story schematic is dictated by the conclusion and more overtly, the final message. It allows an arbitrary creative process given the central focus remains on the princess to some extent, and Katabuchi exploits this imaginatively. His supremely specific control over the film's fundamental pace is remarkable, but more impressively, the narrative mimics a standstill at the forefront of its momentum. I'm sure most viewers would agree that Arete Hime is generally slow, although whether or not that's advantageous is also at their discretion. I find it immensely necessary as a counterpart to the sequence of events that suddenly transpire in Arete's ... life, much of which is uncharacteristic of her dull routine of being trapped in a tower. The intermittent excitement shouldn't make us lose sight of her uneventful childhood, subjected to merely dreaming about the outside, and the measured rhythm forces the audience into a subconscious frustration akin to Arete's youth withering away, thus questioning the film's chronological development through accepted indifference.

The framing of Arete Hime is candidly built around independence, and its freeform feminism prioritizes the freedom to choose rather than externally imposing supremacy. Adapted from Diana Coles's 1983 fantasy novella The Clever Princess, Katabuchi alters a great deal of the insinuated perspectives to wholly target Arete's individualism, an appropriate approach for a display of equal standards and respect for intelligence. He uses an intriguing method of circumstantial cause and effect, much of which rightfully has no sense of allotted runtime. This complements the historical period, an era very different from our own, and significantly more culture-centric. Arete as a character is largely subdued, possessing no defining traits that would make her presence the storytelling's driving factor. Contrarily, often the plot is influencing her to lengths she could never imagine, mostly through subtle changes in her attitude. The quiet loneliness present in the screenplay is uncharacteristic for children's films, and as a viewer, I must commend Katabuchi's sheer skill in traversing demographics by capitalizing on what's usually considered low-budget.

In theory, panning a camera is arguably the least dynamic technique that exists, partially because of its massively common usage, but also due to the obvious limitation in consistently engaging the audience. This idea is entirely reversed here, and I'd go further to say it benefits from long-winded movements lingering on a specific moment in different intervals, seamlessly maneuvering around certain scenes in enclosed spaces. Experimenting with angles atop a height and composing a shot through blocking create numerous point-of-view variants in a fixed location. The muted colors amongst picturesque visual design are gorgeous for the painterly artistic choices, paired with a light classical score or silence is the inherent antidramatic effect Arete Hime aims for. A reflective outlook that unhurriedly allows daily life to occur, naturally blossoming symbolism in a less-than-glamorous form of heroism. It implores us to never take freedom for granted, not only empowering women but all those who dare to dream.

Set in a mesmerising medieval fantasy world, the story centres around Princess Arete, a young princess yearning to break free from her sheltered life in the castle. Her desires come to life when a mysterious sorcerer takes her to his magical kingdom. However, as Arete delves deeper into the sorcerer's true intentions, she begins to realiae that he is not the saviour he claims to be.

This anime delves into feminist themes, exploring the importance of independence and shedding light on the perils of blindly following authority. Through its clever subversion of traditional princess fairy tale tropes, Princess Arete delivers a compelling narrative that challenges conventions ... and provides a refreshing take on the subgenre.

One of the standout features of the movie is its stunning background art, which is rich in intricate details and exhibits a vivid colour palette. The meticulously crafted visuals create an immersive atmosphere, transporting viewers into a world of enchantment and wonder. Adding to the movie's allure is the beautiful soundtrack composed by Akira Senju, known for his exceptional work on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Princess Arete presents a mature storyline with a strong female lead, offering a refreshing and introspective take on the fairy tale genre. Arete shines as a character who defies the traditional princess archetype, showcasing her strength, resilience, and independence. It's a welcome departure from the conventional narratives and provides a compelling and empowering experience for viewers. The movie's exploration of these themes adds depth and substance to the fairy tale genre, making it a noteworthy and enjoyable watch.

It’s now the year 2016, new challenges and obstacles awaits us in this following year and let me start the by introducing you guys the Movie Princess and what I think about it.

Plot (6/10)+ Character (4/10)-
The story is very simple but very slow paces in presenting its wonderful message. The concept of the story is good for it promotes freedom by self-discovery and believing in one self to achieve its goal and wishes without relying to any superficial solution which are magic that bent reality. Princess Arete is a good deconstruction of princess stories for it teaches us that dreams can be ... achieve by determination and prior knowledge than relying on fairy god mothers and epic level wizards to turn the tables. The show became anti-escapism for Arete resolve her troubles by herself which is impressive for me because most princess stories I ever read or watch are mostly saved by the prince or by their magical spell caster guardians. But the biggest weak point of the story is the characters in general; they are presented in a overly dry manner that it’s hard for me to take any care or sympathy for them. Characters lack actual depth in the story. The interaction is unappealing and not interesting. The characters are not exciting or dynamic. Arete should be dynamic given the role of a smart princess and the wizard Boax is not very intimidating given he’s presented to be the antagonist of the story. Sadly to say he is one the dries fearsome wizard I ever known even the wizard in the Smurf looks more interesting. Nice presentation of message but very shallow on character presentation.

Music (4/10)- Animation (5/10)-
In a magic fantasy setting, music and animation of the setting is very important in hooking the viewers to care. But for fairytale scenery Princess Arete loses for it doesn’t have any appealing atmosphere. The animation is just very gray and gloomy. As for the music it’s doesn’t have any good BGM and the other song are just plain forgettable.

Enjoyment (3/10) Overall (4.7) >>>> (5/10) Average
Even with the great concept and idea the anime holds I cannot denied towards the entire course of the movie I really get bored watching it. I watch fairytale movie for excitement and epic adventure that’s what the children audience wants to see in the first. I don’t recommend this movie to be watch for the children for this anime doesn’t have action or any exciting magic for the kids to enjoy. The reason why I not very positive about the movie because I have seen lots of great fairytale movies with more exciting premise and good morals. Studio Ghibli did a lot of deconstruction of fairytale in the past but they are still exciting for the kiddies to watch.

In Conclusion Princess Arete is not a bad show for it has good message that can be thought provoking and inspiring but it will take a lot of patience and tolerance for one to get the message fully which is not very rewarding if you take account the time you invested on it. There are other good deconstruction of fairytale out there worth the check like the movies of studio Ghibli made I highly recommend you check it out.