Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish)

Ever since her late mother took her to an aquarium when she was young, Tsukimi Kurashita has been obsessed with jellyfish, comparing their flowing tentacles to a princess's white dress. Now living with five other unemployed otaku women, 19-year-old Tsukimi spends her days as a social outcast dreaming of becoming an illustrator.

However, her life changes forever when one day, a beautiful woman unexpectedly helps her save a jellyfish in a local pet store. From then on, the stranger—confident, fashionable, and the complete opposite of Tsukimi and her roommates—begins to regularly visit the girls' building. This trendy hipster, though appearing shallow at first, harbors some secrets of her own, starting with the fact that "she" isn't really a girl at all, but a wealthy male college student named Kuranosuke Koibuchi!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Kuragehime was simulcast on FUNimation in Fall 2010, and became available as a DVD and Blu-ray release the following year. Kuragehime was also briefly available for streaming on Netflix as Princess Jellyfish.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Kuragehime
Side story:	Kuragehime: Eiyuu Retsuden☆
Other:	Kuragehime: Soreike! Amars Tankentai

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Koibuchi, Kuranosuke

Main

Saiga, Mitsuki
Japanese

Kurashita, Tsukimi

Main

Hanazawa, Kana
Japanese

Mayaya

Supporting

Okamura, Akemi
Japanese

Hanamori, Yoshio

Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito
Japanese

Koibuchi, Shuu

Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi
Japanese

Clara

Supporting

Morohoshi, Sumire
Japanese

Banba

Supporting

Kumai, Motoko
Japanese

Negishi, Saburouta

Supporting

Chiba, Shigeru
Japanese

Jiji

Supporting

Noto, Mamiko
Japanese

Inari, Shouko

Supporting

Kitanishi, Junko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Morijiri, Kazuaki

Producer

Takeeda, Yoshinori

Producer

Oomori, Takahiro

Director, Sound Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Koko Dake no Hanashi (ここだけの話)" by Chatmonchy

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Ending Theme

"Kimi no Kirei ni Kizuite Okure (きみのきれいに気づいておくれ)" by Sambomaster

Reviews

Jan 2, 2011

8thSin

Recommended

'Kuragehime' ('Jellyfish Princess') is a modern Cinderella story featuring the unlikeliest cast of a jellyfish-otaku princess and the cross-dressing prince.

The first thing I noticed about the series is the heavy influence of live-action movies.

Episode titles are parody of film titles:
1. 'Sex and the City' (2008)
2. 'Sukiyaki Western Django' (2007)
3. 'Enchanted' (2007)
4. 'Eden' (2006)
5. 'Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai' (1959/2008)
...

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Apr 17, 2013

Half_Jack

Mixed Feelings

This series really does show promise, however, the characters do not develop throughout the plot as much I had hoped. The art is colorful, the characters are unique and interesting, and the whole idea of focusing on female otakus is very original. Be warned of some spoilers below.

Unfortunately, interesting stories with potential were skipped around with, with none ending properly. This constant skipping around made the series feel empty and the originality novelty. For example,Tsukimi and Shuu have a cute little romance that went nowhere. Their relationship didn't even have to go in a romantic way, but it has to at least end properly. Tsukimi ...

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Sep 28, 2014

BlokeTokes

Not Recommended

The setup for Princess Jellyfish revolves around six NEET females who have decided to live together in a small, "retro" building. They all lead their daily mooch lifestyles through the show, coming into contact with a few different types of people in the process, and that is just about its entirety.

Before moving along with that statement, let's focus on the budget. Princess Jellyfish is well animated and has a pleasant art style. The show's direction carries some expression, and the soundtrack is indeed serviceable. I would consider the opening and ending music good and am pleased when seeing how plentiful of references they can be, ... along with some of the show. Some of this is refreshing, however, things shift downward when the focus is directed more to the actual story and what it has to offer.

I've witnessed many NEET anime and other shows which follow very similar premises, like Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. Stories of this focus have been carried out well and in a way that keeps them interesting with some variety. Just by being a series that carries the term "slice-of-life", it isn't expected that you will be entering a mirror of a slow reality, as series like Haruhi show you can push the bar a bit. Even so, Princess Jellyfish decides to go right ahead and take a dive in that concept.

Princes Jellyfish is a story of a forced, shallow love-triangle and of socially odd people who open themselves slightly to amending their typical ways. That's the story of Princess Jellyfish, and that's as far as it will go. Essentially, watching the first two episodes of the series will give you enough to accurately guesstimate the entire series with this in mind, besides the fates of the love triangle. No plot point in this show ever gets developed or treated as something beyond the strange will it has to continually shift them to goofy, comedic gags. A point like the rationality of NEETs is never explored, while several times being joked at, and by the end it comes to thought that the whole incorporation of it was for the basic intent to be served as a quirk by the characters.

The humor of Princess Jellyfish consists of the quirkiness of its character roster. Many of these character's personalities are literally their quirks, along with the basic principles of being a NEET for the main girls. No character ever feels alive beyond the second episode, which ends up making the show feel like a string of events involving a cross-dresser and a bunch of nameless moochers. Not to mention the "events" that take place are hardly ones that peak interest as issues that arise are so meager that at times you might think more towards the fact that these characters are doing absolutely nothing beyond surviving off their parents allowances.

I'm not degrading Princess Jellyfish with bias in its inclusion of NEETs, but the whole idea is simply inserted half-heatedly, and while the show seems to push to develop the character's self-respect to become more individual people, the story only grows them far enough to barely reach a relationship with someone of the opposite sex. This lack of focus into anything else beyond a basic romance creates a sensation of the show's true goal being the ability to self-insert. The only arguable message the show presents is that anyone can be beautiful if they choose to be so, but this is presented more figuratively than literally with nothing proving such an idea beyond the character being drawn more attractive after having a cartoon makeover. The characters run off quirks and the plot lacks in meaning and depth.

The slightly unique, light romance of Princess Jellyfish is without a doubt the strongest thing it had going for it. The quirkiness presented at the start from both sides, along with the side characters involved, created for a situation where a potentially interesting romance could have begun. Although it continued to be the show's strong-point after the start, things quickly began to damper as the writer decided it would be best for the characters to stick to their roots and have their personalities almost literally be their quirks, letting events and situations lead the way. The main character is brought down in this lack of attention to development, and by the end of the show you're left with the same self-insertable character with just the upgrade of a chance at love. That love, in particular, forming without any sense of the word "natural". Explaining in a way not to make the entire series feel empty by revealing the love triangle plot, both male leading characters in question lead generally purposeful lives in which they would have no reason to feel desperate about their love lives. However, upon their run-down with the main female, things clearly change to her liking.

If you want to watch an anime with some western movie industry influence, only in references, than this show has some of that. If you want a slice-of-life series with quirky comedy and awkward situations, this show has that. If you are looking to be at least somewhat emotionally invested in either plot or characters, wanting something to ponder about or something to surprise you, than this show beyond the first episode is likely not what you'd appreciate watching.

There's nothing taken care of in Princess Jellyfish. The show grabs the term "slice-of-life" and takes it to heart, fueling its uniqueness off of character quirks that are admittedly unique in that they can't all be defined by the most generic of archetypes. The story is devoid of plot goals and development, as the ending feels but a few paces ahead of the beginning. Solutions to problems come at the ding of the microwave, and characters are taken straight out of the fridge to be eaten raw. Does that sound like part of your diet?

I double-dog dare those who are about to click "not-helpful" to discuss first. I'm always open.

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