Nov 16, 2017
Have you ever watched an anime that had such a shocking plot twist that it made your heart stop, which was then revived by heart-racing epic action scenes, and then killed again by heart-rending feels? Well, Princess Principal is one of those anime.
(This review will be spoiler-free because I am a strong believer in heart-stopping plot twists being experienced the way the creators intended.)
As weird and misleading as the title may be, Princess Principal has little to do with slice-of-school life or educational administrators. Rather, it is a show about spies and espionage in early 20th century London, and is executed in such a way
...
that seems believable, and frankly, real. Though that isn't to say it is a show devoid of comedy; despite having its share of dark moments, the writers found a way to insert lines that made me laugh out loud, felt natural, and didn't interfere with the core essence of the story.
Speaking of which, the story is not told in the order of events as they happen, but rather on a case-by-case basis, with each episode focusing on a particular task the main characters are assigned, usually with a spotlight on one of the main characters' backgrounds. I found that this mode of story-telling worked surprisingly well. It didn't make the story incoherent, as one may think it would, but actually benefitted the flow of the story and made reveals more exciting than if it was told in chronological order.
Fortunately, as an original anime, Princess Principal wasn't bogged down by inherent adaptation issues; the pacing didn't feel rushed, and this allowed the creators to fully control the way in which the story was presented. Unfortunately, as an original anime, the show doesn't have a pre-existing fanbase that would watch the anime just because it was based off a popular light novel or manga, resulting in a highly underrated, overlooked, and under-viewed gem (though I hope that this review will help to change this).
The five main characters were all magnificent, and I thought their seiyuus were all perfectly fitting, even for one character whose voice instinctively made my cursor gravitate towards the volume button. They all received a good amount of screen time, and I didn't feel as if any one character was underdeveloped throughout the show, like I sometimes do when watching other anime.
The art style is subtle and beautiful, the character designs were outstanding and unique (I especially loved Ange's design), and everything was executed in a classy manner. Personally, excessive fanservice is often the make-or-break factor for me when watching an anime, to the point where I drop a show because I simply can't handle the frequency at which boobs are being thrown around. Fortunately, Princess Principal isn't one of those anime. Though it does have a few instances that I can recall (and by a few I mean I can probably count them on one hand), the writers made it so that it was actually relevant to the story.
The OP is hype and the ED is catchy, and not to mention the soundtrack was very well done by Yuki Kajiura. 10/10 for sound, too.
With its strange and over-the-top title, Princess Principal seems to be fated to be overshadowed by countless other mainstream anime, not unlike one of Studio 3Hz's other masterpieces, Flip Flappers. However, if you can get past the initial roadblock of a title, what's waiting is a wonderful, immersive gem of a show that you'll not soon forget.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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