Originating from a mixed media project Prima Doll is a Slice of life and Sci-fi genre anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see what will happen if one day in a world that resembles a fusion of early 20th-century society with futuristic robotics borne out of the intelligence of scientist’s years ahead of their time that young girls built as weapons of war that were fated to die on the battlefield leading humanity’s wars were to be given an opportunity to start a new life.
What if instead, they were able to live in the peace that they had fought so hard to create and instead of being dolls that commanded armies on the frontline instead they were waitresses that worked in a small but popular café living their life as normal civilians. What would happen if these young dolls forged for war were to one day be able to live in a peace that countless numbers of their kindred sacrificed their lives to achieve? What will happen if the ugly head of war would rear its head up once more hoping to start the tragic cycle anew. Would the dolls be able to prevent this tragic cycle from being restarted? or will they be doomed to see the tragedy take place once more.
The concept of androids and robots being created and used to command their fellows on the battlefield to fulfil the ever-growing appetite of humanity’s desire for resources, religion and ego is something that’s been in existence within media for quite some time. However, while humanity’s unhealthy obsession with war is a grim topic the amount and type of stories that can be created via it is one that can lend great flexibility to the creator and while the majority of such stories focus on the actions that take place on the field few showcase what happens in the aftermath when its participants enter the age where they fought their hardest to achieve.
In this I felt that Prima Doll’s premise of having dolls that were created for war find new life working as waitresses at a café that was founded by a patron that had served with dolls on the field was an interesting idea as it allowed us to see not only how the dolls would react to finally living in the peace that they fought so hard to achieve but also come to learn and appreciate the kind of bonds that are forged between not only with their fellow dolls but also with the normal civilians that they once fought for and now serve as waitress and customer in a time of peace. This premise ultimately was one that I felt paid off as its combination of learning to adapt oneself while learning what bonds between others meant by enjoying their everyday interactions with both their charges and each other was a joy to behold and resonated well with the darker elements of the narrative that really made each of cast that much more relatable.
Haizakura
Haizakura affectionately called Ha chan by the cast is one of the main characters of the series and is the series' main female lead. A young female automata that had laid dormant for many years before being awoken in the modern world Haizakura from her initial appearances was shown to be a kind, friendly and energetic girl who as a result of her long slumber was noted to be an innocent and carefree girl who saw each new day as a new opportunity to learn more about the world around her. while burdened greatly by the amnesia that she suffered from in the beginning Haizakura never let that sadden her and indeed was shown to possess a curious and determined nature and was shown to have a strong desire to make herself useful to her peers at the black cat café. While her unfortunate tendency of causing accidents due to her airheaded nature made her peers wary of her at first Haizakura’s talkative and caring nature and ability to form bonds with others whether human or automata more than outweighed this aspect of her and served to allow her to easily close the distance with her peers and forge lasting bonds with them.
As the narrative progresses and Haizakura’s personality is expanded upon it can be seen that she was someone that possessed a curious amount of perception and empathy for others that allowed her to not only deduce when something is ailing someone but also the kind of actions that need to be taken to help them. While setting off to help others can more often than not lead her to going over her head this strong desire to help others showed just how much she valued the power that came from forging bonds with others and the sense of positivity it can bring to those around them. Though she readily admits that she lacks skills in any particular field her earnest nature and her ability to perceive the inner thoughts of someone I felt were paired well with her highly emotional nature that allowed her to understand and help as many people around her as she desired and in doing so contribute to fulfilling a useful purpose to society as she perceives it. While this within the narrative allowed her to forge strong bonds with her co-workers within the Black cat café that was much a home as it was a workplace for her it also presented her with a unique opportunity to bring not only more joy to those around her through her singing ability but also allow her to slowly but steadily heal the rift that had existed between humanity and automata as a result of the war a development that I felt was perfect for Haizakura given her origins as well as her desire to bring peace and joy to all those around her.
This development of hers I felt also served to make the revelation about her true purpose within the narrative much more endearing as her base motivations and desire to change the world with both her words and her actions served as an excellent counter to the path that her fellow automata strived to create as part of her plans and showing well that even though they were created for the waging of war on behalf of their human creators the time for the age of war is now long gone and that in this age of peace its finally time to lay down one’s arms and enjoy the peace that is prospering.
Retzel
Retzel is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Black Cat café that works alongside Haizakura. A unique automata that were discovered inactive within the realms of the empire’s borders by the military and sent to the patron of the Black cat café for assessment and repair Retzel from her initial appearances were shown to be a positive, kind and polite automata that were both talkative and extremely efficient at her tasks that was complemented by her fast thinking and diligent nature. Despite being in a foreign environment and possessing no memory of where she was from this nature of hers as well as her knowledge of various fields and a willingness to take the initiative at times soon served to make her an asset to the café despite the unique manner in which she was introduced.
As the narrative progresses and Retzel’s character is expanded upon it can be seen that beneath her smiling and efficient manner that Retzel is not as innocent as she makes herself to be. For while her kindness and willingness to help others were indeed genuine her core priority in the beginning of the series lie in being loyal to her assigned mission to which she was shown to be extremely proud off and indeed saw it as her raison de’etre. As a result, she viewed anything that was not part of the mission such as forming bonds of friendship with others and enjoying the downtime when they had nothing left to do as secondary yet being able to mask it perfectly with her impressive acting ability. This strong sense of duty and loyalty to her mission and her homeland however while admirable from a military point of view in this age of peace only served to act as a chain that led to her being shackled to an age of war where she saw herself as being a weapon created solely for the purpose of fighting against the sworn enemy of her homeland nothing more nothing less. After being freed from her duty as a warrior however Retzel while retaining much of her base traits was seen to view friendships and bonds in a new light which is perhaps best seen in her newfound bond with Haizakura who she now saw as a sister-like figure who she seems to take great pleasure in teasing. While she loses much of her manipulative nature that made her such a difficult figure to read by the others Retzel’s cunning and independent nature allowed her to function well as a protector of sorts as it allowed her to not only deduce when things are awry but also when they needed to be kept an eye on as shown during the final arc of the narrative.
Duty and loyalty to one’s homeland is something that all soldiers should adhere to, especially in times of war when the existence of their homeland is at stake but what if during the course of that duty that the role that you had been trained for no longer applies. This sense of confusion and an unwillingness to first believe in the new reality that’s evident in front of one’s eyes and later a fear to adapt their life to walk a new path I felt represented well the kind of struggles that automata especially those that had no one to guide them in taking a new path as they entered a new age struggled with. Indeed, if Retzel had not encountered Haizakura and the members of the Black cat café then I fear the only fate awaiting her would have been a very tragic one. But all in all, I felt Retzel was a character that was well designed and developed that represented well that even faced with a new reality that they were untrained for that with the right guidance from the right people even that can be overcome.
Houkiboshi
Houkiboshi is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Black cat café serving primarily as the café’s cook where she works alongside her former squadmates who now serve her as her helpers within the kitchen and through their teamwork always create top tier food. From her initial appearances, Houkiboshi was shown to be a kind, caring and gentle person that was diligent and responsible and was level-headed enough to be trusted to manage the kitchen by herself when needed. However, while a cheerful and thoughtful person Houkiboshi in the beginning was noted to suffer from a particular defect in that she was unable to speak and had to make use of written messages to communicate with others due to a trauma that she suffered during the war.
As the narrative progresses and Houkiboshi’s character is expanded upon it can be seen that perhaps out of all of her fellow automata that had served during the war she was the one that suffered the most emotionally. While outwardly Houkiboshi was a cheerful and friendly person who greeted each person with a smile inwardly she was someone that had to deal with a large amount of grief that she had inherited from the last battle where she fought alongside her friends which ended in tragedy for all those involved. This immense tragedy while one that she barely managed to survive was also one that was to have a profound effect on her as for the first time in her life she was forced to contend with the fact that while she was still alive, she had in a cruel twist of fate lost the usage of one of her most cherished possessions in the form of her voice.
However, it is after the events that saw Houkiboshi’s encounter with family members of her former unit that would serve to allow her to take the first steps of breaking out of the circle of grief that not only hung over her heart but also prevented her from saying the words that she most wanted to vocalize to her dear departed friends. This speech and later song of hers that she presented to the gathered family members of her former unit I felt really did well to showcase not only how much the loss of one’s voice had affected her but also the amount of grief that she had suffered and kept bottled up within her after seeing so many of her friends perish in front of her. Being able to not only vocalize the grief that she kept hidden up to that point while also being able to honor them one last time with the song I felt was the best way to honor their sacrifice while allowing Houkiboshi to move on with her life. As a character, I felt that Houkiboshi was a character that was both well designed and developed with her showing well the kind of twists of fate that can happen to soldiers that fight on the battlefield both physically and psychologically. Perhaps out of the five members of the Black cat café her struggle to deal with the grief that she suffered and move on with her life with the support of her friends was the one that I felt was the most relatable to me.
Karasuba
Karasuba is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Black cat café serving as the informal second in command to its patron and by virtue its operating manager during its opening hours. From her initial appearances, Karasuba was shown to be a confident, calm and composed girl that was diligent and had a level of responsibility that belied her young age. While strict and very rule-bound, she nonetheless was someone that was kind and caring towards those around her and while she may appear to be someone that was always annoyed and scary to new starters, she was one that actually took great care in training them and ensuring that they will be able to help the café when they start their duties. While she like her fellow automata was grateful to their patron Nagi for rescuing them and give them a new purpose in the new world Karasuba who served in the same unit as him was shown to have a deeper bond with him than most which can cause some interesting moments within the narrative when remarked upon by others amusingly.
As the narrative progressed and Karasuba’s personality was expanded upon it can be seen that beneath her strict and rule bounded self that she also had a softer side to her as well. For while Karasuba tries hard to run a tight ship at the café so as not to embarrass her master and may appear cold and difficult to approach by others she was someone that actually cared deeply about those around her, especially ones that have proven themselves worthy of being friends. This is perhaps best shown in the bond that she forged with Haizakura because while her initial opinion of her was a negative one due largely to her clumsy and careless nature over time as she got to see the kind of person that she really was she began to learn to rely upon her and take her ideas in consideration when running the café. And indeed, within the narrative several of her ideas despite the skepticism shown by her ultimately proved to be the idea that was needed to allow the café to overcome the trial that it was facing at that point in time. However, what proved to be Karasuba’s most prominent trait that would serve to be her modus operandi was the strong bond that lies between her and her master Nagi that she was shown to value immensely for it was not only him that rescued and fixed her on the field but also the one that gave her a new role in life once it become apparent that her role as a soldier was over.
While this bond proved to be one that gave Karasuba a solid foundation upon which she can stand upon and Nagi a solid manager to run his beloved café with this was also somewhat of a double-edged sword. For if Nagi were to be in any kind of danger then this same foundation would easily crack as shown during the events of the mainland arc when she became visibly distracted, forgetful and worried constantly about his welfare which while looking amusingly like a housewife showed well the kind of bond that existed between the two of them. This crisis while harrowing in the extreme for Karasuba also served in my opinion to allow her to realize that while her loyalty to Nagi and her determination to repay that by running the café to the best of her ability was admirable that she also needs to remember that anytime she needs help she can always lean on and rely upon her fellow automata as well for just as she tries hard to teach them and help them with their problems they too were more than willing to step in to help her as well for that was what friends are for. As a result of this revelation while learning well the kind of power and warmth that can come from having friends that she can rely upon Karasuba also realized that while the café was their physical home anywhere where her dear friends are is also one as well. While she still remains strict as ever Karasuba after this revelation was shown to have become much more expressive of her feelings and more willing to take risks if it meant that she can have a better chance of helping those dearest to her rather than becoming stagnant as her old self did.
AMV
Animation wise I thought the series animation was pretty well done that featured not only great detail but also excellent usage of colour within not just the various locales that we visit but also in the character designs as well. Character designs I felt featured a nice variety that gave each doll not only a unique design that reflected their personality but also their role within the narrative as well with Retzel and Houkiboshi’s designs being my personal favorites within the series. Retzel aside I felt that the character designs also had a unique synergy with their past lives that were shown within the character's individual flashbacks that I felt resonated well with the series' core themes of finding a new place within the peace that they had fought so hard to achieve. In terms of locales that were visited by the cast throughout the narrative while the main location that was featured the most was the café that served as both the dolls' home as well as their primary workplace, I thought that the series also featured a nice variety of locations that took advantage of both the time period that the world was based on as well as the kind of locations that made up the empire. Though I kinda wished that we were able to see more of the mainland as well as the different wards that made up the empire’s capital.
Music wise while the series made use of one opening and ending theme as standard it also featured a surprising amount of character insert songs that were performed by the main cast as a way to showcase individual breakthrough moments for their respective characters when they managed to overcome the problems that ailed them. The series opening theme Tin Toy Melody was performed by the singing unit Chat Noir that was formed of the main cast members of Azumi Waki, Tomori Kusunoki, Miyu Tomita, Yuki Nakashima and Akari Kito and featured a very upbeat and cheerful song that with the aid of its visuals gave off the feel of starting a new day, meeting your fellow friends and co-workers and getting everything that was needed for the café ready before welcoming in customers and friends alike to the Black cat café a café run entirely by automatons who had taken up waitressing as their new role in life.
The series ending theme Omoiutatou which was also performed by Chat Noir through the aid of its visuals gave off the feel of friendships and bonds that have been forged between dolls that though borne from different generations and countries and having different temperaments were nonetheless one’s that had been forged over their shared desire to forge a new path in a new world and in the process try and change the people’s perception of automata that had become associated with the tragedy of the great war that had only just ended recently. The series insert songs in which there were a total of 7 I felt were all excellent in showing not only how the automata that the people once viewed as only machines of war could also become ones that can bring joy and happiness to people via song and flashy performances while also allowing the girls to showcase individual moments within the narrative when they managed to overcome the struggles that ailed them. My personal favorites were Yumesaki Harebutai and Houkiboshi’s character song Hoshishirube with the latter that I felt showcased her feelings as she took the first step in walking a new path perfectly.
Voice acting wise I felt that overall, the series' main voice cast all did an excellent job at not only portraying their assigned characters but also providing excellent songs that did well to expand upon their respective characters while providing us with some truly catchy tunes. Azumi Waki in particular truly shined not only in portraying the many different sides of Haizakura but also in the number of songs that she sang for us that really showed her talent as a seiyuu singer.
Overall conclusion
In overall Prima Doll, I felt was an excellent anime that had among its main strong points a unique premise, narrative, characters and an interesting look at the kind of struggles that a automata that were created to fight on the battlefield would face as they not only survive but also enter a new world that is both familiar to them and yet also one that’s alien to them because for the first time in their lives they are facing a situation that’s completely unknown to them which is a clear purpose in life in a age that seems to have little use for them.
Whether it’s a human being or an automata suddenly not having a path that you can follow that until now has given you a clear purpose in life is something that will cause great emotional distress and confusion that without the guidance of a helping hand could very easily escalate in the wrong direction quite easily. In this, I felt that the series overall narrative that focused not only on exploring what it was like for the girls during their time in the great war but also how through the help that they had from their patron were able to not only adapt themselves to the newfound peace but in the process forge new lifelong bonds with new friends and allies through everyday slice of life moments being especially well done especially its usage of singing performances via its main cast that resonated well with the narrative’s core focus of trying to give automata a new life while changing the perception of them within the eyes of the populace. However Its fusion with its struggle with hard-line fanatics intent on restarting the war and reject the peace that had transpired in the interim as well as the confrontation with the sin that humanity forced upon the founding first gen automata I felt while enjoyable was let down by the fact that the former were not expanded enough to form a credible threat to the girls while the threat posed by the founding automata while more believable and due to both her backstory as well as its portrayal by her assigned seiyuu , I felt limited her effectiveness within the narrative though it did serve to ensure that the series ended on a high note by showcasing the casts determination to do all they can to protect the peace that they fought so hard to create.
All in all, Prima Doll I felt was an interesting anime that featured not only a beautiful world that was recovering from the effects of perhaps one of its most destructive wars but also populated by a cast that was not only well written, developed and portrayed but also working hard alongside their newly made friends to try and create a new world where automata and humans can live freely and equally without the need to kill each other. Overall, as a final score, I would say that Prima Doll easily deserves a score of 7/10.
