Based upon a popular light novel series of the same name Tearmoon Empire is a comedy and fantasy genre anime that elevates itself above its peers by a combination of featuring a setting that we seldom have seen within the anime medium and combing this with a fresh new take on the classic time travel troupe in an effort to bring something fresh to the comfan genre of anime.
Taking place in a fictional representation of the ancient kingdom of Franch in the form of the powerful Tearmoon empire one that while boasting an impressive military, economy, land area and population was nonetheless one that found itself divided between the needs of its selfish rulers and their whimsical desires for greed and wastage of resources and the needs of the common folk who require food, jobs and a stable economy to which they can live safely in and in the process help the country grow.
What would happen if one day this carefully maintained balance is shattered forever when the nobles at the top get it in their heads that their needs are far more important than the needs of the people that they are supposed to be ruling. As peaceful protests make way for armed rebellion do the nobles realize how badly calculated their moves had been but by then it was far too late and one by one as their mansions were stormed and burned did, they came face to face with the anger of the people that they were sworn to serve the interests off.
One fateful day after the nobles that had in the eyes of the people had ruined the empire had justice visited upon their necks by the rebellions' new friend Mr G the mastermind that they saw as the one being responsible for this turn of events the one nicknamed the Selfish princess who ruined Tearmoon is led out to her final journey towards the embrace of Mr G. As she takes her last fateful steps towards her impending death under the hateful eyes and jeers of people that she once counted as her subjects and the stone-faced soldiers that had once been the guardians that had protected her from harm the princess laments on her fate and prepares to bravely face her fate.
But alas thanks to divine intervention from the heavens our princess was given a reprieve and a chance to go back and re-walk the path that had led her to this point in time but now armed with all the knowledge of the consequences that had befallen her in the present.
Armed with this precious knowledge and the painful memories of seeing all that you loved and cherished in your empire being turned and used against you would our little princess be able to turn things around and bring the Tearmoon empire back from the brink? Or would she be destined to have an encore with the likes of Mr G who so eagerly awaits in the shadows?
Mia Luna Tearmoon
Mia Luna Tearmoon is one of the main characters of the series narrative and serves as its main protagonist. The only daughter of the King of the Tearmoon empire and thus both the empire’s sole princess and heir apparent to the throne. In this guise as the princess of a powerful land-based power Mia was shown to be someone who showcased well the typical personality traits of nobles in that she was not only a supremely arrogant person but was also overconfident and believed strongly in the fact that she as the empire’s princess was able to act however, she wants and that anyone other than herself was a nobody that she can treat however she wants. As a result of this Mia in this guise while having all the resources that her country provided her was seen to not make the most of it being totally ignorant of not just basic human courtesy and kindness that should be shown to others but also subjects that were vital to the ruling of a country in the form of finances, diplomacy and being able to understand and empathize the needs and fears of her subjects. Indeed, in this guise she was quite capable of ordering the immediate execution of a chef should her needs not be satisfied such was her tyranny. Suffice to say this tyranny along with the gross mismanagement of the country by her and her yolk served to ensure that not only did the people that she treated so harshly grew to despise and eventually with the aid of her former friends decide that in the interest of justice that the tyrant and her yolk must be relieved of their roles as leaders of the empire and given a fast-tracked appointment with Mr G so that justice can be achieved for everyone that had suffered under her tyranny. That is until the lord of heavens in his infinite wisdom decided to allow her to take on a new mission that if she chooses to accept it would allow her a new chance in life.
In her new guise Mia as a result of possessing knowledge of her previous life was seen to be a very different person entirely. While Mia largely retains her confident nature the experiences that she inherited from her past life had while instilling a level of PTSD within her on account of her interactions with Mr G had also served to make her realize the importance of not acting rashly towards others and to without discourse to always be kind and courteous towards people that she encounters no matter who they are. Without the shadow of arrogance and treating others like trash that she previously possessed Mia’s intelligence and quick-thinking nature traits that she always possessed but overshadowed were able to finally reveal themselves. When combined with her desperate desire to avoid death flags via serious cramming sessions on subjects that a princess should know this served to make her not only a valuable font of information on how the country should be run but also serve to create the foundation for which her fight to change her fate by rebuilding the country can be started in earnest and in doing so pave the way for erasing the grim title that had been bestowed upon her by her detractors that of The Selfish princess who ruined Tearmoon and instead replace it with the much more radiant one of the Great sage of the Empire.
Working in conjunction with Mia’s focus on brushing up on her studies in her quest to change her fate was her desire to not only show kindness towards those around her but also take the time to observe the events around her much more closely and deal with them calmly when possible. This not only allowed Mia to deduce the many minor events around her that escalated into potential flashpoints in her previous life but in doing so early be able to deescalate them before they could become problems with notable events within the narrative being stopping the potential of a plague by building better healthcare facilities and standing by minor nobles to stop them from being bullied. However, while Mia’s focus on using her newfound knowledge to improve the living conditions of her subjects served to endear her in the eyes of her subjects and secure their loyalty it was Mia’s bonding with her allies and converting those former friends that in her past life had been on the opposing side into allies and friends that she can trust wholeheartedly that I felt showed best both Mia’s desire to change her fate by converting them from potential enemies to allies as well as her own desire to get to know them not as assets that can be called upon when needed as most nobles would but rather as people that she can have fun with, read together and be able to enjoy delicious tea and cake together somewhere and more importantly be able to convey and exchange info when one of their numbers requires their aid. This aspect of forging genuine bonds of friendship with her peers within the nobility I felt while symbolizing well Mia’s desire to avoid her dead end also likewise showed well the level of kindness and determination to help others around her as well that allowed her to change the fate of not just herself but those of friends as well a fact that all of which she had a hand in helping were no doubt thankful for and in doing so serving to further enhance the image of the great sage of the empire in the eyes of the people.
Anne
Anne Littstein is one of the main supporting characters of the series and is one of the servants that attend to Mia. Serving as Mia’s personal maid in waiting Anne from her initial appearances was shown to be a kind, caring and friendly person by nature who while certainly clumsy and ditsy at times was someone who was shown to be exceedingly loyal to Mia irrespective of timelines involved. While Anne was certainly not the sharpest maid in the book her loyalty and sincerity towards Mia combined with her desire to always support her to her utmost, I felt served to complement Mia’s character perfectly and allowed her to be someone that Mia could count upon for support when needed at the right times provided that they aren’t romance related matters.
As a character Anne I felt was an interesting character that within the series represented well the concept of loyalty as no matter which timeline of Mia she served the loyalty that she showed them was absolute. Indeed this loyalty when used in conjunction with her expressive nature, honest and friendly nature which was rare in matters of the nobility of that time period fictional or not served to allow Anne to be the rock that her mistress could always count upon when she needed a fact that past Mia was foolish not to heed but Mia reborn was shown to rely upon as not simply a maid but as a dear treasured friend and a loyal member of her band of retainers that would stand side by side with their mistress as she sought to rebuild her kingdom.
AMV
Animation-wise wise I felt that the series overall animation featured excellent detail and colour usage that served well to enhance the character designs for the series main cast. In particular the usage of contrasting colour palettes to showcase the situations that the two versions of Mia faced in their timelines served in my opinion to showcase the different sense of tone that characterized the two with the darker colours symbolizing the grimmer fate that awaited past Mia as she came to finally understand all the injustices that she and her ilk had inflicted on her charges that led her to walk down the path for her own execution while the lighter ones symbolized the sense of rebirth and bonds forged anew and where choices can be redone thanks to the merciful intervention of god. The usage of facial expressions to allow the core cast members to convey their surprise at developments within the narrative especially in the case of Mia I felt really served to inject an extra layer of comedy into it thanks to her often-contrasting inner thoughts when reacting to events that she encounters versus her surface reactions to them.
Music-wise wise the series made use of one opening and ending theme which was Happy End Princess which was performed by Mia’s assigned seiyuu Sumire Uesaka and Queen of the Night that was performed by KanoeRana respectively. These two songs while exceeding catchy in the case of the former I felt conveyed a very different sense of feelings and emotions when presented with the former conveying a sense of a new beginning granted by god that is allowing our little princess to not only change the grim fate that she had achieved in her original timeline but also in the process discover precious along the way in the form of friends, love and being able to live her life without having to look over her shoulders every two minutes for Mr G. The usage of transitions within the opening’s visuals that conveyed the changes that Mia’s bonding with her former enemies and converting them to friends and allies I felt really served to enhance the underlying meaning of that song while hinting on what was to come in Mia’s little crusade.
The series ending theme Queen of the Night on the other hand I felt conveyed a very different sense of feelings and emotions when listened to with this song conveying a sense of unexpected encounters, revelations, acceptance of a timeline where her kingdom is very different to the one that she was familiar with and finally trusting that unlike in her own timeline that new Mia in this one is able to run her kingdom correctly and keep its people happy and the empire prospering. Like the opening theme the visuals used for the ending theme, I felt served to enhance the underlying emotions that the song conveyed with the meeting of the two Mia’s in that star-scaped backdrop and the two having sweets together as they discussed the respective kingdoms being an excellent complement to it. Not many people can after all get second chances after having their own people turn on them after all and despite all that’s happened to her seeing old Mia smile at hearing new Mia be able to undo her mistakes and live the life that she had forfeited I felt was something that she had earned in that moment.
Voice acting-wise wise I felt that overall, the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters whether they were main ones or supporting characters. In particular, I felt that Sumire Uesaka, Tomori Kusunoki and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka all did an excellent job at portraying the key characters of Mia, Anne, and Abel respectively. Of the supporting cast, I really liked Kanon Takao and Nao Toyama’s portrayal of the characters Tiona and Rafina though I wished that the latter had much a larger role in the latter part of the narrative. Though only used sparingly within the series narrative I felt that Yuichiro Umehara and Makoto Furukawa also served admirably at portraying Mia’s head of finances Ludwig Hewitt and the commander of the princess guard Dion Alaia respectively roles that were just as important to Mia and the empire as she herself was to them. It was such a breath of fresh air to see Yuichiro step away from hunting down goblins and take up the mantle of managing numbers in an empire I have to say.
Overall conclusion
In overall Tearmoon Empire I felt was an excellent anime that had among its main strong points an interesting premise, setting, characters, story and a very creative paring of not just a fictional representation of a time period that we seldom see within the anime medium in the form of the French revolution but also a cunningly wrought out what-if scenario as well that shows us what could potentially have happened if those at the top were able to redo their worst failings and not only stop their own death but also those that were dearest to them as well. While the time travel troupe in its current form is not one that’s used often within the anime medium its usage here, I felt proved to be an effective vehicle when it was paired with the series overall narrative that while making effective usage of the setting and the what if scenario was also overlaid with the genuine heartwarming bonding between Mia and her former enemies as she sought to change her fate by converting them to become her friends and allies that she can count upon.
These bonding moments between Mia and the cast while sweet and fun to watch I felt was also complemented by the sense of tightrope walking that Mia had to contend with due to both the serious issues that she had to navigate in the form of the many crisis that she had to head off in her kingdom as well as choosing the best way to interact with the cast lest doom flags appear once more a balance that I felt was pretty well thought out as it forced Mia to use both her knowledge and the aid of her allies to make any kind of headway and in doing so simultaneously improving herself and her image to her allies while advancing forward on the plan. One aspect of the narrative that I felt was handled well was the exploration of flashpoints both within and outside of the empire that while relating well with regards to international diplomacy also served as an excellent way to expand the world and highlight their potential for trouble if left unchecked. These flashpoints I felt also served well to showcase the level of bonds of trust that had been forged between Mia and her peers in this timeline and through this show just how much had changed in this timeline as a result of Mia’s hard work.
As a final overall score, I would say that Tearmoon Empire easily deserves an 8/10 for while on the surface it may look like your average fantasy themed anime with comedy elements what served to elevate this series above its peers in my eyes was not just its strong narrative that made creative usage of the combo of time travel and redoing of one’s life as Mia sought to change her fate by fixing her empire but its pairing with Mia’s battle on the emotional front as she sought to reforge the bonds of friendship and trust that had once connected her with her friends and former enemies for Mia knows full well the fell consequences of what would happen if she fails. This pairing of trying to achieve the practical goals and trying to avoid retreading the path of a tyrant with Mia’s desperate desire to convert her many former enemies into powerful new allies I felt within the narrative also synergized well with the comedy moments within the series. That while providing a nice contrast to Mia’s quest also provided us with the opportunity realize that despite this and her unique knowledge, she was still for all intents a 12-year-old girl that was trying her utmost to avoid taking the same grim path that would haunt a women twice her age. Being able to see Mia act more her age by having such silly thoughts and moments I felt provided a nice sense of reprieve from her goals and quests however brief they were.
