Princess Tutu Volume 1: Märchen - Anime Lives
- Anime Lives
- Lisa Silva
- 11/22/04
- click here
"o while the title may frighten you a bit, if you're in the mood for something funny, well-written, and a little crazy, I highly recommend you give Princess Tutu a try."
Princess Tutu Volume 1
Synopsis:
Ahiru (literally 'Duck' in Japanese), is a petite young girl in a junior high school's beginning ballet program. She's prone to stammering and clutziness. She has a huge crush on her sempai, Mute, who is a sad-seeming young man who is very much taken by Ruu, a talented dancer also attending Ahiru's school.
Ahiru discovers that Mute is actually the prince out of a story written by the deceased writer Drosselmeyer. When Drosselmeyer died, the prince and the evil crow he was battling in the story escaped. The prince defeated the crow, but only at the expense of shattering his own heart. Mute is a boy without feeling or understanding. Drosselmeyer has somehow returned however, and has offered Ahiru a chance to help Mute. She must become Princess Tutu, a magical ballerina, and help reclaim the pieces of her prince's heart. There is a catch, however. Mute is being controlled by his roommate Fakia, also a dancer, who seems to want to keep the boy soulless and heartless. Oh, there's one other thing. Drosselmeyer also told Ahiru that a certain dream she's been having is real. She really is just a little duck, and has been transformed into a girl only so that she can become Princess Tutu. If she starts stammering-- quacking like a duck-- she'll turn into one.
Review:
I originally heard about Princess Tutu many months ago from a friend who couldn't stop talking about how cute and funny the show was. Now, although I am naturally skeptical of any show described as 'cute,' I decided to give this one a shot. Much to my surprise and delight, I wasn't disappointed. As with most Animes, you come into this story going, 'What the heck is going on?' However, the story moves right along and the zany characters make it really hilarious and fun to watch. I love the main character, Ahiru. Her awkwardness makes her very believable and easy to relate to (as a girl, anyway). At first, I was really annoyed with the Myuto character (i.e. 'He looks like such a freaking girl!'), but this is most definitely a mahou-shoujo series, so what can you expect? The two things that I like best about Princess Tutu are the old fairy tale references and the music. The references are woven so seamlessly into the plot that you just have to marvel at the skills of the writer(s). And the music, oh, the music! The pieces from Strauss, Saint-Saens, Bizet, Tchaikovsky and others enhance the show tremendously, enough to take it from a 'B' show to an 'A' show. So while the title may frighten you a bit, if you're in the mood for something funny, well-written, and a little crazy, I highly recommend you give Princess Tutu a try.
DVD Features:
- Episodes 1-5
- Japanese 2.0
- English 5.1 Language
- English Subtitles
- Clean Opening/Closing Animation
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, December 22, 2004)