Princess Tutu Volume 1: Märchen - Anime On DVD

• Media Source:Anime On DVD
• Reviewed By:Way Jeng
• Review Date:11/22/04
• Read the original review click here

No matter what shows have come out in the past, writers and directors always manage to find a way to create something that audiences haven't seen yet. Occasionally, this leads to bizarre combinations. A show might come out that features ballet, a cat who threatens to marry people, and fairytales. As strange as it might sound, those elements are all present in Princess Tutu, released by ADV Films and dubbed by Industrial Smoke and Mirrors. Faced with such a description, most fans browsing in a store would probably put the anime back on the shelf and look for a more comfortable show about giant robots. That might be an understandable reaction, but it would also be a mistake. Princess Tutu may a bizarre show, but that doesn't stop it from being a complicated and enjoyable tale. Add in a solid dub and enough disc extras for two volumes, and the result is a show that every fan should look for.

Princess Tutu's dub is most noteworthy because it contains no weak spots. Everybody, from the most important character to the least, sounds natural and smooth. There are almost no issues of cadence or rhythm anywhere in the volume. If there's any complaint that can be raised against the performances in this dub, it's that there weren't any characters who shocked or amazed me with how well they were performed. That being said, this is a solid dub in every respect.

Luci Christian takes the lead role as Duck, who occasionally transforms into Princess Tutu and also transforms into her namesake animal from time to time. This character is nervous, self-conscious, energetic, earnest, and sometimes assertive. There are enough emotions to make anybody's head spin, but Ms. Christian does an excellent job of bringing the character to life. Her talkative scenes when Duck blabbers under stress are very funny, her quacks are even more enjoyable, and fans of Ms. Christian's work will assuredly enjoy the performance.

Jay Hickman plays the role of Mytho, one of the male leads for the show. This is an extremely interesting character because he's set up to do a lot of growing as the series progresses. Mytho's personality starts blank, almost nonexistent, and slowly grows over the course of the disc. This performance is a lot of fun to listen to because it doesn't translate Mytho's lack of feeling into a flat monotone delivery. Rather, we get something closer to complete emptiness that slowly fills in over the course of the volume. This growth will presumably continue through the entire series, and the change implied by this facet of the character promises to make this character an extremely interesting one.

Chris Patton voices Fakir, Mytho's bizarrely controlling friend. Fans who are looking for a performance chock full of cold anger bordering on rude malice will be very happy with the work Mr. Patton is doing with his character. However, those who aren't sure if they want to hear such a dark role needn't worry. The performance's is intense rather than loud, and this helps to keep the character more mysterious than brutal.

Jessica Boone plays Rue, Mytho's girlfriend and one of the top students in the ballet school the characters attend. On the surface this might seem like a good performance, much like many in the cast, but viewers should place this work in the context of the other shows Ms. Boone has worked on. Compared on characters such as Chiyo in Azumanga Daioh and Misaki in Angelic Layer, Rue is a much more sedate and haughty character. The measured and careful delivery creates highlights Rue's imperious moments, and this role stands as an excellent example of range for Ms. Boone.

Cynthia Martinez and Sasha Paysinger voice Pike and Lilie, respectively. These two girls are friends of Duck's, though they often take joy in Duck's misery. Both of these actresses do good work in the show, bringing the characters' earnest and enthusiastic personalities to life. They're the most effective source of comic relief in the show.

In terms of minor characters, we're again faced with a large number of laudable performances. Marty Fleck plays Drosselmeyer, an ever-present commentator who observes the story unfold. The performance is good, with a slightly manic edge very appropriate for the character. TJP brings Mr. Cat, the ballet instructor, to disturbing life. His ability to add cat foley to his dialog is all too real. Christine Auten has a recurring role as Edel, who appears in several episodes to offer a few cryptic words of advice. Finally, Jennie Welch provides narration at the beginning of each episode. Her flair for the dramatic does an excellent job of grounding the show in its fairytale roots and reminding the audience that there's a bigger picture to keep in mind.

Princess Tutu might not sound like an interesting or amusing show at first glance. Ask the average anime fan if he or she wants to watch a show revolving around the members of a ballet class, a magical girl with ballet powers, and a duck, and the response will probably be anywhere from a guarded shrug to outright refusal accompanied by sideways glances. It's true that Princess Tutu is a bizarre show. There are anthropomorphic animals such as a cat and an anteater whose presence is taken as natural by the human characters. The fantastic abounds in this show, and the show doesn't apologize for it. Some viewers may find it a lot to take in, and there's no question that the show asks for a lot of suspension of disbelief.

The key to enjoying Princess Tutu is remembering that it's a fairytale translated into the medium of anime. In that context, almost everything that the world includes is reasonable. Fairytales simply are fantastic constructs, and animals that walk and talk belong in that world as much as anything else does. Moreover, it's in the context of a fairytale that Princess Tutu excels. Almost every facet of the show aims to immerse the audience in the fairytale atmosphere. The background art is amazingly beautiful and bears a resemblance to the picturesque illustrations used in children's books. The inclusion of classical music fits the ballet theme and also draws viewers into a bygone era.

The story is the most fascinating piece of the puzzle. Princess Tutu's plot isn't extremely action-driven. There are no power brokers carefully manipulating the economic infrastructure of nations to bring about a secret coup. Nor are there secret martial arts techniques to be learned, or generations-old weapons that have to be found. The story rests firmly on the characters and the exploration of their inner psyches. People often forget this in the modern day, but fairytales used to be dark, sometimes morbid, cautionary tales. They were full of death, loss, and tragedy. Princess Tutu follows that tradition and brings forth a story tinged with loss from the very beginning. Each episode focuses on one emotion, often a painful one caused by a loss, that overtakes and consumes a person. The series continues by demonstrating what effect that has. The characters not only feel the emotions, but they also react to them to overcome them. Often, this leads to destructive overcompensation as the characters seek to protect themselves. Each encounter serves as a specialized character study that examines one small piece of the human psyche taken to the extreme. It's especially interesting because the show doesn't appear to have any villains. Nobody in Princess Tutu bears anybody else malice. Rather, the characters have individual goals and needs that bring them into conflict. It's here, when we see the problems resolved, that the show's maturity is shown in full force. Though Princess Tutu is a magical girl, she doesn't have magical solutions in the way we typically understand them. Princess Tutu's doesn't restore what any of the antagonists have lost. She has the ability to make them accept their loss and move on to a more balanced emotional state, which preserves the characters' loss but still provides a satisfying conclusion. It's a subtle, yet profound, difference.

Anybody looking for a strong character-based story should give Princess Tutu a try, or at the very least consider it. There is very little in terms of violence or other material inappropriate for younger viewers, a strong story, and a lot of on-disc extras. The extras include two audio commentaries, English dub outtakes, short discussions of ballet, and even a collection of video clips showing voice actors as they record lines. Between these extras and the five episodes on the disc, Princess Tutu's first volume is an incredible value for fans.

Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, December 22, 2004)