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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:518#1552] |
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Princess Tutu has an effective original premise in the blending of ballet and the dark side of fairy tales. Focused around Ahiru's struggles to get back the heart of Mytho as Princess Tutu while unaware of Drosselmeyer's manipulations, the mahou shoujo approach of Princess Tutu is quite different from other titles of the genre I've seen. Rather than having Tutu battle enemies, this title has her dance with other characters to help them figure out the internal conflicts they are facing and to calm down the intensity of their feelings from whichever part of Mytho's heart is influencing them. This approach does make Tutu have a "monster of the day" approach throughout much of the show's first half. At the same time, Tutu's four central characters of Fakir, Mytho, Rue and Ahiru get a good amount of depth and development as I was given enough sense of what they thought of one another from Rue's obsessive love for Mythos to Fakir's obsessive need to protect Mytho from obtaining his heart. There are also enough plot twists in Princess Tutu that maintained my interest in the series which leads to the series becoming increasingly darker as things progress thanks to later developments in the plot that affect the thoughts of the characters and cause them to develop over time, attempting to getting out of the designated roles that Drosselmeyer manipulated for them. In terms of elements, Princess Tutu does well at sticking with its ballet and fairy tale approach. Elements of the fairy tale Drosselmeyer created for the town are present throughout this series where anthropomorphic animal characters and talking puppets blend in with humans without anyone thinking how strange it is. There's also a brief dark fairy tale story told by a narrator at the start of each episode which provides some foreshadowing into the events that you can expect in each episode and the manipulations of Drosselmeyer. Later facts that Fakir learns of his heritage also contribute to the fairy tale approach. The ballet approach is clearly shown through the ballet school that Ahiru and the other characters take part in, as the series shows the rigorous routines and expectations of the profession. It blends with the fairy tale approach to look into themes of love and the overcoming of destiny that are commonplace with the romance genre. Blending with the ballet approach are classical music renditions that do well to flow with the mood of specific scenes seen throughout this series. I went especially giddy when I heard "Night on Bald Mountain" during a scene where Mytho was practicing his dancing during an episode in the second half of the series which shows the internal conflict facing his character at that particular point in the story. Visually, Princess Tutu is not as impressive. While scenery was decently created with enough color and a good amount of detail, character designs were a bit on the simplistic side. Plus for a title that focuses much on ballet, it makes liberal use of still shots during dance sequences with the characters. Visual gripes aside, Princess Tutu is still one of the all-time greats of the magical girl genre. The blending of ballet and fairy tales is a fresh concept rendered quite well with fleshed-out central characters and enough developments in plot to keep you hooked on the series throughout its 26-episode run. Last updated Sunday, August 25 2019. Created Tuesday, November 03 2009. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
 Cedahlia
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[series:518#1520] |
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First off, do not be fooled by the title. Princess Tutu may sound like a corny anime, but it is not. This story actually does have darker elements, and you will notice this as the story progresses. Ahiru (or Duck in the English dub) is, really, a duck. But a supposedly deceased writer gives her a pendant, which allows her to change into a human--which she will remain as long as she does not act like a duck whatsoever. But old habits die hard, and once in a while you will see her quack and transform back into a duck. Then she must run to water to go back to a human. At the same time, the pendant will also enable her to turn into Princess Tutu, a princess from this twisted writer's story. And the story goes like this: There was once a brave and kind prince who fought an evil raven. The war seemed to go on and on, until they both tired of it. The prince finally sealed the raven away, at the price of shattering his heart. And it is up to Princess Tutu to find and return the shards of his heart to him, each shard containing a different emotion such as despair, happiness, and fear. Throughout the story Ahiru encouners people, or animals who take on human characteristics, that have been taken over by that emotion. She will promptly ask them to dance with her, and tell her their problems. The shard will then consent to going back to Mytho's (the prince's) heart. At the same time, this story all takes place in a town seemingly cursed by the story. Ahiru, Mytho, and Mytho's 'protector', who was the knight in the story, whose name is Fakir, attend a ballet academy. Fakir, and a girl named Rue, are close, and for some reason are against Mytho regaining his heart--Fakir not wanting him to suffer, and Rue, not wanting him to change and for him to continue to love her for all time. Her fears are realized when Mytho, as he regains his heart, becomes infatuated with Princess Tutu--who also loves him. But, as the story goes, if Princess Tutu tells the prince her true feelings, "she will turn into a speck of light and vanish". Throughout the anime, there are memorable characters, such as the amorous Mr. Cat (or Neko-sensei), Ahiru's two 'friends' (who delight in seeing her in distress), and others who many times appear for one episode. The story does get darker and darker, and takes on twists and turns. The animation is wonderful to watch, the music is by the beloved Ritsuko Okazaki, not your predictable storyline, and just because it is a 'fairy tale', is definitely not just for kids. I recommend the anime over the manga. Last updated Monday, January 16 2006. Created Monday, January 16 2006. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
 B0nz=Ein
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[series:518#1254] |
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I loved this anime ^^ it came out on Tv and everyday after school i would watch it ^^ i think the character designs and the animation was wonderful. The music is also great so i would give this anime a buy ^^ [89%] B0nz Last updated Tuesday, January 25 2005. Created Tuesday, January 25 2005. | ||||||||
| Rent | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
 Kyou Nao Neko
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[series:518#550] | |
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This seies plays out like a ballet... using Classic Classical songs... the story is beautiful. This series has a lot of romance. There is a lot of comedy, too. The synopis explains everything ^^
Last updated Wednesday, May 28 2003. Created Friday, February 28 2003. | ||||||||
