princess tutu rooocckkkzz soo muucchh!!
^.~ mytho ish minnee!!
Princess Tutu tv Review
Once upon a time, a storyteller named Drosselmeyer wrote about mythological creatures. However, as a result of his untimely death, one of those stories remained unfinished and two of the characters, the Raven and the Prince, broke free and escaped to the realm of reality to continue their battle.
Enter Ahiru, a small duck who falls in love with Mytho after seeing him dancing near her pond one day. Heartbroken because she can't reach him, she wishes to become human. Upon hearing this, the spirit of Drosselmeyer himself intervenes and transforms her into a human girl, motivating this through "personal entertainment". There are certain inconveniences, but Ahiru remains determined to reach her goal -- which is made even more difficult with the appearance of two adversaries! And just what is the connection between the four of them and Drosselmeyer's tale?
Synopsis: pandemonium91
Story & Characters
Ahiru is a duck. It is her name, and it is her original species. She doesn't remember how or why, but now she's a human-- a human that can further transform into Princess Tutu-- and in love with a prince who literally walked out of the pages of a storybook. The prince has lost his heart-- used it to seal away a monster raven-- and Ahiru decides to get it back from him. But it's not an easy task, considering that she's constantly reverting back to duck-form, and that her classmates Rue (beautiful and the school prima donna) and Fakir (the prince's jerk of a roomate) are against it. And what does Drosselmeyer, the dead author who wrote the book the prince came out of, have to do with all this?
The story is outstanding; though you may think you know what to expect, the series always manages to surprise you with what's coming up next. Princess Tutu is, at first sight, typical shoujo fare with a girl transforming into a ballerina-princess. But unto the very end it'll keep on surprising you.
Admitedly there's a point in the second half of the series where there's a sort of slump and the episodes become repetitive. But the initial 13 episodes are amazing-- an absolute whirlwind of events-- and once the repetitive episodes in the second half are over, it picks up the former pace.
Whimsical in places, funny in others, often morose, and overall disturbing.
Rating:
Art
This series was almost ten years in the making, and it shows, especially in the art.
For one, the backgrounds are an odd blend of realistic and fairy-tale-ish. It looks as if it were pulled straight out of a child's book, and no wonder; all the locations are based on places in Europe, the birth ground for fairy tales. If you go to the series' website, they have photos demonstrating where several of the locations in the anime was based on.
As for the characters, they use bright and bold colors. Each character has their own sort of color theme; Ahiru is orange, Tutu is pink, Mytho light-blue/white, and so on. A lot of thought went into each character's outfits, and though some of you may inspire you to scream at the horror, it's always appropriate to the character.
It's beautiful. All of it.
Rating:
Sound
You could say the series cheated by using the classics; there is little original music. Rather, they use themes from classical ballets, like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The selections are perfect, and raises the series to a higher level. Further, each episode is dedicated to a famous ballet (or, in a couple of cases, opera). Music is absolutely essential to the series.
Even the original music is good (though, of course, it can't compare to the classics). Ritsuko Okazaki wrote the lulling and soothing openning and ending.
Rating:
Presentation
One more issue I have with the series is that it doesn't have a high rewatchability value. I think twice is the most you can really get out of the series. Once, for the initial OOOMPH!, and twice, to pick up the extra details and to appreciate the construction of the story. That aside, there aren't really any hidden layers or issues. This isn't the Simpson's, which is designed to reward the viewer who watches an episode multiple times.
That said, do watch! Here are some extra reasons: random animals wearing tutus (including an ant-eater), shounen-ai hints, shoujo-ai hints, lots of heterosexuality for those who don't appreciate anything else, weird creepy old men wearing with gigantic lizards on their cloacks, princes without pants, and puppets everywhere!
Oh, and because I know everyone appreciates humor: it's funny. Trust me. I've watched an audience of dozens laugh their heads off. There's slapstick, irony, verbal play, and sheer cute-funny.
If I had so summarize the series with a word, it'd be: hopeful. Luckily, I don't!
This series may not be for everyone, but I think everyone could find something to appreciate. I've had some of my most intensely anti-shoujo friends be amazed at Princess Tutu. Try it out. You'd be surprised; even the series with the crappiest name in the world can be good. I know I was. It's now my favorite.
Rating:
Final Verdict
9.3333 (very good)
Reviewed by bellaboo, Nov 20, 2004
Comments
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shyxsakura Retired Moderator Nov 22, 2004
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mezzed Nov 23, 2004
princess tutu does rock!!...if you call mytho then i call my fakir...^_^
*he's cooler than mytho* XD -
AmethystCitrine Nov 25, 2004
Haha it really does have a crappy name, doesn't it? Well, I downloaded the first episode and loved it.... but I dunno where to really download the series! I have a bittorrent program, but I only have the website suprnova.org ARe there any other places, especially to get Princess Tutu? I'd love you forever and beyond. ;D - Amy.
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walkure245 Nov 30, 2004
Yup, I like the first season of Princess Tutu. It was very cute and had funny scenes where she kept changing from human to duck in front of Fakir. ^_^ Also, I love Fakir! But, I don't really care for Season 2 all that much.
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juanicths Dec 30, 2004
just started watching this series and i think it is really amazing!! pretty neat idea to blend in stuff related to ballet
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bayumi Mar 04, 2005
hm... the series just ended here....
it was shows on saturday's and i always rushed to go home (extra clases) .
yape...don't wanna missed it. Its so cool and cute . Or should i say im amaze by the sory line. :) -
ayaki Jun 08, 2005
i am currently watching this show..and i absolutely love it!!~
yes..the title does sound crappy..but the story is just amazing!~
it just makes u wanna keep watching it until the end.... @_@
and Ahiru is sooo cute!~ :) -
blusirius Oct 27, 2005
Thanks for this review. I've been wondering what Princess Tutu is and its potential. Kind of been interested in watching but i never got a good push to do so.
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nainoi Oct 06, 2009
excellent point!
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back07 Sep 24, 2012
thanks for the nice review
:)
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