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Plot Synopsis

No plot synopsis or other information available for Princess Tutu

Story & Characters

Princess Tutu: the infamous masterpiece.

...Or not.

Masterpiece fits perfectly for the well-animated, beautifully soundtracked, rich-in-plot series, although "infamous" is an enormous exaggeration. Since, of course, why would ANYBODY want to watch a series entitled "Princess Tutu"???
The very same thought was running through my head when I saw the back cover of my Newtype two years ago. The princess part was bad enough, but TUTU?
It may be absurd, but that is the name of our main heroine, who lives as an ordinary girl named Ahiru. Well, semi-ordinary - she sometimes changes into a duck. Since she IS a duck!
Ahiru goes to a well-funded school that seems to specialize in ballet. She sucks, but is captivated by Mythos, the beautiful but sad-eyed dancer and his girlfriend, the talented Rue. They all live in a town that turns out to be controlled by Drosselmeyer, a sadistic writer who died years ago. Ahiru is Drosselmeyer's newest creation - a duck who becomes a girl and falls in love with a prince! Ah, what a story. But that's not all - from duck to girl, and from girl to...Princess Tutu! For the prince, Mythos, once fought with a giant monster raven and to destroy that raven, broke his heart into pieces and scattered it around the town. Oh, but still, that is not all. For what does Rue have to do with the monster raven? And what is the role of Mythos's best friend, Fakir, who may hold the answer to all?

Add in various emotional conflicts, Drosselmeyer's mysterious puppet, plot twists (gasp!), and ballet/fairytale elements and you get yourself a masterpiece.

The plot isn't the highlight of the bunch though. The characters of this anime are phenomenal. They are dynamic, emotional, realistic, and three-dimensional. There is the naive but hopeful Ahiru, who yearns to do anything she can to help her beloved prince; the melancholy and emotionless Mythos, who become confused and torn but remains grounded on his belief on saving the helpless; the loyal and dutiful Fakir who seems cynical and nasty at first, but reveals his insecurity of who he is supposed to be, all the while supporting the ones he loves; and finally the beautiful and delicate Rue, who so wants to be loved, more than anything!

As I've said before, it's a masterpiece.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Art

Princess Tutu is actually very well-animated. The proportions are constant and correct, the hairstyles are very unique (but not in an annoying, Dragonball-Z way), and the costume designs are quite beautiful.
I enjoyed how every character's face was different - the eyes were not identical, skin color was considered, and the noses and lips were unique.

And such genius work on the animal characters! The series is different in the way it incorporates animal characters into the plot without making a huge fuss of it. But they preserve the special qualities and make it comical.

The backgrounds were lovely, as well. From underwater to within the forest to inside the sparingly-lighted ballet room, every scene is beautifully backed. Despite the differences, each was constant in its own way, and connected so well! They all related to the scene, the genre, the plot, and the characters.

And the ballet! The dancing scenes are spectacullar - laced with the firey emotions that dance invokes. Each movement is accurate and fitting - every pas de deux is captivating, no matter how many times you see it.

It would be necessary to mention, however, that some of these unique hairstyles get some getting used to. For the longest time I didn't appreciate Fakir and Ahiru's hair (quite the most unique of the bunch!).

Rating

9 (very good)

Sound

This is the very anime that made me find my inner love of classical music. Because of its ballet elements, almost the whole soundtrack is made out of variations of Tchaikowsky's compositions. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would - Princess Tutu is truly a mix of various arts.

Now, with that being said, I didn't enjoy the openings and endings so much. The opening was alright, since the animation to go with it was so amazing, but later on it bored me to no end. The ending had it off worse, because I don't usually watch the ending anyway and the animation consisted of about five pictures.

The voice acting was something I definitely need to get used to. Ahiru's voice is amazingly scratchy - I have no idea how the voice actress managed that - but it's not a very pretty voice. But being unique is one of Princess Tutu's greatest qualities. I admired the way the voice immediately became more elegant with Tutu, and scratchier and more "quacky" when Ahiru turned into a duck.
The rest of the characters were well-fitted to the same degree. I noticed that they sounded a lot more "classic" than the average anime - possibly to fit the plot and soundtrack.

In any case, well done to all the cast.

Rating

8 (good)

Presentation

Some anime start out good, and end badly. Some anime start badly, and become amazing.

Princess Tutu is neither. It's wonderful from the very beginning - and wonderful at the very end. The characters are amazing, the plot is amazing, the art is amazing, the sound is amazing.
Except for the very small faults that I have mentioned above, it is an unbelievably fantastic, enjoyable anime. It's not for kids. It's for people who know how to think, to be intrigued by the countless relationships that each character develops with each other.
It is a lovely medly of music, dance, and art. What else can I say? While I watched this, I laughed, cried, screamed, and got mad. I appplauded the director for the most multi-level and well-wrapped ending I have ever seen for an anime.

Ignore your prejudice of the title. Watch it. You will thank me for this.

Rating

9 (very good)

Final Verdict

9.17 (very good)

Reviewed by Rosegirl18, 40wk 5d ago