Princess Tutu isn't completely awful

Kim · 06-28-2010, 06:53 PM

So, after seeing a review for it that said it was good, I decided to watch Princess Tutu. To say I was a tad skeptical would be putting it lightly. I'm not a fan of magical girl anime, and Princess Tutu for a name doesn't make it sound like it's going to go above and beyond in any way.

When I say Princess Tutu isn't awful, I hope that statement holds a bit of weight. The concept of characters dancing instead of fighting actually works a lot better in practice than you'd think, and the show uses a lot of classical music. Classical music be rad. I think my favorite part was when the season one villain showed up and Gymnopedie started playing.

The character design for the main villain is kinda ridonkulous and overdone, but I'm willing to be a tad forgiving on the basis that ballet is kinda flashy like that IIRC. The design for Princess Tutu herself as actually semi-decent.

The problem with most magical girl anime is that it's all about collect X amount of Y McGuffin, and this show suffers a bit from that as well. Tutu has to collect the pieces of the Prince's heart so he can feel again. Kinda silly, but on the whole I think I like it because A. It's a more personal motivation for going through with it than "I gotta SAVE THE WORLD" and B. You actually see change brought about with every collection of a heart piece.

The show also has a few things that I kinda dig in general. Princess Tutu actually being a duck. If she tells the Prince she loves him she'll disappear . And the villain's plan in the second season is actually kinda clever. I mean, it's not the Best Plan Ever, and doesn't really stand out as anything special compared to some of the better villain plans I've seen in anime, but it's better than I expected from a show like this.

I'm still not sure if I'd call it particularly good, but I'm still watching it, and I guess that's something. I'll reserve final judgement until I've seen the whole show.

tacticslion · 06-28-2010, 08:14 PM

This is a spoiler free post!

I'm using my internet suck computer for this, so listen up: if you have any possiblity, see the rest of the show (which you seem like you are). The first season wasn't bad, the second season was pretty awesome. Both my wife and I were taken in by this show big time, and while the dubs are somewhat stilted (Princess Tutu has the odd trait of e'nun'ci'at'ing e'ver'y sy'la'ble odd'ly*, Fakir and the Prince need to switch voice actors, a few things like that) over all it's great. We watched it online for free, translated by fans (subtitled) and loved it enough to hunt down and buy the whole thing once we found out that it was available.

Is it perfect? By no means. Is it excellent? Absolutely. And for all the reasons you mentioned.

That's just my (roughly 5,26)2 cents! (or $52.62, USD on Amazon.com**!)

*I recognize this is to make her sound proper. It doesn't. It makes her sound slightly slow in the head. USE CONTRACTIONS! BARRING THAT, USE SHORTER WORDS!
** Actually, $52.63, but whatever. It's close enough!

phil_ · 06-28-2010, 08:57 PM

I started watching Tutu a couple years ago, but I got sidetracked, much like Baccano (they're saved on the same disc, even). Perhaps it is time to revisit it and finish the series.

Either way, the bloopers for the dub are pretty funny.

Kim · 06-29-2010, 06:17 PM

Not sure I'd be willing to pay that much for it, but unless the show really pisses me off in the near future I will be finishing it.

06-28-2010, 06:53 PM	#1
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	Princess Tutu isn't completely awful So, after seeing a review for it that said it was good, I decided to watch Princess Tutu. To say I was a tad skeptical would be putting it lightly. I'm not a fan of magical girl anime, and Princess Tutu for a name doesn't make it sound like it's going to go above and beyond in any way. When I say Princess Tutu isn't awful, I hope that statement holds a bit of weight. The concept of characters dancing instead of fighting actually works a lot better in practice than you'd think, and the show uses a lot of classical music. Classical music be rad. I think my favorite part was when the season one villain showed up and Gymnopedie started playing. The character design for the main villain is kinda ridonkulous and overdone, but I'm willing to be a tad forgiving on the basis that ballet is kinda flashy like that IIRC. The design for Princess Tutu herself as actually semi-decent. The problem with most magical girl anime is that it's all about collect X amount of Y McGuffin, and this show suffers a bit from that as well. Tutu has to collect the pieces of the Prince's heart so he can feel again. Kinda silly, but on the whole I think I like it because A. It's a more personal motivation for going through with it than "I gotta SAVE THE WORLD" and B. You actually see change brought about with every collection of a heart piece. The show also has a few things that I kinda dig in general. Princess Tutu actually being a duck. If she tells the Prince she loves him she'll disappear . And the villain's plan in the second season is actually kinda clever. I mean, it's not the Best Plan Ever, and doesn't really stand out as anything special compared to some of the better villain plans I've seen in anime, but it's better than I expected from a show like this. I'm still not sure if I'd call it particularly good, but I'm still watching it, and I guess that's something. I'll reserve final judgement until I've seen the whole show. __________________ this post is about how to successfully H the Kimmy Last edited by Kim; 06-28-2010 at 06:57 PM.

06-28-2010, 08:14 PM	#2
tacticslion Regulator Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,842	Appreciate! This is a spoiler free post! I'm using my internet suck computer for this, so listen up: if you have any possiblity, see the rest of the show (which you seem like you are). The first season wasn't bad, the second season was pretty awesome. Both my wife and I were taken in by this show big time, and while the dubs are somewhat stilted (Princess Tutu has the odd trait of e'nun'ci'at'ing e'ver'y sy'la'ble odd'ly, Fakir and the Prince need to switch voice actors, a few things like that) over all it's great. We watched it online for free, translated by fans (subtitled) and loved it enough to hunt down and buy the whole thing once we found out that it was available. Is it perfect? By no means. Is it excellent? Absolutely. And for all the reasons you mentioned. That's just my (roughly 5,26)2 cents! (or $52.62, USD on Amazon.com!) I recognize this is to make her sound proper. It doesn't. It makes her sound slightly slow in the head. USE CONTRACTIONS! BARRING THAT, USE SHORTER WORDS! ** Actually, $52.63, but whatever. It's close enough! __________________ Make the best decision ever. I look forward to seeing you there! You should watch this trailer! It's awesome! (The rest of the site's really cool, too!) I have a small announcement to make. And another!

06-28-2010, 08:57 PM	#3
phil_ Just sleeping Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: At home, probably in bed. Posts: 6,482	I started watching Tutu a couple years ago, but I got sidetracked, much like Baccano (they're saved on the same disc, even). Perhaps it is time to revisit it and finish the series. Either way, the bloopers for the dub are pretty funny. __________________ Be T-Rexcellent to each other, tako.

06-29-2010, 06:17 PM	#4
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	Not sure I'd be willing to pay that much for it, but unless the show really pisses me off in the near future I will be finishing it. __________________ this post is about how to successfully H the Kimmy