I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t loved stories. I don’t care what kind of story or what media it’s in, I’ll try anything that catches my imagination and as a child, I sometimes even daydreamed myself into stories. But what if the world you lived in and all the actions that took place there really were part of a story, the creation of a single person’s mind? That’s the case in the whimsical anime tale, Princess Tutu.
Ahiru is the unusual heroine of this equally unusual story, a school girl in a town truly fit for a storybook: a cat teaches ballet classes, anteaters, ostriches, and other animals are classmates, and not one of the human inhabitants of this tiny town bats an eye at this. Also in the town is a prince from a story who has lost his heart and lives an emotionless life as a student in this town. This is all the work of a mysterious storyteller believed to be long since dead. As for Ahiru, well, she may seem like a normal girl hanging out with her friends and trying to make it to school on time, but she’s anything but normal; she is actually a duck who has fallen in love with the lost prince and, by the workings of the storyteller, is turned into a girl with the use of a magic pendant (f.y.i. Ahiru means duck in Japanese). Now add the factor that Ahiru can also turn into “Princess Tutu,” a mysterious princess who can find the pieces of the prince’s lost heart, and the tale begins.
I’ve had this anime on my must-watch list for a while now after I heard it praised, but when I first started watching it, I have to say, I wasn’t sure exactly what to think of it. Some of it seemed typical, like a clutzy heroine in love with a popular boy, a jerky yet handsome guy, and a rival in love. It also seemed a little young to me in the first episode or so, what with the whole magical princess ballerina routine and all, yet after the first disc I was intrigued. There is a certain charm about it, like dusting off those old fairy tales that were read to you as a kid (in fact, some of the episodes are roughly based on classic fairy tales). In addition, Princess Tutu may not bend stereotypes quite like Utena, but it seems to go further than the average anime with more than one delightful twist and moments of emotional depth that will keep watchers interested.
Take Ahiru for example. Granted, her story revolves around her love for a guy and, as usual, our spunky heroine has a heart of gold, but I ended up appreciating her inner strength. Some of my favorite moments concerning Ahiru occur toward the later half of the series when she has a male ally (I’m trying to keep this spoiler free). A this point, she’s feeling rather useless in her quest to help the prince (called Mytho) and begins to rely heavily on this ally. However, instead of being reduced to a helpless damsel, Ahiru reevaluates herself and strengthens her resolve, deciding she also has a job equally important to accomplish. Thus, unlike some other magical girl stories I could mention (Tokyo Mew Mew), Ahiru’s role as the hero is not really reversed into damsel in distress. She represents the hope of a group of characters that come to fight against paths assigned to them and find their own way.
Perhaps most interesting from a sociological point of view is the prince. In some ways, Mytho plays a role traditionally given to female characters. For a good portion of the series, he’s a pretty face with a beautiful heart yet little personality to speak of who people can’t help but gather around. Not only that, but he’s completely dependent on the help of others and can do little to nothing to help himself. Unlike female characters that have played this role, Mytho does have the background of being a brave and noble prince who fought evil and lost his heart in the process, but I still thought this was a noteworthy change of roles. He ends up playing more of a traditional role at the end, but remains an interesting character to examine nonetheless.
It may not break stereotypes like Revolutionary Girl Utena, but characters are often more complicated than they initially seem, in a truly surreal and fantastical story that fans can enjoy. Princess Tutu won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those looking for a slightly whacky plot that doesn’t go as one might have expected, it’s worth giving a try. You just might love it!
I will say that this is a title which often appears when I browse other blogs. I’ll have to give it the first two episodes, unless it’s one of those shows which demand more before one can fall in love with it. For example, most people found Claymore boring until episode seven.
I’d say you have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting into after the first 2-4 episodes. Of course, it takes longer for the characters to break out of their roles a bit, but I was significantly intrigued after the first disc.
I heartily recommend Princess Tutu to anyone. The story can really keep you in its clutches and the characters carry it wonderfully. It’s been so long since I watched it that I can’t remember how many episodes it took for me to really get hooked, but I don’t remember being bored at any point. So you’ll probably know fairly quickly if this series is in your taste or not.
If I had to describe this series in one sentence, I’d say “It’s about stories, feelings and ballet, and it’s awesome”.
It’s hard to sum up Princess Tutu, but I’d say your sentence pretty much covers it.
I always heard of Princess Tutu, but I never really bothered to look up what this anime was about. Just knowing that this was made by the same person who did Utena has me intrigued. I always loved Utena as both manga and anime (at least the episodes I managed to watch thus far). After reading your review, I may actually add this to my to-watch list. I also enjoy seeing a reversal in gender roles too.
Oops! Just realized I mixed up the names of the people involved in Utena. Actually, Princess Tutu‘s director is not the director of Utena (I got Ikuko mixed up with Ikuhara), but this anime does have people like Junichi Sato who was involved in Utena. Sorry about that! Anyway, Princess Tutu certainly has elements in it that fans of Utena will appreciate. The reversal in gender roles is definitely one of them (although it’s not as pronounced as in Utena).
Well, I’ve seen it while browsing, but I haven’t really looked into it. From the looks of it, it seems to be rather care-free, and you mentioned its childish nature, but my real concern is, is it funny? I’ve recently gotten very busy with school, and started watching Psycho-Pass, but as entertaining and interesting as the latter is, it doesn’t help at all in taking a load off. And well, Princess Tutu seems to be a very refreshing contrast to daily life, so any extra comedic value would be greatly appreciated. . . .
Oh wow. I’ve heard that Psycho-Pass is kind of dark so, I can see why that’s not helping you relax. Anyway, while I wouldn’t categorize Princess Tutu as a comedy, it does have comedic aspects and I never found it depressing. I think a “refreshing contrast to daily life” is a pretty good way to describe my experience with this series.
I don’t really mind dark themes or anything, it’s just that the series made me think a lot about stress, so I’ve been a bit self-conscious about it. Other than that it’s been amazing, in my opinion at least. It’s definitely one of the more mature titles of 2012, with little to no fan service or major plot holes, and I even like the way they portray the female lead. . . so far (I’m only on episode 10). I strongly recommend it if you have any cerebral, cyberpunk cravings that Ghost In The Shell didn’t satisfy. In any case, thanks a lot, I’ll be sure to watch Princess Tutu afterwards.
Yes! Another fan! >:D
I love this show so much and I agree with everything you say. Ahiru doesn’t truly shine until the latter half and the final episode was so touching and inspirational, I loved it so much! I had no problems getting into it because I’m crazy about magical girl shows. It’s probably my favourite magical girl show to date with CCS in a very close second. :3
I’ve never thought about Mytho as a reversal of the traditional damsel in distress, but now that you point it out, it’s so obvious. Although it’s great that even in a gender reversal, Princess Tutu managed to do something more with his role as the distressed. Often times that’s lacking in most shows that use this scenario. Personally for me, the aspect that most bothers me about damsel in distress scenarios is that they don’t add anything to the female character at all and are solely there to develop the male rescuer. The few times I actually thought the scenario was done well were the times when the scenario was used to develop or add something to the female character in distress.
I also have to say Princess Tutu is one of my favorite magical girls shows. It does a good job of using the genre, but not falling back on stereotypes; rather, it expands beyond stereotypes and cliches.
As for Mytho and the damsel in distress archetype, I like your point about how the anime made even that role go beyond the normal scenario. I would agree that the most annoying thing about that archetype is that it’s so boring and stagnant. Even as a “damsel in distress,” Mytho still was an interesting character.
Princess Tutu is a show that appeals to me not only as a story lover but as a person who loves to write stories as well. Although not an altogether new idea, the concept of fictional characters gaining a life of their own and struggling to shape their own destinies really intrigues me. By the end of this show, I was applauding the triumph of the characters as per norm, but at the same time I felt like a jerk for planning the twists and turns in my own characters’ stories. For me, Princess Tutu confirmed the notion that the best characters are not the ones that you know right off the bat, but the ones that continue to grow and surprise you instead.
I also really liked that piece of Princess Tutu. It’s a fun concept to consider, especially for fiction writers! I think you make a good point about characters. It’s much more enjoyable to see or read about ones that offer something fresh and surprising while growing over the course of the plot, maybe because this makes them seem more real. People we meet in life have a way of surprising us in little or big ways after all and they certainly grow and change.