tiara
Tiara from Shamanic Princess (hair by Alfons Mucha)

Anime princesses

Elf Princess Rane

 Two episodes on one disc

Go Takarada, the hyperactive adolescent son of archaeologists away on a dig, searches madly for treasure in his home town. The Yumenokata Foundation plans to turn the town into an amusement park, while the fire department, which is better-equipped than some countries' armies, keeps watch on the foundation. Rane, an elf about a foot tall, pops into Go's world on a quest of her own. There's a problem, though: she and Go don't understand each other. When she looks earnestly at Go and tells him about the treasure of the "four hearts" that she seeks, Go hears bizarre non-sequiturs: "A taxi runs in my tummy delivering sheets with that look."
The keynote of Elf Princess Rane is nonsense. One character speaks in such an elaborate, convoluted style that no one can understand him; the subtitlers didn't even try to translate his lines but daetsni tsuj delleps modnar sesarhp sdrawkcab. When the characters do speak intelligible Japanese, they're apt to jabber at each other frantically and simultaneously. The subtitled version of Elf Princess Rane is an exercise in speed reading.
There actually is a plot that can be followed, and the two episodes do lay the groundwork for a full-length series. There's an ensemble of varied characters, not all of whom are lunatics, including meganekko Mari, who wishes Go would pay attention to her, the brilliant and incomprehensible Zenshuin, whose blue anime hair keeps flopping in his face, Leen, Rane's absent-minded enemy, and Go's multitude of red-haired sisters. However, that series was never made. These two episodes are all that exists of Elf Princess Rane.
But is it funny? It depends on your tolerance of sheer silliness. I'd rate it as better than Dragon Half but not as good as the better episodes of Excel Saga.
There's quite a bit of nudity in Elf Princess Rane, which precludes letting children watch it, but otherwise there's little that's objectionable.
Rane was directed by Akitaro Daichi, who later worked on Fruits Basket and Kodomo No Omocha (or Kodocha, or Child's Toy). The latter is said to join the lunatic energy of Rane to a more substantial story, and there's a lot more than just two episodes. Kodocha is scheduled for release in the USA beginning this summer (2005), and it might be worth a viewing.

tutu2

Princess Tutu

Volume I: Märchen

In an old city where fairy tales are real, a prince once fought an evil raven. He defeated the raven, but in the process his heart was shattered and the shards scattered through the city.
Duck is an elementary ballet student. She really is a duck, transformed into a girl by a magical pendant. If she behaves like a duck, she reverts to her avian form until she can find water to transform her back. She is occasionally capable of a further transformation into Princess Tutu, a magically skillful ballerina. Duck is strongly drawn to an older dancer, Mytho, a pale, passive and affectless young man. He's a good dancer, but he's missing something; perhaps his heart has been shattered?
Duck's school is a bit different from most ballet schools. The ballet master is a giant cat, and the class pianist is an enormous bird. One of duck's fellow students is an anteater. As a bird transformed into a girl, Duck is relatively normal.
I'm not exactly an expert on "magical girl" animes, but even so I'm sure that Princess Tutu is one of the most distinctive. Tutu doesn't fight her antagonists; instead, she dances with them and persuades them to part with their shards of Mytho's heart, which she then returns to Mytho. Each shard restores his capacity to feel a particular emotion.
As someone interested in both ballet and anime, I wish I could recommend Princess Tutu. Unfortunately, I found the first three episodes tedious and the characters too bizarre to take seriously. The fourth episode surprised me, though. It was based on "Giselle," and it worked. (I was not entirely surprised when reading the credits to find that Chiaki J. Konaka wrote that script; act two of "Giselle" is the sort of story that would resonate with him.) The fifth episode also was good. I'm going to withhold judgement on Princess Tutu until I see more, and that may not be until next year.
There isn't as much dancing as I had hoped, but what's there is generally accurately balletic. The animators did their homework. The DVD case recommends Princess Tutu for ages 14 and up, but I imagine any youngster who's advanced to pre-pointe or the equivalent can handle it.

tiara

Shamanic Princess

 Six episodes on one disc

If appearance were all that mattered, Shamanic Princess would be one of the greats. It looks like animated art nouveau, with lots of flowers and elaborate, swirling hair. The protagonist, Tiara, is quite an eyeful, both in her normal state (top) and transformed (above). Unfortunately, little details like plot, character and logic also matter, and I can't recommend Shamanic Princess.
The "Throne of Yord," a powerful magical entity/artifact/whatever that looks like a Thomas Kinkade painting, has been stolen from the "Guardian World" of magic-users and is now hidden in a town in central Europe. Tiara's task is to return it to the Guardian World. This involves a lot of magical battles with some of her former friends. I never really quite knew what was going on, and after a while I didn't care. Eventually something is resolved at the end of the fourth episode, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me.
And then the story begins. Really. For no good reason, the episodes of Shamanic Princess are not in chronological order. The last two episodes take place on the Guardian World and supply some background that might have made the other four episodes more intelligible. If you do watch Shamanic Princess, I suggest starting with the last two episodes -- though the only reason I can think of to watch it is for the eye candy.

miyu

Vampire Princess Miyu (OVA)

 Four episodes on two discs

Miyu is thirteen years old. She's been thirteen for years. Although she's a vampire with the usual need for liquid refreshment, sunlight doesn't affect her. Nor do crucifixes, and holy water is a treat. She has a task: returning the "shinma," powerful demons that prey on humans, back to their underworld. In this she is assisted by Larva, a shinma bound to her service. Himiko, a Tokyo spiritualist, tries to stop Miyu, but she finds herself way out of her depth. Over the course of the four episodes she gradually learns Miyu's story, and a little bit about herself as well.
Vampire Princess Miyu, based on a manga by Narumi Kakinouchi, is quietly, slowly and very effectively creepy. Most of the standard horror movie cliches are absent: there are no rivers of blood, no dungeons, no scary organ music, no furious thunderstorms at midnight. Instead, Kakinouchi and company find horror in such things as a young man sitting quietly in the park on a pleasant day.
Miyu dates from 1988 and has aged well. The characters and settings are well-designed and well-drawn. Miyu's asymmetrical hairstyle is subtly unsettling in the way that Lain Iwakura's would be a decade later. There's not much action, but the scenes in which Miyu battles the shinma are adquately animated. The music, by Kenji Kawai, is generally wistful and sad rather than blatantly creepy, but the cool timbres of FM synths keep the atmosphere chilly.
Vampire Princess Miyu requires a few reservations -- a crucifix is crushed to powder at one point, and some scenes are set in what looks like a Catholic church -- but given that this is a vampire story, there is little that is seriously objectionable for anyone high school age or older. I also have a few problems with logic here and there -- exactly who hired Himiko in the first episode? Nevertheless, the series' virtues outweigh the problems. The second episode, "A Banquet of Marionettes," is particularly effective, and it belongs in any program of creepy entertainment.
There is also a Miyu television series, but it apparently isn't as good as the OVA. I don't plan to watch it.

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Text copyright © 2005 by Don McClane