Princess Tutu

Princess Tutu

Original Creator: Ikuku Ito

Production by: GANSIS

Adapted into a manga
OAVs: none
Seasons: two
Movies: none
Live Action: none
Extras: There are three bonus episodes at the end of the series. "Neko-sensei's lesson of love" and two eps that are basically a summary of the anime.

Genre: comedy, drama, story book, ballet, magical girl/henshin.
Number of Episodes: 26 or 38 (eps 14-25 are divided into two parts. making 38 eps but 26 Acts)

ANN's Plot Summary: "13-year-old ballet student Ahiru is clumsy, good-hearted and sweet... and has a big secret. The mysterious Drosselmayer morphed a young duck into a girl to give her a mission: help a Prince to get the parts of his heart back. With that in mind, she morphs into Princess Tutu, whose magical dances ease the pain and purifies the bad feelings."

My Ranking: 6 hoshi! (extremely rare)
My Rating: PG
in my opinion there really isn't anything objectionable in it. though I doubt its content could be understood by just anyone. also there is some swearing and partial nudity but barley any of the latter and its not bad.

Review: I'll just say it out strait; this anime is a work of art. It's truly beautiful. Just the thought of a ballet-themed anime sounded interesting to me, but it is so so much more than that. Yes the ballet part is exquisite. There are actual songs from different ballets in the soundtrack which give a very magical atmosphere. Also, if you look closely you can see references in everything, from the specific dances, to when the characters are fighting in ballet positions. It adds to the beauty and intensity of all the dramatic scenes. But, as I said, while ballet is a primary and outstanding theme in the series, it is not the only thing that gives it its magic.

The main theme of Princess T. isn't truly revealed until later in the series. Everything, though, revolves around stories. At the beginning of each episode you are told a story with the famous "once upon a time..." opening. If you pay close attention it will make sense by the end of the episode. As in old storybooks, the main character is named only by what she is. (Ahiru=duck). Princess T. really makes you remember all those wonderful old stories from back when you believed in fairy tales, and allows you to look at them with a deeper insight.

One thing I noticed my second time through about this series is that its like a castle. Depending on what levels you have access to, the more you get out of your visit. When watching the anime, if you have knowledge of ballet you'll probably get allot more of the references. Same thing goes for the story stuff. If you are a literary type of person (like myself) you'll be able to connect more with what the characters are going through and all the little interpretations embedded in the plot.

Don't worry though. Princess T. isn't just a beautiful drama. It actually is also a comedy. You won't get drained on intensities while you have Ahiru as your spunky little ducky of a main character. Also, how can ballet not be amusing when you have a cat as your sensei who sometimes comes across as a pedophile. (haha. I kid) Its all good here.
Anyway, I really do love this series. I laughed, I swooned, I sighed. It's a beautiful story and a work of art.

Comparison: The manga came out about a year after the anime and is only two volumes long. I have not read it nor do I really want to but I did do my homework for this one. The manga has the basic same story but more or less focuses more on the ballet theme and leaves out mostly all of the story stuff. So in general I think you can classify it as almost a completely separate series from the anime since its so different in perspective.
Both the anime and the manga have been licensed by ADV films. I do not recommend the dub at all. Believe me. The sub is so much cuter. The anime was subbed by Hikari no Kiseki and A.F.K.

Sample Vid: This is the amv that i believe got Princess Tutu its fanbase. This amv made it popular. It is really really good and makes you want to watch it. Its true there are some spoilers in it but they don't hurt. I personally watched this amv before the series and I didn't enjoy it any less. Again, this amv is awesome. Its one of my all time favorites.