Quack! quack quack quack!

[larryhammer]

While watching the climax of Princess Tutu's first season ("chapter of the egg"), we realized that Duck really needs to be looking for the Clue Shard.

For those who haven't met Tutu, it's firmly in the magic girl genre of anime: a ballet student named Duck turns into the ballerina fairy Princess Tutu to restore the scattered fragments of the Prince's heart -- said Prince being an affectless student at Duck's school, and each shard being an emotion. But there's interesting complications. For one, Duck is not a girl, but a duck turned into a girl to help the Prince. For another, the Prince is a character from a fairy tale, and he shattered his heart to trap the villainous Raven, at the moment when the author died and his characters escaped the story. Or sort of died -- the author's still around, turning ducks into schoolgirls to complete the frozen story. And the cherry of angsty goodness: if Princess Tutu ever confesses her love to the Prince she will, as happened in the tale, turn into a spark of light and vanish.

With two scoops of stories reflecting various classic ballets, dribbled with shoujo slapstick syrup and crunchies of relationship angst, that's a recipe for something Yum. Also, something very charming.

That was a surprisingly upbeat season finale -- I was prepared to spend a second season searching for where Kraehe buried the Love Shard. Or alternatively, to have Duck the duck in love with Fakir (seduced by his tasty pastry) while Duck the schoolgirl crushes on Mytho and Tutu wordlessly loves the Prince. Though that would have taken a leetle bit more set-up in the previous couple episodes. (Besides, is the world really ready for poly shoujo stories?)

Kraehe in skimpy black ballerinawear is the sort of boom anime babe that, in the words of Barenaked Ladies, make me think the wrong things. I so need a "slutty princess ballerinas are sexy" icon. At least Fakir in torn black ninjaknightwear is almost as hot.

I have to say, I'm really digging an anime that uses classical music this well, playing off both the music and its context. Not to mention playing with so many levels of narrative and identity.

Comments

[nugirlontheblok.livejournal.com]

As I said to janni, I haven't ever gotten into anime- but after both your posts about it I might give it a try- sounds interesting!

[larryhammer]

If you're new to anime, be prepared to take four or five episodes for some of the genre conventions to settle into their grooves. Until then, it can be hard to tell what's supposed to surreal and what's how things are done.

---L.

[nugirlontheblok.livejournal.com]

What would you recommend to start with?

[janni.livejournal.com]

I've watched minimal anime myself, actually--unless you count all those Battle of the Planets episodes I watched in the 80s. (Still fun, those, but also pretty awful, if you don't have a sentimental fondness for them.)

I think Princess Tutu may be as good an intro as any--I watched Utena before this, which I really liked, but which I think might be a harder way in. Before that--just scattered episodes of Pokemon and Cardcaptors and the like.

Maybe someone with more anime experience would have better ideas.

[nugirlontheblok.livejournal.com]

Ok- well I'll try and get hold of that anyway, as it sounds interesting from your posts about it.