Princess Tutu 9/10

I've always had a problem with the portrayal of faerie tales in North America. Most of these adaptations are done by Disney and something never felt quite right about them. As I got older I realized that what was wrong was that Disney had changed a lot of these stories to make them kinder and gentler. This means the happy ending becomes a given and the movie has to rely on song and dance numbers to keep the audience entertained. The uncertainty of the ending is what makes the ending worth waiting for. Princess Tutu is a faerie tale done right.

Princess Tutu aired back in 2002-2003 and ran 26 episodes though episodes 14-24 were aired as separate 15 minute episodes rather than full half-hour ones so there are really 38. First off, this show has the best soundtrack ever. Of course this is because the score consists of bits and pieces from symphonies, ballets, and operas. These selections are made on a per episode basis and are somewhat related to the plot (or so the commentaries tell me). Along with a great OP and ED this score is terrific. The character designs are of a style I really like and the backgrounds and animation are top notch throughout with a lot of care taken to depict the fluid movement of the ballet dancing. I also liked the JP VAs and there must be special mention made for the JP VA for the main lead, Duck. Being as she's a duck turned into a girl her VA does an amazing job with a very "ducky" voice. To be honest the English VA also does an admirable job.

Once upon a time a man died. This man was writing a story about a prince who fought a great raven. With the man's death, the prince and the raven escaped the story.
This is where Princess Tutu picks up and we're introduced to Duck. A little yellow duck who has fallen in love with the prince, who dances sadly at the pond that she calls home. She is approached by Drosselmeyer, the dead author of the story, who explains to her that the prince shattered his heart in order to seal away the raven and offers to make Duck human so that she can help the prince regain it. Of course there is one condition, should Duck confess her love to the prince she will turn into a speck of light and vanish.

Duck starts attending the local art school in a small European style walled town were she takes ballet along with the prince Mythos, his guardian/knight Fakir, and the girl who also loves Mythos, Rue. Duck finds heart shards inside people who are affected by the emotion the shard represents and transforms into Princess Tutu who, with her dancing, has the power to help. The prince falls for his beautiful saviour, much to Rue's annoyance, but Duck herself is clumsy and awkward and has to keep her secret.

This show starts off as an "enemy of the week" type but as more and more is revealed about the nature of the world in which the characters live and more about the past of the characters is explained the show changes into something truly exceptional. Rue is really Kraehe, the daughter of the raven and is trying to seduce the prince and Fakir is destined to die to protect Mythos.

The show becomes less about heart shards and more about the characters trying to break the ties of fate laid out by Drosselmeyer in his writing of the story. It's very funny at times but has a dramatic element that's very impressive considering where it started from.

The only thing I didn't like about this show was how the epilogue felt a little rushed though I really liked the ending overall. Very highly recommended.