Anime Meta-Review

       
                 
                 
       

Shamanic Princess

       
                 
                 
 

Index's
Home
Alphabetic
Quality
Genre
People
Recent
By Date

Support
Titles
Sources
History
Glossary
Notes
Misc.

Sites
Australia
Russia

   

Title Info

  • seen: 1-6 of 6
  • type: OAV
  • grade: worthy
  • genre: magic_girl
  • Other elements of this title:
    • This title is a personal favourite.
  • made: unknown
  • Review created: A while ago, i'll revise it eventually.
  • mod: none

This is a very rich and wonderful anime, but it becomes even more interesting in how it pushes the `magical girl' genre to new and ever stranger/stronger levels. The story centers around the theft of a magical relic from the `guardian world'. The powerful, agressive and headstrong Tiara is given the mission of recovering it from the thief, even if she needs to kill him in the process. Of course since this is her ex-romantic partner, and she is not the only person involved, the plot quickly gets more interesting. Indeed the relic itself is not inert and becomes an important factor in the story. That said the true strength of this series is the wonderful atmosphere and world design, from the intricate and serious magic to the european `real' world and the arcadian guardian world. In addition the characters and forces are complex and well represented with their interactions full of tension and unspoken feelings.

The final driver is a good slab of excellently done action, with this magic being very physical, dark, and demanding its own costs from the user. The animation is excellent, rich and sumptuous, the sound is good ( I love the opening track) and the plot is quite complex with good atmosphere and a sense of mystery. Note that the sequence within the series is strange, with EP. 5 and 6 explaining the background to 1-4. Quality stuff in its own right, and a leader in its genre, this is always a safe bet for a re-watch.

There are no good reviews of this title from my regular sources. I guess that automatically makes it an under-appreciated title.

       
                 
                 
       

Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:24 WST 2009