I am continuing to salvage content from my previous, now-defunct blog. This is a lightly edited version of a post that originally appeared over there: I am not entirely happy with it and may revisit this title at some point in the future, but in any case, this is my review as it presently stands.
Princess Tutu, directed by Shogo Koumoto. Starring Nanae Kato, Noboru Mitani, and Takahiro Sakurai. Story by Ikuko Itoh. Hal Film Maker (–). DVDs produced by AEsir Holdings. 26 episodes of 25 minutes (approximately ). Rated TV-14.
After I got an Amazon gift card for Christmas, I thought to myself that I could use it to buy some edifying, uplifting literature, or I could use it to acquire more brain-rotting magical-girl junk. It’s no mystery which choice I made, and I have no regrets: I picked up a complete DVD set of Princess Tutu, which I knew by rumor and reputation but had not previously seen.
The first time I heard of Princess Tutu, the tale of a clumsy girl who receives the power to transform into a magical ballerina, I assumed it was a saccharine, fluffy, and disposable story on a par with something like Lilpri. I would have been cool with it if that were the case—since I’m totally into that—but in fact, my assumption was entirely incorrect because it is so good. This is easily one of the best anime series I have ever seen. It is the best magical girl series I have ever seen. This is an anime that rises, at least at times, to the level of high art.