Is Princess Principal Worth Watching?

I know it’s really early, I haven’t seen many things yet, and other things could surprise me.
But HOT DAMN. BEST SHOW OF SEA--
you know what no I’m not actually going to say that because every
time I do I feel like I’m jinxing myself and there’s a lot that can go wrong here.
When I added Princess Principal to my list
of anticipated anime for this season I really had no idea just how much I would end up enjoying it.
I thought it would just be this cute speciality show with good music and visuals, just enough
to keep me entertained.
But so far, it's a lot than just that.
Princess Principal is a show set in some alternate steampunk Victorian London starring a group
of girls who spend their time during the day in a prim and proper school for young ladies,
but by night gallivant around as spies.
Not the traditional dashing and charismatic James Bond type though that could come in
later, more of the cloak and dagger, action-packed James Bond type.
Complete with cool cars, steampunk tech, and personable characters.
The premise and the setting in this first episode have been masterful.
I have a love for the shows from the early 2000s like Read or Die, both the OVA and TV,
as well as Noir and even recently with last year’s Joker Game.
The deception games that come into play are immensely exciting for me, and even just watching
a character pull of a successful infiltration of a populated building like it was nothing,
just *UGH* so good.
Not only that but I also have a rather large soft spot for Steampunk, I’ve just always
been a fan of its aesthetic.
When it’s used in anime I generally have a good time, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kabaneri
But like in Kabaneri, the aesthetic and the setting on it’s own will not be what will keep the show going.
Characters are going to have to make a strong showing and while our protagonist Ange
does more then I would have expected, as she starts off as emotionally cold and
standoffish, the show quickly makes light of the fact that she’s a compulsive liar.
Comes with the territory of being a spy, but it’s enough of a character quirk that helps
her distinguish herself from being simply called a Rei clone.
We can hope that the rest of the cast gets their time to shine as well.
You know besides just: the getaway driver, the dutiful mom, and the Goemon clone who
cuts stuff while everyone else makes their getaway in a fast moving vehicle.
We do get some time with them, at least one scene per, to show us ehat these girl’s specialities are
which is great.
I can only hope that it will be expanded upon as we go, especially with one
of the title characters.
The show is called Princess Principal, however the actual princess character got far too
little spotlight.
So little we don’t even know if she has a name besides Hime-sama.
So her importance to the story, and why the show is titled the way it is will probably
become really important later on.
What worries me though is just where the story might end up taking us.
Yes, it has a extremely strong start as far as I am concerned but when you take a gander
at the people responsible for the scriptwriting you may forgive me for losing some of my optimism.
Especially when the Kabaneri comparison comes sauntering back into the limelight, as the
series comp was done by none other than Ichiro Okouchi for both projects.
The fact that he helped on the writing for Guilty Crown doesn’t help all that much.
Sure he also has the script for Planetes to his name which stops me from losing all hope,
but I’m still going to continue with a healthy about of pessimism, of which I have boundless
amounts of.
The series thus far is visually stunning baring some clashes with the character designs.
It features some wonderful action, and has great potential with the amount of deception
and intrigue inherent with the kind of story they are trying to tell.
That said what we really have is just a story about cute girls in dangerous situations, and we’ve
already been shown that the series does not shy away from violence.
So with Yuki Kajiura on the music we really could have a Madoka twist upcoming in a few
episodes but we’ll have to see.
Personally I’m hoping for more from the Scarlet Pimpernel vibe I’ve been getting personally but since
I doubt many people know who that is I think that's quite unlikely.
As I alluded to the show is a strong contender for best of season, which just sucks because it’s
behind the Anime Strike paywall.
and I’m not too pleased about that personally.
I’ll still link to it down in the description and watch it if you can.
If you’ve seen the show let me know in the comments what you thought about it, just no
spoilers please.
As usual thank you to my patrons who make these videos possible.
Until next time, ladies, gentlemen and others Stay Frosty!

Is Princess Principal Worth Watching? | First Reaction

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