So, No Birthday Party For Me?

Review: Scrapped Princess
Updated: 7/11/05

Anime/Novels&Manga/Music/Merchandise/Fandom

Reviewed by: Orange Skirt (contributor)

Title rating: PG 13 for the anime, around that for the manga on account of it being shounen, and probably higher for the novels because of the illustrations.

-24 episode anime series (2003), complete, currently being released in English by Bandai
-3 manga volumes (2002-2004), complete?, currently being released in English by Tokyopop
-13 novels (1999-2003), complete, currently being released in English by Tokyopop
-3 Drama CDS, 2 music CDs, 2 Maxi singles

There are three things on the long, long list of anime cliche that annoy seasoned fans to no end: a drawn out, angsty love triangle, useless characters (often involved in said triangle), or some sort of animal mascot. And while there has been the occasional heart-wrenching story of mismatched love or the fuzzy pink salamander everybody loves so damn much, the odds of stumbling upon cliche gems are higher than the clouds, my friend--which brings us to the masterpiece that is Scrapped Princess.

Now, of those three crappy standards, Scrapped Princess's gimmick is that it includes…none of them! (Unless you count little girls as "animal mascots.") In fact, the series breaks new ground by managing to work advanced technology into a story that's set in the Middle Ages. And if that doesn't sound promising enough, it also has a plot that lacks tediousness and predictability, and a male lead voiced by Shin'ichirou Miki. Everybody wins!

Pacifica, our heroine, was brought into the world with a price on her head: on the year of her birth, a prophesy said that of the twins born to the Queen, the baby girl would be "the poison that destroys the world" and would end everything on her 16th birthday. Since God doesn't mess around, and the kingdom wants to avoid that whole mess, the baby girl gets thrown away--literally, into a gorge, while the audience laughs. Despite all odds, she survives and is taken in by the warrior Casull family, then lives with them for the next 15 years in relative peace...that is, until the kingdom finds out she's still alive. Assassins, anyone? Now Pacifica and her remaining family--hot older brother Shannon and hot older sister Raquel--have to travel across the land to avoid the many armed-and-dangerous people who want her very dead. Gee, first God is against her, then her own kingdom jumps on the bandwagon. The girl can't catch a break.

Anime

As the clock ticks closer to Pacifica's birthday, the planet's situation is explained in detail--there's more to the hunt for the dethroned princess than just a prophesy. In a complicated world full of military alliances, religious conviction, and involvement with the powers-that-be, it turns out that a character's personal beliefs can play a large part in shaping the future. The only thing is, someone upstairs decided to keep the planet guessing about the world's destruction. So even while some plan out Pacifica's assassination without question, no one knows for sure if the scrapped princess will really destroy the world or not.

Through all of this, Pacifica is naïve and sheltered by her siblings. Until the world starts falling down around them, Shannon and Raquel are willing to protect her from the masses that want to kill her--and the rest of the world be damned, Shannon and Raquel are the people you want on your side in a holy war. Shannon is a master swordsman, but also a person so frighteningly nonchalant that he can be mistaken as a huge jerk; luckily he'll do anything in his power to please Pacifica, from doing the laundry to fighting off hordes of soldiers. Raquel, on the other hand, is a powerful sorceress in her own right who still manages to stay a pleasant human being. She's the sweetest older sister anyone could ever have--you want to borrow that expensive sweater of hers so you can wear it to a mud party/kegger? Done.

The characterization in this anime is well done for the main cast, even though Pacifica is somewhat stereotypical. She's cheerful, pure-hearted, and all that jazz, but what sets her apart is her strong sense of personal mortality. Your daily dosage of angst comes from Pacifica as she muses over whether the world would have been a better place had she never existed. It adds an interesting dynamic to the show, to be sure, and keeps the lead heroine from falling into the "plot point rather than an actual character" trap.

Since Pacifica, Shannon, and Raquel tend to get the most screen time (being the protagonist and her family and all), a lot of the rest of the very large cast gets short-changed in the personality department. There must be at least 20 characters that are given background stories but are left as undeveloped, faceless members of the military. The assassins fare only slightly better, with one in particular that gets a recurring role. In addition to this, plot elements are sometimes rushed and/or pulled together so quickly that no reaction is given. Looking back, there had to be a downside to this otherwise glowing review.

1985 just called. It would like to formally kick your ass.

The technological element in Scrapped Princess is to be taken with a grain of salt for all you skeptics. The concept itself makes sense in the way it is explained, and the successful execution alone should be worth something, however untraditional the designs. Use of CG during battle scenes also makes for some truly stunning moments. This aspect takes an otherwise standard fantasy tale and turns it into something new and, well, improved.

The animation for this series, done by the much renowned studio BONES, is of course excellent and consistent. And while the characters themselves didn't get slapped with an ugly stick, I'll leave you to read between the lines when I say their clothes are "unique."  What was supposed to be period wear went horribly awry, and I doubt everyone back then went about their day dressed in enormous shoulder armor. In defense, the designs were based on those of the novels, but even the lasses' costumes'--in a heroic display of little fanservice--have huge shoulder armor! While it may make their hips look slimmer, the same can't be said of their hulking silhouettes.

Novels/Manga

Before the story's jump to the small screen, Scrapped Princess was a very popular fantasy/sci-fi novel series written by Sakaki Ichirou (who was also involved in the development of the anime) and illustrated by Yukinobu Azumi (an artist whose previous works have included adult manga--and it shows). Collectively, people seem to agree that there are 13 novels, although only the first 11 should really be considered as such. The 12th novel is the conclusion to the story, called "Scrapped Princess Supplement," and what is referred to as the 13th novel is a reference book called the "Scrapped Princess Super Guide." The books were first released in 1999, and received a second printing by Fujimishobo before the TV series aired to give the show some hype. Having not read them, I can't comment much; the plot is said to go into more detail than the anime, and the illustrations I've seen are pretty in a PG-16 kinda way.


I...don't know what to say.

Also before the anime, a Scrapped Princess manga began to run in Dragon Comics, published by Kadokawa Shoten. There have been 3 volumes released, each containing 6 chapters, and I'm pretty sure that's the final head count. Artist Yabuki Go's style is very different from what came before it, and is very clearly shounen. Shannon and Raquel look younger, and all the characters look very...thick, for lack of a better word. There's quite a lot of violence and blood as well, so I'd rate it at least PG-13. Tokyopop licensed the manga in early 2005 and the first volume hit shelves just a few weeks ago.

Dramas/Music

If I understand this right, the Scrapped Princess anime was partially based on a set of 3 drama CDs, released in 2001 and based on the novels. Each CD is under a half-hour in length, and the seiyuu are different from those who worked on the anime (apparently with the exception of Miki Shin'ichirou, who plays Shannon). Just for reference's sake, the first CD's plot takes place before the first novel.

There are two OSTs for the anime, filled almost completely with background music. Each has an appropriate Celtic/Folk feel, since the show is set in the Middle Ages. The opening theme "Little Wing," done by JAM Project featuring Masami Okui, divides a lot of people: you'll either love it or hate it, and the genre is a big factor in deciding (think country music, but sung by a Japanese woman). The ending theme, the folksy "Daichi no la-li-la" sung by Yoko Ueno and Masumi Ito, unfortunately falls prey to the same dilemma. The songs both grew on me with repeated watchings of the series, even though at the beginning they grated on my nerves like nothing else. But if those songs float your boat, the good news is that the soundtracks probably will, too--I just wouldn't go out of my way to get them.

Merchandise

At the end of the last episode of the series, Raquel became a corporate tool for pimping the special edition Region 2 DVDs and their bonus figurines. (Ed note: Said figurines are some of the most frightening things I've seen in my life.) Surprisingly, ADV chose to do the same with the Region 1 DVDs, and kept the free toys as well as the original box designs. Other than that, I've seen a few pencil boards featuring art from both the anime and manga. There's also a book on the Scrapped Princess TV anime, called "SutePri Premium," which goes over character profiles, episode summaries--the usual.


"I heartily endorse this brand or product."

Fandom

Taking into account that this show hasn't been widely seen yet, I'm not surprised that my search through Google came up with very few English fansites.  Kiss the World Goodbye is a Godsend to anyone who wants to know what's what concerning this show--it easily has the most information in one place about the details of the storyline, and hands out some other useful goodies while you're there. The site is spoiler intensive, though, so don't say I didn't warn you. There's also an informative article about the name origins here (the rest of that site is great for images and character profiles). Unfortunately, I've yet to see any fanfiction or fanworks for the doomed princess and co., but please feel free to get creative and prove me wrong.


It's fun to take things out of context.

Overview

When a show is based on a series of novels, it's no surprise that the plot is amazing. What most people say about Scrapped Princess being one of the best anime titles of 2003 is true, and it's right up there on my list of favorites. For having top-notch art and keeping me interested through every twist and turn, I give Scrapped Princess 4.3 stars out of 5.

Orange Skirt, when not writing excellent (and spell-checked!) reviews for this site, spends her time ruling the land of Sailor Moon icons as Queen. The horrible prophecy of doom regarding her own royal birth has been "exaggerated," suffice to say.

Lianne: I can't comment on the novels (as it would be a conflict of interests), but the Scrapped Princess anime is more than excellent. The manga is weaker on all fronts, but short companion manga aren't generally known for their staying power. Kudos to this series for featuring a complicated, intelligent story with a minimum number of plot holes and an intensely interesting sibling dynamic. 4.25 stars.

Text copyright © Orange Skirt, August 2004. Pictures are copyright © their respective owners and are used without permission for this nonprofit review.