Shamanic Princess (1996-1998)
Shamanic Princess (1996-1998)
This is a strange anime OVA (Original Video Anime, or a direct to video anime) series that ran from 1996-1998, with only six episodes made, and the series has a strange chronology to it. Shamanic Princess is a darker twist on the "magic girl" anime, done in a style that is quite reminiscence of CLAMP's work on Magic Knights Rayearth, though it had nothing to do with that anime/manga team.
Shamanic Princess was directed by Mitsuru Hongo and Hiroyuki Nishimura, and created by the Triangle Staff studio. The series was licensed in North America by Central Park Media in 2000, but after they closed the licensing rights were purchased by Media Blasters for North American distribution. The OVA consists of six 30 minute episodes, and can be found as a complete collection with all six episodes on DVD.
I watched the English dialogue version that stars Tara Sands as Tiara a royal priestess from the Guardian World, P.M. Lewis plays Japolo her partner that helps her in her mission and with her magic, David Logan Rankin plays Graham her former partner that we meet in the last two episodes and also learn why he was replaced by Japolo, Suzanne Savoy plays Lena who is another priestess from the Guardian World, Alvaro J. Gonzalez plays Leon who is Lena's partner, Mary Anne Towne plays Sarah who is also a priestess from the Guardian World and is also Tiara's best friend, Crispin Freeman plays Kagetsu who is Sara's brother and also Tiara's love interest, and Tristan Goddard plays the Throne of Yord who is the antagonist of the first four episodes. The English language cast was great and brought their characters to life really well. I feel like the voice actors fit the look and emotion of their characters really well.
I love fantasy/magic animes, especially ones that are kind of dark and not so light and fluffy, though I do like many of those as well. This OVA has elements of the "magic girl" trope but it also has horror elements as well, and the characters have great depth to them, especially as the series continues on. The series also plays out in two parts, the first is the Throne of Yord cycle which comprise the first four episodes, then in the final two episodes without warning the series becomes about the events that led up to the the events of the Throne Of Yord cycle, the shift is so sudden that it is jarring and it took me a bit to figure out what the hell was actually going on at that point. Though there is some confusion in the chronology of the story, the series is quite effective and a lot of fun to watch. I also wanted to point out my appreciation to the fact that there is an element of homoerotica between a few of the characters, which for the 1990s was pretty bold, and well done.
The series does use many popular anime tropes, and has quite a bit of "fan service", but overall it is really a fantastic series. I think anyone who enjoys animes like Magic Knights Rayearth, would find enjoyment in this series, but it also has a darker element to it more like that of like Black Butler. The characters have depth, and as the series goes on you keep peeling back the layers and discovering who these characters really are, which to me is a sign of good writing. The voice actors are great, and the animation is beautiful and clean, though you can definitely tell that it is an anime from the 1990s, but honestly I like that, there is something about the classic animation style that I really adore, I feel like after the mid 2000's there was a shift in animation style and I don't like how the newer stuff looks as much for the most part. This is definitely classic anime, and totally worth checking out. The story has layers and complexity, and it is just really well done.
Whether you are a fan of anime, or maybe it isn't quite your cup o' tea, I still recommend checking out this series. This was one that I was actually not aware of when I found it, but I liked that the art style was similar to that of CLAMP, which is one of my favourite anime/manga teams, so I gave it a chance. I don't know how easy it is to find, I think I read that it was on Crunchyroll if you have a subscription to that streaming service (I don't use any streaming services so I can't say for sure), my self I just randomly found it at a local video media store called Bull Moose in South Portland Maine, you can probably find it online I am sure. Not quite a must-see anime series, but one that definitely is worth your time to watch, especially if you are a fan of dark fantasy stories with magic and battle scenes. I enjoyed it, and will definitely be rewatching it in the future.
Shamanic Princess was directed by Mitsuru Hongo and Hiroyuki Nishimura, and created by the Triangle Staff studio. The series was licensed in North America by Central Park Media in 2000, but after they closed the licensing rights were purchased by Media Blasters for North American distribution. The OVA consists of six 30 minute episodes, and can be found as a complete collection with all six episodes on DVD.
I watched the English dialogue version that stars Tara Sands as Tiara a royal priestess from the Guardian World, P.M. Lewis plays Japolo her partner that helps her in her mission and with her magic, David Logan Rankin plays Graham her former partner that we meet in the last two episodes and also learn why he was replaced by Japolo, Suzanne Savoy plays Lena who is another priestess from the Guardian World, Alvaro J. Gonzalez plays Leon who is Lena's partner, Mary Anne Towne plays Sarah who is also a priestess from the Guardian World and is also Tiara's best friend, Crispin Freeman plays Kagetsu who is Sara's brother and also Tiara's love interest, and Tristan Goddard plays the Throne of Yord who is the antagonist of the first four episodes. The English language cast was great and brought their characters to life really well. I feel like the voice actors fit the look and emotion of their characters really well.
I love fantasy/magic animes, especially ones that are kind of dark and not so light and fluffy, though I do like many of those as well. This OVA has elements of the "magic girl" trope but it also has horror elements as well, and the characters have great depth to them, especially as the series continues on. The series also plays out in two parts, the first is the Throne of Yord cycle which comprise the first four episodes, then in the final two episodes without warning the series becomes about the events that led up to the the events of the Throne Of Yord cycle, the shift is so sudden that it is jarring and it took me a bit to figure out what the hell was actually going on at that point. Though there is some confusion in the chronology of the story, the series is quite effective and a lot of fun to watch. I also wanted to point out my appreciation to the fact that there is an element of homoerotica between a few of the characters, which for the 1990s was pretty bold, and well done.
The series does use many popular anime tropes, and has quite a bit of "fan service", but overall it is really a fantastic series. I think anyone who enjoys animes like Magic Knights Rayearth, would find enjoyment in this series, but it also has a darker element to it more like that of like Black Butler. The characters have depth, and as the series goes on you keep peeling back the layers and discovering who these characters really are, which to me is a sign of good writing. The voice actors are great, and the animation is beautiful and clean, though you can definitely tell that it is an anime from the 1990s, but honestly I like that, there is something about the classic animation style that I really adore, I feel like after the mid 2000's there was a shift in animation style and I don't like how the newer stuff looks as much for the most part. This is definitely classic anime, and totally worth checking out. The story has layers and complexity, and it is just really well done.
Whether you are a fan of anime, or maybe it isn't quite your cup o' tea, I still recommend checking out this series. This was one that I was actually not aware of when I found it, but I liked that the art style was similar to that of CLAMP, which is one of my favourite anime/manga teams, so I gave it a chance. I don't know how easy it is to find, I think I read that it was on Crunchyroll if you have a subscription to that streaming service (I don't use any streaming services so I can't say for sure), my self I just randomly found it at a local video media store called Bull Moose in South Portland Maine, you can probably find it online I am sure. Not quite a must-see anime series, but one that definitely is worth your time to watch, especially if you are a fan of dark fantasy stories with magic and battle scenes. I enjoyed it, and will definitely be rewatching it in the future.
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