First Episode Impression: Princess Principal

Synopsis

This is a world where a place known as the kingdom of Albion where the east and the west have been separated by a wall in 19th century London. Within the pretisgious academy of Queens May Fair School, five high school girls are actually spies and with special abilities take on a variety of missions.

The Good

A key point to a good impression of the story is how it is executed and for the most part the episode did quite well in that aspect. Brief but concise in exposition, high flying action and well done mystery that surprises the viewer leave many check points for the episode. When the opening comes in it’s a little surprise that it is in fact in English but at the same time it suits the theme of the anime very well. The art style and animation are also positive points with both the simplicity of the characters and the near realism of the background mixing well together it brings out the fluidity of the animation in action scenes.

The Bad

For one thing, the cloak and dagger moments of the episodes seem rather rushed at certain points and so if the viewer doesn’t read between the lines and keep attention to details they ay just miss the connecting points of the mystery. With the art, while the slight realism/painting like quality of the background makes it unique to the series it also seems somewhat off at certain points when the characters are placed against them.Then there is the villain of the series which could have honestly been done better, especially in features and mannerisms. In a show of espionage and mystery, a more subtle villain would have easily worked out better or depending on how exaggerated he was could be a slight comedy point like in many spy works.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a piece with great high flying action, cute girls taking action and some good mystery mixed in then this is the series for you. The art and animation style has a unique touch to it but if looked closely in certain scenes seems a bit off. The plot and mystery of the story is something that adds spice but if you can’t read certain parts properly you may miss something. Overall, great art and animation but could have done slightly better on the cloak and dagger moments.

Rating: 8.5/10