After the First: 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 prestigious 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

Following the first episode a very solid introduction to the characters and their roles was given and the espionage element of the story was much improved. The fact that they were able to mix an old era setting with nearly cutting edge weaponry/technology such as guns that don’t seem like guns make for a rather clever design. The overall art style of the series has shown so far a rather interesting detail focus and backgrounds that almost look like paintings.

As for the characters of the series, the establishment of their characteristics and their stories was a highly interesting point to follow and the interactions that they have with one another makes for a rather interesting dynamic. The fact that the story doesn’t follow a general flow makes it come off as something like puzzle pieces needed to be put together once the story is done.

Overall the series shows a high promise in it’s mystery, technological play and character dynamics. From the mysterious connections of the characters to the cloak and dagger moments involving the high powers of the community, it’s like a book that you don’t want to put down.

The Bad

The main issue that can be said so far is in the fact that the series may have revealed their cards a little early for some points and made certain scenes rather heavy handed. For example, in the second episode we have the handmaiden/friend of the princess vehemently protesting against the alliance of the princess and the spies, and at first she simply comes off as a somewhat generic overly loyal character with a set mindset. But then in the next scene we get a tragic backstory so it comes off as rather… off to say the least.

From what has been shown in the series so far, there is little negative to note other than the occasional nitpick such as the artwork and such and the general layout of the story and characters.

Conclusion

This is an espionage series with a high promise of action and mystery with interesting characters to tie things together. There are some slight off points that could be considered wit early past reveals but the rest of the story may smooth things out. There are many interesting concepts to also be found with the story from the technology to the society’s system.But at the same time, there are some rather cliche points to the story as well. Simply put we have an interesting tale with relatively good art and animation with great action sequences and a solid mystery to tie things together.

Rating: 7.5/10