Ballet Witch

The hero this school deserves

Princess Tutu is back, and with a slight break from usual as we have a Shakesperian episode! My knowledge of A Midsummer Night's Dream isn't all that good, but it still made an interesting shakeup with a different form of theatre. And, interesting, with another ballet student this time, just to make things even more confusing!

I could probably talk in great detail about the connections to the play, but my lack of knowledge is gonna show through in record time, so instead, well, let's talk about the episode itself. Bottom herself, or Hermia as she would probably prefer to be called, was a pretty cool character. Her ability at reading others emotions because she always found herself in the background was a nice touch, and helped flesh her out in quite a realistic way, and the way she chose to apply this skill, despite her own percieved limitations, really set her apart. Probably one of my favourite one episode characters, for all the right reasons (as opposed to some other favourites, like Femio), and that's saying a lot. She really deserved the, perhaps unexpected, end her story got.

As for the rest of the episode, there was quite a lot going on. We learn, from Drosselmeyer himself no less, that all of Mytho's heart shards that were hidden in other hearts have been returned to him, but there are still other pieces left. Mytho himself is more conflicted than ever as a result of this (or, specifically, his pride returning to him), and is taking it out on Rue. It's actually quite interesting. Between this, Kraehe, and Fakir's actions towards Mytho at the start of the series, we've seen some genuinely nasty sides to all of the main cast (barring, of course, Ahiru). It's a brave choice, particularly in the genre, but I should probably hold off talking about how it pays off until we see more, of course (it might be a rewatch, but it's always worth refreshing the memory). On top of that, there was a nice romance thread throughout, and also some comedy. It thankfully averts some of the expected results of a misunderstanding in a romcom you (or more accuratly, I) was bracing for, and the confusion over ballet poses between Hermia and Cat-Sensei was very comical.

That guy yelling at people to be quiet in the library is back again. The most important role in the series, that.

Boo!

Yes, we are still watching Princess Tutu! It's been a while, wow. In today's episode, a mysterious, and unfinished play appears, but soon the ghost knight it centres on appears in the town!

That's right, not only is the border between fiction and reality breaking again, but we've also started recovering shards of the Prince's heart again, relegating the villains we've expected to see to bit parts today.

I'm not sure if this is one of the more memorable episodes of the show, but it does make an interesting break from the past few episodes, with Rue and Mytho's quest for sacrifices taking second place to regaining a heart shard (remember those things?). We also trade the traditional ballet class scene for one involving the theatre club.

There's... probably more I can write about it, but I'm a bit exhausted just now - I should stop leaving these posts so late. I'm sure there'll be plenty more to write about next time!

The showdown we've all been waiting for

Princess Tutu rewatch is continuing, and I'm bringing the good news to Livejournal!

Apparently.

The Pique-Ahiru rivalry from last episode has calmed down, and we have a new crisis to face, as Rue has been injured, and can't take her place in the grand performance to mark the end of the school Fine Arts Week. There's gonna be a competition, and the lucky winner gets to dance with Mytho in Rue's place! Everyone's absolutely thrilled by this, except for Pique, who's back on Team Fakir, Lillie, who's in it for the drama, and Ahiru, who's utterly confused.

Except, as always, all is not as it seems, as it's revealed Rue was only faking her injury, and the winner of the competition is going to be sacrificed for the crow-father! Will Princess Tutu be able to save the flower-loving Freya from Mytho? Tune in next time, same tutu-time, same tutu-channel!

This show cutting it's second season into half episodes is kinda confusing as well.

As part of our anime viewing, we've also watched some of Gochuumon, the rabbit coffee anime,'s second season, which has been out for a couple years now but we never claimed to be with the times. Interestingly, the episode we saw today also involved ballet and a school Fine Art festival, which was a weird coincidence. Today coffee-based slice of life, tomorrow all anime shall be ballet based!