Overview

Let's take the time to tell a little fairy tale, shall we? Once upon a time, there was a little castle in a little country, which was under attack by an evil scientist with two cute, pint-sized robots. The country's princess was able to escape, though, and went running away into the forest at the insistence of her guardians. The princess ran as hard as she could, until she came upon something wicked in the forest, but a hero arrived just in time to save her... or she would have, if the princess hadn't panicked and stumbled, knocking them both off a cliff. The end. Well, almost, anyway, because it wouldn't be much of a series if Murder Princess had ended in the first fifteen minutes.

Review

With a name like 'Murder Princess,' how could I have NOT picked it up when I saw it go past in my RSS feeder? This series came out at the same time as Kaibutsu Oujo - 'Monster Princess,' and I picked them both up. Unlike the latter, Murder Princess is an OVA series of six episodes. It tells the tale of Princess Anita Forland and the bounty hunter Falis, who meet when Anita stumbles and knocks them both off a cliff. You'd think that that would have been a rather short relationship, but the fall causes a rare, and unexpected effect - with the near-death jarring their souls loose, they swap bodies. The troubles are only just beginning for our friends, though, as the monster that was chasing Anita jumps down from the cliff too.

That kicks off a rather interesting little storyline, built on the trials and tribulations as Anita convinces Falis to temporarily take her place until her brother returns, in order to hold the country together. Of course, before she can do that, they have to take the castle back, but no problem there... see, Falis is actually one of the most powerful and feared bounty hunters in the known world - and proves it, too, by utterly decimating the monster.

The two lead characters, on the surface, couldn't be much more different if they'd tried to be, which is, I suppose, to be expected when you're swapping bodies. Anita is a quiet, gentle girl with remarkably strong convictions - Actually, she and Belldandy could probably swap notes on inner strength. Falis, on the other hand, is brash, rude, unladylike, stubborn, and remarkably practical... sort of like Conan, only more talkative and with breasts. The two discover, though, that they have more in common than they would have expected as events pan out. In addition to Anita and Falis, there's also Falis's companions, Pete and Dominikov. Pete looks like Frankenstein if he wanted to be a DJ, and suits the role of 'gentle giant' in every way. Dominikov looks like a child in a skeleton costume, but has a considerably greater knowledge about things in the world than one would expect. Also in the cast are Professor Akamashi and his robot servants Ana and Yuna, who attack the castle at the beginning of the series.

If I have any one issue with the storyline, it's that they maybe played up the love storyline between Anita and Falis a bit too much at the beginning. They hedged on it for a good deal of the humor that is found in the first two episodes, and then turned it more into a driving force for episode three. I think that they'd have been better off taking the thread a bit more seriously, given that as of the fifth episode it's more or less become the main plot line in the series. Don't get me wrong - overall I like the execution of the story. I just think that they could have used the budding relationship less for comedy, maybe made a bit better use of the other aspects of the body swap for humor instead.

The animation has been superb, as expected from most any OVA series. It's really remarkable just how much of a difference a full budget being devoted to only six episodes, rather than twenty-six, can make, even in this age of computer generated animation. Action scenes are smooth and flawless, with motions fluid and well choreographed. I'm enjoying the character designs too, which are both unique and - in the case of Pete, Dominikov, and Dr. Akamashi - intentionally cliche. Bravo to the animators on this one. Outfits are varied and interesting, if a little basic at times. The anime is a bit bloody at times, and the animators weren't afraid to send it spurting.

I've been liking what I'm hearing on the voice acting side of things too. The characters are well into their roles, and they're having fun with them. That's important, I think, and it's something I've observed in other series. If a voice actor isn't having fun with their role, the net result is a performance that is just missing something. It's not always immediately obvious, but it is there - or not there, I should say. Falis's VA has been especially good with varying her voice between speaking for herself, and speaking as the princess. The series music has been kicking it too, with a great opening and ending theme to enjoy. Great job all around there.

Overall

I want to see the manga of this series, I think. The anime is great, and I'd really like to see the material that they've been drawing on. By all means, this is a series worth taking a look at if you like good action and good story. Those that don't appreciate lesbian leanings will want to avoid the series, however. For the more open-minded, however, there's a lot to enjoy, with a story that combines some good humor and preparation with a storyline that blossoms late in the third episode, and looks to be coming to a good, strong finish. Go ahead and watch it... I mean, really, how can you resist a series named 'Murder Princess?!'