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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | Stretch | # | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): A nice boy finds himself a zombie (a polite and courteous one) serving a strange woman who wields a chainsaw--what's not to like? Furthermore, he lives with a mansion full of cute and sexy women--except one is a werewolf, another is a vampire, and a third is an android! Now you've got an idea of what to expect from Kaibutsu Oujo. The series gets off to a slow start; having rewatched episode one after watching the series in it's entirety, this is clear. It's as if the makers were learning as they went, and hadn't yet gotten into their stride. The first time I watched episode one, I asked myself "is Monster Princess comedy or serious?". My guess was the former, but the answer was distinctly unclear. The premise as a whole is amusing and interesting, but there seemed to be few actual jokes. Another thing I noticed was that not a lot of yen were alloted to animating the fight scenes. Having watched a few more episodes I realized that yes, Monster Princess is definitely a comedy, though the level of humor is uneven. It gets pretty damn funny at times--I loved episode four, in which Oujo gets kidnapped by some sort of Creatures from the Black Lagoon. I found myself saying "This is so whacked" to myself--a sure sign of a fun show. Episode 14 was another winner, being a bizarre mix of the Tale of the Headless Horseman, motorcycle racing and baseball--the climax cracked me up. Episode 15 is good, too, as three of Hiro's classmates learn that he's staying in a mansion full of fabulous babes. Flandre and Francesca are almost always good for a laugh. Then there's number 17, which involves a witch who fears she's developing wrinkles on her face. I have to hand it to Monster Princess for it's outlandish and bizarre sense of horror-humor. Even the ED sequence is a riot, if you watch carefully. On the other hand, some episodes are decidely lackluster; no particularly good jokes, and no particular surprises within the plotline--I find myself wishing they would hurry up and end. I wonder if different staffs worked on different episodes, since the quality varies considerably. At times I can't help wondering if what we have here is a great premise for a show which could have been put to (slightly) better use. But for all it's problems, Monster Princess averages out as a fun show which I seriously look forward to watching. The strange premise and odd characters work together to make this show addictive. As it nears it's end, things seem to get more serious, as evidenced by Hime-sama's fight with three immortal werewolves--the way that worked out was a little disturbing. And, when it's all over, I get the all too common feeling that this was another series based on an incomplete manga. The next-to-last episode might have made a better conclusion since it seemed to conclude a sort of serious plot arc whereas the last one was little more than silly (not that there's anything wrong with that). At least concluding the series in this manner leaves the door open for a second season, which I'd be delighted to watch. Hime-sama herself is the star of the show, with her sharp wit and completely dignified, unemotional personality. Though the individual episodes of Kaibutsu Oujo are sometimes rough around the edges, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Thinking about the absurd premise and the trademark banter between the characters makes me grin, and I would really like to know how the story as a whole turns out. I've devoted a ridiculous amount of time and effort to perfecting my ideal Kaibutsu Oujo disc, with every single episode playable on my DVD player--it just goes to show what charm this show has. I'm guessing that half of all KO viewers would say I'm a fool and the other half would think what I've done was only common sense. A second season would be a godsend. My favorite line: "The madness was average, though" --Reiri Check out Hime-sama's montage at Kendo Girl Scrapbook! Last updated Thursday, July 03 2008. Created Wednesday, April 25 2007. | ||||||||
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| Unevaluated | Jan-Chan | # | ||||||
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(The first episode is available as a fansub.) The Japanese title for this is Kaibutsu Oujo or 怪物王女. The manga title for this series is Princess Resurrection. The fansub title for this series is Monster Princess. Ok, let us just agree that this is a bit confusing. Based on a manga series, currently R1-licensed by Del Rey. Not to be confused with Murder Princess. Last updated Thursday, April 19 2007. Created Friday, April 13 2007. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Language Series Web Site | http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/kaibutsu/ |
| WIKI posting for series | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibutsu_Oujo |
| Del Rey manga release (English) | http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345496645 |
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