Anime: Kaibutsu Oujo

I watched this series on the off chance of it being remotely similar to 3x3 Eyes. While I was disappointed in that respect, the series is still nice to watch, if you're looking for something not too demanding.

From the outset, the story had the potential. In the first episode, the main character dies, trying to save a girl, who turns out to be the a monster princess. She revives him, granting him immortality. Any wound will heal itself immediately. The only catch is, that this immortality is not permanent, but has to be recharged by the princess once in a while.

However, throughout the series, the potential of this immortality is used so scarcely, that you could almost remove it altogether without hurting the story in any way. The only purpose his immortality serves, is to explain the immortality of some of the princesses enemies. Mr. main character himself does not often come into a situation, where he would normally have died. In 3x3 Eyes, the immortality theme was used completely differently, the immortal guy would "die" countless times in every chapter.

Apart from the immortality, the story was remotely interesting. A Princess, with an unknown number of more prince/princess siblings, fighting each other over who is to become king. They come from a world of monsters, where vampires, werewolves, zombies, mermaids, androids and other Halloween fairy tale stuff exists.

This outset had potential again, you could expect a lot of twists and turns and fights and development of such a story, but again, this is just not done. Instead, after the 6th episode or so, the whole story gets replaced by a vampire arc, which then drags on for just way too long, especially since that vampire does not have anything to do with the royalty that is fighting each other. So instead of fighting princesses, we get a vampire that is using childish plots, in which he tries to drink the blood of the princess, without much success. After episode 20 or so, this story is again replaced by the original story, and then left unfinished, cause the series ends after episode 24 and the 25th extra episode is just comedy that does not have to do anything with anything (which probably makes it one of the best episodes of the series).

So don't expect a consistent, or serious, story here. All of the things that seem important, are actually just side stories. In the end, this is just your plain old comedy harem story, in a bit of a Halloween setting: Main guy comes to a huge mansion, his sister works as a maid there (big tits, oblivious to anything odd happening around here), the owner of the mansion is said princess (who met, got him killed, and revived our main guy earlier), she has another maid (child android super strong until her power runs out), and as the series progresses more girls come and live in that mansion (or don't live there but want him anyway).

So all in all, it's a big mix, a little bit of everything. While no aspect of the storyline is really done well, the Halloween/Fantasy setting is solid (reoccuring character races, some concept about who is immortal and who isn't, explained well enough etc.), and the characters are well defined enough to make this series a still enjoyable watch.

4 votes... Judging from the lack of ratings, this isn't a popular series, so thanks for reading my review of Kaibutsu Oujo. I enjoyed the series enough to put these thoughts down, and appreciate your honest feedback by votes or comment.

What's it all about? Good question! Monster Princess is really about how enemies can all get along. This is a Madhouse-produced episodic series (original 2006 fantasy/horror manga by creator Mitsunaga Yasunori) with no story arcs, just natural enemies that are introduced, fight, and then actually coexist due to the zen-influence of the titular princess. In the mythology of Kaibutsu Oujo, wolfmen don't get along with vampires, and royal family members are at war with each other, but in Monster Princess, everything (mostly) works out fine. How you get there is the fun, but the end result is, it really doesn't go anywhere. You end up wanting to see some resolution, character development, or plot goal being reached, perhaps like a love interest between Hime and Hiro. In my mind, it's similar to (but inferior to) another similar character concept, Rozen Maiden, with less character development and little story arc development. Dolls can't fall in love with their masters. Princesses can't fall in love with their resurrected servants. It's just not done.


Animation: 8
The animation is strictly 2d a la Madhouse. Some super deformation (SD) is used, but sparingly. No cinematics (lens flare, forced perspective), nothing unusual, so it looks and feels like 90's anime. That usually gets no more than an 8 from me. Facial expressions are mostly flat, no real attempt to create an internal life from the character's eyes, and there was nothing in the animation to move the needle past an 8. I did like the action sequences (and there is a lot of it, as each week involves some kind of risk to Hiro).


Sound: 7  
If you like the op/ed for Rozen Maiden, you'll like this one ("BLOOD QUEEN" by Aki Misato). Opening montage over the main characters is a staple of anime. The seiyuu (Hime is voiced by Ayako Kayasume, Mahoro in Mahoromatic; Fuyuka Oura does Hiro Hiyorimi, and she was Yuu Tobita in Gakuen Alice) are adequate to their characters, though I found Hime's voicings to be somewhat flat (well, it did match the way her character is designes and written as aloof) and there are only so many ways to voice Flander's one word: Fuga. In comparison, Rozen Maiden did a little better job with voicing for a drawn-flat character. The other characters have more variety, but that's because they get more excited. Nothing unusual about the soundstage, it's mostly non-directional, and the sfx and foley work is fine. Nothing unusual and flat voicing means a 7.5 is max here.


Story: 7
 The series is episodic, built around a specific weekly concept, with no real story arcs. Each week there is a moral-to-the-story (as telegraphed by the weekly title), but the characters do not develop much over the series. The main leitmotif is that enemies can co-exist and cooperate, and might be a metaphor for Japan and America or any two countries currently at odds. But because it doesn't go anywhere, it's not really a coherent story, just episodes with cute characters.

Without character development, we have just nice moral points each week which might have metaphorical interpretations to Japanese life, or might not (it's not spelled out). As a story, it will appeal to gradeschool or middle-school children, but adults will want a little more. Nothing more than a 7 here, and it's the weakness of the series.


Character:8
 This is likely the best part of the show: character design and development. The stereotypical harem show (only one main male, Hiro, and as the staple in a harem show, he's weak though good-hearted) with no real romance, just a gothic horror element to tie it together. The show had many possibilites for character development. Unfortunately, the creator didn't use many of them. Hiro never becomes more than sympathetic punching bag (just how many times can he die?), but his character is helplessly moe cute. Hime is so distant and imperial that she fascinates you; you want to know what's going on inside her pretty (but placid) head. She gives the impression of above it all. The other characters (including a distinctly leggy, fan-service vampiress) are entertaining, but somehow don't carry the show.
It's really about the relationship between a REALLY dependent Hiro and his "mistress," Hime. I wanted more, but was entertained by the characters enough to watch the full series. That's an 8 in my book.

Value: 7
 You wonder what they could have done if the book (or manga in this case) had been better. It could have given the seyuu more to do. It could have gone somewhere. It might have given some opportunity for character development. But since the series is well animated, and each episode is entertaining by itself, I'll be generous with a 7.5, though kids might give it an 8. They do seem to be having fun!


Enjoyment: 7+ to 8-  
I did enjoy the series enough to finish watching it, and that's more than some. I actually liked the characters of Hime (princess) and Hiro (Hero?), and in particular wanted to see her develop more, so the frustration of a series that doesn't even "end" well took points off. 8- because of characters and animation, and points off for story or lack thereof.


Conclusion: An enjoyable series that won't tax your mind, and won't tell you much about life. Just fun to watch, and that's why kids watch anime. Show it to the kids, they'll be glued to the tv.