Forum - View topicREVIEW: Princess Tutu DVD 6
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Jadress
 Posts: 808 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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Great review! I couldn't agree more with this assessment. There are a lot of great anime out there, but I love them when they have a fantastic ending, which Tutu definitely has. It's too bad that the series probably has done poorly in sales. I'd love to buy a thinpak of it or whatnot, but the show is probably not a big enough seller to ever get a rerelease. Boo for difficult-to-market-in-America-but-are-awesome titles.
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DKL
 Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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The most impressive aspect of the series for me is the fact that it carries such surprisingly fascinating ideas, yet this is seamlessly integrated into the very storytelling.
To be honest, the first thing I thought of while watching this was Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue (no, I'm serious). I mean the part of it (Perfect Blue) that had the ideas tucked away somewhere into the narrative. ALSO, I like that everything was tied together, but in a way that actually made sense; the ideas and the themes came out more unified thanks to this. For example: the moving gears actually have significance, though, this is not only in the story, but also in theme and idea; I found it pretty imaginative, but also somewhat thought-provoking. ALSO, it seems that Koumoto and Sato are masters of helping the viewer keep track of what a character’s motivation is. This is done, effectively, with the calculated placement of flashbacks, and inner-monologue that is abundant and helps reiterate the current reality for the characters, but is not repetitive. Sato actually does this really well with Kaleido Star too; sure, it’s not an understated approach to storytelling, but I think it kicks ass. Yeah... we should totally open a new thread to discuss the series. OH, and Luci’s “in the studio” segment was essentially just her crying the whole time she was following Jin Ho Chung’s direction in the booth (her face was red and everything); I thought that witnessing this enhanced the experience as whole and put more weight behind the show given that you actually see someone really moved by the experience. All in all, it was a great show and thank god ADV finished it. |
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biliano
Posts: 956 Location: Cleveland, OH |
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I don't believe so. I know that Tutu is one of the most popular titles on the Anime on DVD community (and basically that how I got interested in watching this series), and the English voice actors (as well as the English dub as a whole) won numerous awards as voted by the AoD community and VoxBox. As for a thinpak release, while I believe that ADV will eventually re-release Tutu as a set, I strongly advise to buy the singles, if only to obtain the well-constructed extras that they packaged in the releases. I have all 6 volumes, but I haven't watched the last three DVDs yet so I'm anxious to see how this masterful series ends. That's high on my "to do" list for this weekend. 
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DriftRoot
 Posts: 222 Location: NH |
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I was pulled into Princess TuTu prematurely (it had been on my list of titles to check out) after viewing Hold Me (http://www.silverwolfie.net/main1.htm), a multi award-winning AMV from Anime Boston '06. While the first six episodes or so kind of wavered (was this an episodic, occasionally brilliant series I was watching or someone's ambitious, but off-track attempt to meld high storytelling with preteen entertainment?). Tutu is now, around episode 14, high on my list of favorite anime of all time for all the reasons and more that the reviewer touched upon. Occasionally it reminds me of Now and Then, Here and There, in that it is a really daring project that needs to be experienced to be appreciated.
One thing, though, I've never considered Tutu a magical girl series, not even when I hadn't begun to watch it. First, she's not a girl, she's a duck, and this is a huge part of the storyline. Second, the reason for her "turning" into a magical character isn't inexplicable, shallow, nonsensical or absurdly convenient. Third, she maybe transforms once an episode, if at all, and this is not where the series is focusing; if anything, her non-Tutu time is where all the emphasis is placed (note: the first handful of episodes do follow a magical girl format more closely). Fourth...no one's going to lump Tutu in with Sailor Moon when it comes time to list the classic magical girl series out there. Tutu is (forgive the pun) dancing to different tune.[/url] |
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potassium
 Posts: 102 |
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I've been considering watching this series.
Let's say... if I absolutely hated Air and felt it was one of the biggest wastes of time I ever sat through, would I hate this? |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18507 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Great AMV; I can see why it's won awards. It's pretty heavy on content from the last volume, though, so those who don't want to have some of the surprises ruined might want to wait until after they've watched out the series. The AMV does not give a feel for how the music of the series, which is so critical, plays into its appeal, however.
Nah, it's still solidly a magical girl series despite being as far on the opposite end of the magical girl spectrum from Sailor Moon as, say, Neon Genesis Evangelion is from Godannar in the mecha genre. Though they're shorter, less elaborate, and less frequent than normal, the transformation sequences are still there, as is the core concept of a girl turning into an alter ego with magical powers. (Never mind that she's a duck with a girl alter ego, too.) potassium: Princess Tutu is nothing like Air. That doesn't mean you might not find this one to your liking, either, but they're two utterly different series. Although the series is at its strongest once Princess Krahe comes into the picture around episode 9(?), you'll know by the end of the second episode whether or not you'll like this one. |
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Jadress
Posts: 808 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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Oh I absolutely love the "Hold Me" AMV. I saw it not soon after finishing the series and it nearly made me want to go back and rewatch it all again right away. I wish I could find more AMVs like that one!
Biliano- that is good news to me, then! Yes, perhaps I will just bite the bullet and get the single dvds. Woo. |
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yugofan
Posts: 8 |
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Wait, I'm confused. You're upset that it sells badly but want to buy the thinpack instead of the singles? That's more than a little contradictory. |
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Jadress
Posts: 808 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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Yeah, you got me. What can I say- I'm unemployed and I like to buy the whole series all at once if I can. I know I should just buy the singles and support the show... it's just a question of whether I can afford to or not. ^^; |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Princess Tutu has struggled with low sales numbers. Part of the problem is a disproportionate number of Anime on DVD forumgoers said they would purchase the title when it came out, but a lot of them didn't, or decided to "wait for the thinpak", or came up with some lame reason to not buy it - and this is all in addition to the fact that AoDers who claimed they'd buy the show were an extremely vocal but also very small minority. Remember that giant delay in between vol. 1 and vol. 2? Remember all the different ways they said they'd release vol. 2, first as an ADV.com exclusive, then through other online retailers? They were trying to figure out a way to make the show profitable. This also happened with Kaleido Star and Super Gals. AOD got all enthusiastic about them but they were poor sellers. Don't ever mistake AOD enthusiasm for high sales. |
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DKL
Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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Actually, yeah, AOD is very vocal (well... so is this place, right?), but just because that's so doesn't necessarily equate to awesome sales (which is too bad... but it's the truth)...
I remember hearing a story where one of the AOD members went to a con... he said that he was lucky enough to even find ONE Tutu fan at the thing. But yeah, the commentary on the thing said that they were having trouble moving units, so they had to reverse the cover and use the DARK one to help push the stuff off the shelves (since the original LIGHT covers didn't seem to have mass appeal). OR... it went something like that. ... Talking about that, I really liked the LIGHT cover for volume 6... although, the spines look weird now given that it doesn't match... but man, that was a great cover. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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A certainly enlightening view to a great series, the ending is not one to kill itself also.
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wao
Posts: 224 |
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I find this isn't always true - especially since the first few episodes are more close to the normal 'magical girl' type of setup. To be frank, I kind of hated the show at first. I watched it on a friend's absolutely insistent recommendation and was wondering why the hell I was watching this - since I normally hate mahou shoujo series or cutesy sort of things. And the first few set-ups felt rather cheesy and a bit weak (ESPECIALLY the candle one...). Sure, the settings were nice and the music was great but if the story would continue like this I was going to drop it... ...But it was by the end of the first season I started thinking "hey wait, there's a little more to this, it's actually not too bad". I think if it ended like that it wouldn't have made such a big impression on me, though.... only when the second season kicked in then I was completely bowled over. It's one of the best anime I've watched, especially considering how deceptive it seems at first. The second season pointed out certain things and hinted more strongly at certain themes which made the first season much more enjoyable and meaningful upon a second watching. I couldn't help but go "Oh, so *this* was there... *that's* what it meant!". Of course some people would enjoy it from the start, definitely. But I've told everyone I've recommended it to, to just hang on until the second season starts - although it's quite a number of episodes in - if they don't like the first season. |
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EmperorBrandon
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 2218 Location: Springfield, MO |
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The delay was due to licensing problems (with the packaging), at least that's the reason ADV's reps gave. While magical girl stuff doesn't tend to sell well in general, there's no way to know for sure whether the show was unprofitable for ADV or not. I'm glad the whole series is out now. That delay did have me worried at least. Princess Tutu is really great as far as endings concerned. It has two great endings (one for each chapter). |
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mangaka-chan
 Posts: 283 |
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From what I've seen on LJs and whatnot a lot of fans seems to be hoping for a third season. Donno if that's just a general fan reaction (we always want more don't we?) or if most people who've watched the series honestly think it deserves a continuation since the ending was left kind of open ended. I've read an interview with Ikuko Ito (the creator of PT) where she said she'd like to do a continuation (centered on Fakir and Ahiru no less ) but I really doubt there would be funding for that. Still, I for one wouldn't mind a third season and I would definetly watch it if they made one. 
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