No words
(This review contains
spoilers!)
Well, that was a thing that happened.
Princess
Principal is still the best anime of 2017 that nobody seems to be watching,
and after this episode if for whatever reason you still haven’t checked this
anime out, I don’t know what to say to you. This episode featured some of the
most jaw-dropping moments the show’s delivered yet, as well as the best visual design
in a show packed with awesome visual design and a hell of a twist ending.
It’s Christmas, and that means it’s
time for our girls to meet up with an old acquaintance from spy academy for a
mission. This week’s team consists of Ange, Dorothy and Beatrice, but instead
of the mission (which is over in just a few minutes), this episode decided to
put its focus on the new character, creating a fantastic one-off character that
you quickly find yourself enjoying before the twenty-two minutes are up.
First of all, whoever thought to set
this episode at Christmas is a genius. The warm steampunk colours blend
gorgeously with the grey of the nighttime snowfall, creating a very cozy yet at
the same time cold environment. Kind of sums up the show as a whole, actually.
It’s also nice to see all the fun steampunk-ization of classic Christmas
staples like presents and Christmas trees.
But the real meat and potatoes here is
Ange, Dorothy and the new character, Prefect. The three of them are former
classmates, and how the two interact with Prefect is brilliant. Dorothy is
friendly and uplifting towards her, while Ange just sees it as another mission
and ignores her. They have a great dynamic, and it’s a shame we won’t be seeing
more of the three of them.
But things get messy when it’s
revealed Prefect is a traitor. My one gripe with the entire episode is that it’s
not really revealed exactly how she’s a traitor. They just decide she is at one
point and end up chasing after her. I would’ve liked a bit more background on
what happened to her after she left the academy and why the team needs to take
her out.
Despite that, the last third of the
episode is just plain brilliant. Beatrice provides some of her funniest moments
yet, there’s a big train chase, a fantastic exchange between Ange and Prefect
using some cool spy gadgets, and an incredible yet quiet ending that’s a great
send-off for the character we just met. I won’t spoil how it wraps up, but
trust me when I say it literally made my jaw drop at how much is shown of it
(when you watch the episode you’ll know what “it” is) and it puts the ending to
the Dorothy’s father episode to shame.
And just when you think you’ve recuperated
from that ending, the show throws you yet another
curveball: Ange and Dorothy’s next mission is to assassinate Princess. We don’t
really get to see their reaction, but that final shot of Ange’s face and
knowing what’s come before tells us everything we need to know.
This episode is basically perfect from
every point of view. The characters are fantastic. The visuals are drop-dead
gorgeous. The ending is one of the best in a show packed with amazing endings.
The twists legitimately took me by surprise. It’s everything that I love about Princess Principal in a neat little
package.
FINAL SCORE
10/10
Legendary
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