After a half-dozen episodes of escalating tension and epic climaxes and dramatic board-flipping, I’m almost relieved to announce that Princess Tutu’s sixteenth episode is a very normal episode of Princess Tutu. The aftermath of Ahiru and Fakir’s battle with Kraehe has been largely settled, and the show has established a new episodic mode centered on Kraehe’s efforts to find a sacrifice for her father. This episode embraces that focus while returning to the sturdy, predictable narrative arcs of the show’s first half, arriving at a subtly menacing tone that evokes something like Revolutionary Girl Utena’s black rose arc. “We won, but the substance of our world only continues to fray” is an evocative concept, and Princess Tutu’s second half is happy to embrace that tonal energy.
On the negative side, I’m a little disappointed by how this half’s chosen narrative forces both Rue and Mytho into a sort of character development stasis. Mytho’s evolving emotional complexity was one of the great appeals of Tutu’s first half, and having him be utterly brainwashed makes for a pretty one-note conflict. Instead of the piecemeal and very unique emotional development of his earlier material, he’s now stuck in a binary mode of either brainwashed or not, and there’s not much room for development there. Likewise, Rue’s evolving and satisfying friendship with Ahiru is similarly frozen by this arc, as she’s forced to act as a pure vessel for her father’s wishes. Rue’s position makes sense given her own insecurities, and thematically reflects her narrative captivity, but it’s not terribly satisfying in an “I like this character and want to see them express themselves” sense.
Even this episode’s opening monologue reflects our return to a sort of narrative neutral. Accompanied by the same beautiful picture book imagery as ever, our narrator relates a story of “a girl who loved flowers more than anything. She prayed every day for the whole town to be filled with beautiful flowers.” There’s no clever twist at the end of this story – instead, once her prayer is answered, the story ends on the vaguely melancholy “they say the town that was filled with blossoms of all colors looked gray, somehow.” That’s not a story with a moral – that’s just a series of events that occurred.
You could theoretically spin that narrative into some sort of metaphorical “if everything is happy all the time, happiness loses its luster” message, but Princess Tutu doesn’t really seem invested in that reading. It seems to use this story in a far more straightforward way – this is an episode about a girl who loves flowers, and when she gets the power to carry out that wish, things turn swiftly south. The episode’s title is equally straightforward – “The Maiden’s Prayer” echoes the opening monologue directly, and since it’s the name of a piano composition rather than a play, there’s little narrative baggage attached to it. In basically all respects, this episode’s opening moments prepare us for a truly conventional episode, as the curtain opens on a dark and stormy campus.
Low angles and long shots down corridors present a clear tone of unease as we hone in on Ahiru, fretting as she checks in on her friend Rue. It’s a neat tonal mix that perfectly matches the odd variables of this situation; shots below windows and whatnot generally imply horror, and Rue technically is a horror movie villain, but they’re given a more mournful undertone through Ahiru’s plaintive calls. “Our hero goes to check on her horror movie villain friend and see if she’s okay” is a weirdly charming concept, and leads naturally to Ahiru reflecting on her own melancholy. She doesn’t want to hear that Rue is engaging in nefarious machinations, and she’s tired of all this strife. In a beautiful reflected shot, she quietly tells us that “I don’t want to fight anymore.”
The tone quickly bounces back for the following scene, as Ahiru meets up with Pike and their sadistic blond “friend.” Along with raising the energy after that melancholy opening, this scene also serves as a natural narrative reset, assuring us through their upbeat banter that Pike and Ahiru’s drama has ended. Additionally, it also naturally continues Tutu’s promotion of Fakir as a potential romantic option for Ahiru, once again using Ahiru’s friends to both push stories and voice thoughts that Ahiru and the other characters couldn’t really manage themselves.
Tutu’s clever use of Ahiru’s friends to promote certain dramatic possibilities is actually a constant throughout this episode, and probably deserves a little more notice. While Ahiru herself could only raise the specter of romance with Fakir through quick, aborted “why am I thinking about Fakir?”-style thoughts, her friends are far more actively interested in romance, and far less beholden to any standards of tact. In fact, their very silliness and straightforwardness makes them secretly one of Tutu’s writers’ best tools for promoting certain narrative concepts. While we’ve learned to not take them “seriously,” we’ve also learned to trust them utterly – unlike the narrator, Edel, Drosselmeyer, or any of Tutu’s other storytellers, we’ve come to accept that they are genuinely Ahiru’s mundane, goofy friends. Because of this, they’re actually one of this show’s writers most reliable tools for guiding the viewer’s hand, and today they’re guiding us towards “Ahiru and Fakir should totally hook up.”
Meanwhile, Kraehe’s latest plot is to hold a ballet competition, where the winner gets to dance with Mytho. This is one more transparent plot to steal a noble heart from an innocent girl, and we’re soon introduced to the girl in question: Freya, the girl who loves flowers. With Fakir nowhere to be seen, Ahiru ends up doing her own investigations, discovering both Kraehe’s control over Mytho and her ultimate plans for Freya. And in perhaps the clearest example of this episode’s adherence to Tutu formula, we actually reach that classic “dance with me, Freya” moment by the episode’s halfway point, though Kraehe’s plans aren’t quite foiled yet.
Fortunately, nothing livens up a predictable episode like a friggin’ dance competition. As Ahiru’s classmates compete for Mytho’s affection (and to avoid the dreaded runner-up prize), our heroine meets up with Fakir at last, and is formally introduced to Uzura, the doll made from Edel’s ashes. Uzura’s design, speech affectation, doll nature, and serious bluntness all made me feel oddly suspicious that she was a clear design influence for Yotsugi Ononoki, but for now, her main role seems to be firing up the Ahiru-Fakir romantic tension by constantly forcing transformations out of Ahiru. But Fakir and Ahiru’s relationship doesn’t need any juicing to be compelling – they’re already this show’s most compelling pair of characters, and their relationship feels richer for their every interaction.
At first, Ahiru and Fakir’s conversations here reflect Fakir’s consistent failures as a friend. When asked if he learned anything new about Mytho’s transformation, Fakir lies about the blood-poisoned heart shard, agreeing with Kraehe that this information would only hurt Ahiru. It’s tremendously satisfying to see that in spite of growing in a variety of ways and coming to greatly respect Ahiru, Fakir is still resolutely and sometimes unfortunately himself. Though the object of his protection has changed, Fakir still sees himself as a noble protector, and believes he must take the burdens of other onto himself. Like with Mytho, this decision will likely only hurt both him and his friend, but it’s simultaneously a clear reflection of his concern for Ahiru.
Fortunately, Ahiru isn’t really the kind of friend to bear a grudge. When Fakir and Ahiru head off to save Freya, Kraehe pulls the trick she always intended this information to set up: she reveals the truth to Ahiru herself, simultaneously implying Fakir kept it from her for some nefarious reason. But after songs are sung and dances are danced and Kraehe retreats unhappily to her lair, the resolution to this conflict is as simple and honest as can be. “Are you angry with me because I kept it from you?” “A little.” “I’m sorry.” These heroes are too decent and believe in each other too much for Kraehe’s meddling to tear them apart. Whatever challenge she musters next, I’m sure Ahiru and Fakir will be ready to meet it.
This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.