We open Princess Tutu’s fifteenth episode with an entirely new tale, as our narrator tells us the story of a man who fell in love with a doll. “Perhaps the man’s love made itself felt, for one day, the doll came to life and began to dance.” This transformation thrilled the man, who believed a doll could never betray his love, and that he would now possess the world’s most pure and innocent love all for himself. “But the doll, who had been given life, rejected the man’s love and fell in love with a different man.”
Tag Archives: Princess Tutu
Princess Tutu – Episode 14
With Ahiru having triumphed and Kraehe banished to the darkness below, Princess Tutu’s fourteenth episode opens with another strict recounting of the story so far. Opening with the “once upon a time, there was a man who died” we know so well, the narrator quickly shifts to describing Tutu’s own narrative, as “the prince, who had lost his heart, met a duck in a certain town. Because of her love for the prince, the duck turned into a princess and gathered together the lost shards of his heart. The prince gradually regained his feelings, and at long last, he was able to regain even the feeling of love.” This narration ends on Tutu’s inescapable “did they really have a happy ending,” but on the whole, it’s a relatively straightforward summation of our current narrative.
Princess Tutu – Episode 13
At last, the finale has arrived! With all the key players assembled and committed to their roles, Princess Tutu’s thirteenth episode is a dazzling celebration of both their humanity and Drosselmeyer’s keen eye for storytelling. Heroes will rise, villains will fall, and the tragic inevitability of The Prince and the Raven shall be overcome at last. Having spent long hours fighting for Mytho’s heart and gaining powerful allies along the way, Ahiru will at last be rewarded for her efforts, and claim her princely prize.
Princess Tutu – Episode 12
Princess Tutu’s twelfth opening fable doesn’t require much interpretation to connect it to the show’s narrative: presented as a sort of setting of the stage for the first half finale, it portrays Rue (or Kraehe)’s current actions as bluntly as possible. “Once upon a time, there was a handsome slave. What bound him were not heavy chains, but the princess’s love. Every day, every night, the princess whispers her love to the slave, and the slave responds in kind. Bound body. Bound emotions. The slave or the princess? Which of them is really the one who cannot move?”
Princess Tutu – Episode 11
“Once upon a time, there was a maiden with wings of freedom. The man who loved this maiden thought, ‘if I could just bind those wings, we would never be apart, even for a moment.’ But when the man wrapped the maiden’s wings in a magical shawl, the wings fell off immediately, and the woman died.”
Princess Tutu – Episode 10
The first image of Princess Tutu’s tenth episode evokes all of its theoretical protagonists, displaying Fakir’s sword, Ahiru’s pendant, and Rue’s black slippers and feather all in a row. With each of their fantasy-identity markers scattered on the stairs like that, the narrator’s retelling of the story of Cinderella feels like it could apply to anyone. All three of our heroes don a heroic mantle and new identity in order to reach out to Mytho, and all three struggle at the distance between their fantasy selves and ordinary lives. Sacrificing of themselves and playing unhappy roles and warring with each other over a goal they seemingly share, they are each haunted by the narrator’s final question: “did the prince really love that maiden named Cinderella?”
Princess Tutu – Episode 9
Tutu’s ninth episode opens with another fresh fairy tale, following up on last episode’s Fakir focus by humanizing yet another key member of Tutu’s cast. As we pan away from an image of a scale in the background, our narrator tells us that “once upon a time there was a girl who loved to dance very much. The girl made the mistake of putting on a pair of red shoes that would force her to dance for eternity once they were on. The girl continued to dance day and night. Oh my! This is a different story. But perhaps it is not so different after all…”
Princess Tutu – Episode 8
Princess Tutu’s seventh episode represented a serious break from the show’s initially episodic nature, offering a sequence of revelations that each undercut the simplicity of “Tutu must spend each episode seeking a shard and ultimately returning it to Mytho.” We learned that Drosselmeyer truly has been dead for a long time, and that his goal in setting up this narrative was nothing more lofty than finding a way to amuse himself. We also witnessed the first sequence of actual, meaningful communication between Mytho and Tutu, where Mytho’s initial fear of her ultimately gave way to a genuine desire to see her task completed. And finally, we received direct confirmation that Rue and the raven are at the very least dramatically linked, if not the same person. As Tutu nears the end of its first half, it seems clear that the magical girl template which sustained its early episodes is beginning to fray, and its characters are starting to test their narrative bonds.
Princess Tutu – Episode 7
Princess Tutu’s seventh episode begins with Mytho once again expressing how Ahiru’s actions have made him genuinely afraid of Princess Tutu. A stark profile shot illustrates how Tutu exists within Mytho’s world, an ominous figure with a menacing smile, pressing a heart shard upon him as he fearfully retreats. All stories are artifacts bound by their teller’s perspectives, and from Mytho’s perspective, Tutu is indeed a terrifying presence. Though Ahiru attempts to editorialize, desperate to assert the nobility of Princess Tutu, her words ultimately fade into a helpless quacking. Regardless of her feelings or actions, Ahiru rarely has the power to assert the definitive interpretation of her own narrative.
Princess Tutu – Episode 6
Princess Tutu’s sixth episode opens with a new fable, a story about a princess trapped in an eternal sleep. The story is a familiar one; Sleeping Beauty, the tale of the princess Aurora and her noble savior. But in this version, when a young man arrives to wake Aurora, a voice whispers “awaken the princess from her sleep? What a cruel thing to do. Is the princess not wishing for the kiss of awakening, but rather to continue to sleep forever?”