https://i.ur.com/3FLGVWx.png How many times can a magical girl save the world? And how many times can she fail? How many powers can there be to learn how many people can she save? The answer to all too many and a question that Shamanic Princess begs not to solve but to add in a lightning panflash of a moment doneinsixepisodes nobake OriginalVideoAnimation from the 90s https://i.ur.com/xv05XKY.png See Shamanic Princess does what Im a sucker for starting in media res smack dab in the center of it all and expanding outward from there. Dont get me wrong theres a charm in overlong explanations of powers because when they finally delve into the depths of battle it makes it all the more satisfying even as theyre naming out attacks from the you dont quite know what they do stills But your Hunter X Hunters and Jojoses are very different than Shamanic Princess. It has these spiritual familiar partnerlike beings that you get the gist of and thats all you gotta know. The gist https://i.ur.com/r6kgdHN.png Its surprising then at how much depth Shamanic gets intoif not with its explicit text with its atmosphere the manual nature of it all the rugged rigamarole of dressing yourself up in a suit to save the world and knowing youre the only one that can save it. Something about magical girls in this mundanity these painted almost liminal spaces no liminal indeed because outside of school theres no one to occupy the spaces these characters are left in this bleak barren world that only they belong to that no one else can enter and its a confusing one at that. The Hell is the Throne of Whatever? Whats the true evil threatening the life of an old friend? In rifts of neverending school drama when it comes down to brass tax whos good and whos evil? 300https://i.ur.com/tAtpOCb.png 300https://i.ur.com/zllf5F7.png 300https://i.ur.com/vjkpJxi.png 300https://i.ur.com/v3HVeYN.png https://i.ur.com/HexicEt.png Im making the show sound more desperate than it is. Be warned It contains thick slices of 90s cheese: from a talking ferret recalling CLAMPs Cardcaptor Sakura? to formfitting latex and Devilman transformations this shows exactly what it seems to be in those ways But equally is it in so many not So surprising is the storytelling flipping between odd tranquil intermezzos that if confusing riddle the plot with more complications it just becomes this massive conglomerate bursting at the seams with ideas spells expressions and tonal intricacies that you couldnt get out of anything but a 90s OVA Ramped up drama funny lines and slick storytelling combine into one helluva package.that ends on the fourth episode. The OVA has six total. https://i.ur.com/XMRFpfF.png What follows is this two episode sojourn an odd dissection of itself a unnecessary explanation of how things came to be but an intriguing one a footnote in the grander narrative that not only adds to the weight of it all before but makes it weighty in the moment. Be it ritual dances old partners shattered masks or beams of light Shamanic Princess takes stride in its lengthened runtime and expands the world far beyond its original horizons. https://i.ur.com/pkesLmo.png Dont get me wrong the product wouldve been fine ASISthis classic supernatural blitzkrieg into a world gone dark a rescue for a kidnapped soul full of twists and turns yet devoid of further context. But its with that extra bit of context that fluffs Shamanic Princess out into an entrancing entity. Gone are the flickering city lights theyre brushed away with softly bouncing tree leaves centuriesold monasteries and snappy summer wind. https://i.ur.com/Fm4LevH.png The denotation of seasons physically transporting us before the storm before the fall before it all went down the simpler times. The characters talk as we remember them sure but its all layered in a sense of naivety. They arent who we know them to be yet. Tiara struggles to gain her footing in her magical studies cranking through a dripping inferiority complex you can almost see from her overdevotion to studies and neglect of her partners. The rivaltobe Lenas got the same chiding tone as ever but shes not so heartbreaking something made her that cutting ice queen. Love interest pretty boy Kagetsu is scattered away in his own mind scrambling all over the place to recover the sister hes already lost. Everyones tripping over themselves and its these events here that we see thatll lead to the plot we know now. https://i.ur.com/nDvMnW6.png Steep it all in this unforgiving magical world and it gets messy real quick. From diabolical underworld plots to kidnappings and trite drama Im utterly taken by just how much is packed into each of these thirtyminute chunks. By the end of Shamanic Princess were back where we begun but it feels like weve been around the world. By ending where we start it creates this loop this cycle this feeling that here we go again the characters are bound to this path shackled to this destiny. Born to lose and damned if they dont try anyway. https://i.ur.com/TdmkZqd.png Everyone in Shamanic Princess is utterly horrible at casting magic. Everyone in Shamanic Princess is utterly horrible at communication everyone is horrible with context clues theyre nonintelligent dips that fall into something larger than themselves. And thats okay and its funny and its all just exactly how magic would be if real people got their hands on the stuff https://i.ur.com/yg7pb73.png I think its easy to get lost in painting superficial niceties we all want to be the best versions of ourselves. These superheroes these illustrious idols weve cooked up in our minds to be the peak of the self. Never though are there focuses on the process the journey. Shamanic Princess is one of the few that shows its characters making these mistakes messing up spells letting toxic relationships fester ignoring blatant issues and to hell with the world because I just feel a little lost right now our protag Tiaras so so good at that last part. Everyones a damned wishywashy dramatic mess. https://i.ur.com/8D3fYmw.png Its all sloppy and no Shakespeare but the spirit oh the spirit The overwhelming sincerity behind every zipper snap hair tuck and scream slams into this video conglomeration of a kids sketchbook a world all encompassing that reaches far beyond itself promising a world so huge and so abrasive that the less than perfected scratches arent flaws theyre a feature. Theres something so sweet in something so slapdash so heartonthesleeve and thats Shamanic Princess. Complete creativity in a six episode box. https://i.ur.com/QbdLB0R.png