For Spring 2007, Bee-Train came with two new productions: El Cazador and Murder Princess. It was clear that El Cazador would be their main anime, with Murder Princess staying mostly in the backgrounds in the format of a 6-episode-OVA. Still, how did it go?
Well, for starters, the plot isn’t that impressive. The creators went with a fantasy-kingdom, under the attack of supernatural monsters. In the end, some of the superpowers were explained, but the story remains incredibly basic. The bad guys with connections to the main characters have to be beaten, and that’s about it. There are a few plot-holes here and there, the bad guys have rather bad reasons for their actions, and overall it’s not really that good.
The reasons why you’d want to watch this: the good guys and the music. Where the plot falters, the main characters are the ones who manage to save it. They almost never feel annoying, they’ve all got interesting and varying personalities, and the relationship that develops throughout the six episodes between the two main characters is quite charming to watch. I’ve got no real criticism for them, and while they aren’t the best, they were really fun to watch and never even once bored me.
But the real highlight of Murder Princess is the soundtrack that came accompanied with it. Bee-Train always had a knack for soundtracks, and they et again prove this here when the entire soundtrack consists of fast-paced rock and punk-tunes. The music especially shines during the major action-scenes, which would have become horribly dull without the music and addictive characters mentioned above.
While it doesn’t hit any heights, it’s not particularly innovative, nor is it an OVA that will be remembered by many, it’s perfect as light entertainment. If you’re a rock/metal-fan and like fantasy, you should definitely check this one out, because this OVA manages to become both tense, fun to watch and charming.]]>
Murder Princess Review – 76/100
