Hello once again to week 5 of Throwback Thursday with Princess Tutu! I hope everyone is doing well, what with all this Corona Virus business floating around. I’d like to say if the world has you down, a cheerful little magical girl show could fix that. But what Princess Tutu covers this week, focusing in on Fakir and Rue, doesn’t really fit that bill. Still, thanks for reading, and lets jump right in!
Now, I want to talk about the structure of these two episodes, because we are doing something different this week. Instead of going through each episode independently, instead I want to focus on Fakir and Rue. Deep diving into them, who they are, where they where, etc. Because my initial impressions of these episodes were… not necessarily filler, but hardly plot focused. Very little in regards to the greater plot was really advanced. Instead Princess Tutu focused in on these two, for better or worse. I say that because some segments were fantastic, Fakir and Rue getting some growth is well deserved at this point. But there were also some rather dull or outright annoying segments such as the extended marriage jokes. And even if some of these elements tied back in at the end, it made for a less enjoyable experience. So with that done, lets talk about Rue!
The question now becomes, where do we start with Rue? From the beginning Princess Tutu hasn’t really shown her in a positive light. Portraying her as both manipulative and cold to everyone around her, the stereotypical “popular girl”. Yet as the series progressed we came to learn of her love, or controlling obsession rather, for Mytho. Similar to Fakir, she viewed him almost as an object to be owned/controlled, rather than a person. Never truly giving in the relationship, only ever taking. It was actually in this weeks Episode 9, Black Shoes, that Princess Tutu sums it up quite well. Using the Goat and the Cat teachers in the background, “You may need me, but I don’t need you”. Outright telling the audience that Mytho doesn’t love Rue. Not to mention already showed us via his actions with how easily he said he did earlier in the series.
In a way, Mytho was Rue’s only real connection to the rest of the world/cast. As the only times we ever see her, Rue is either alone or with Mytho. Princess Tutu makes it clear that in her skill at dancing, in the school, she is alone. Without even her faceless friend group getting even a single name among them. At least, she was only ever alone until Ahiru popped up. Based on what we have seen we can assume Princess Tutu’s world was in a sort of stasis until Ahiru showed up. With Fakir and Rue fighting over Mytho with no true change. But as Ahiru restored his heart and Rue had to confront possibly losing Mytho, things began to change. One of those of course being her budding friendship with Ahiru. Perhaps her first ever real friendship and what will eventually save her.
I say save because at this point we come to Princess Kraehe, which has become Rue’s darkest self actualized. Just as Tutu is everything Ahiru wishes to be, graceful, beautiful and the object of Mytho’s desire, Kraehe is to Rue but in reverse. Kraehe is Rue’s worst impulses, her manipulation, her obsession. The Crow is drawing out her worst traits because they help him towards its goals. And where Ahiru had help and support, whether from Edel or her friends, Rue has none. This is all important because Princess Tutu clearly shows us that Rue is still in there. As when Mytho rejects Kraehe, she reacts violently. Seemingly with Rue withdrawing even deeper inside, giving Kraehe more control. I don’t believe these are two separate people, just two sides of the same person. What happens when Rue doesn’t care about who she hurts or what she does.
The question here then becomes, what is Rue/Kraehe’s place in Princess Tutu’s story? Clearly its as an antagonist, but is she a reluctant one? A tragic figure to be saved by the end, to live happily ever after with Mytho after Ahiru returns to a duck? Or will she become the Crow in full by the end? Personally, I believe it will be the former. As while the Crows are tempting her, they seem to act independently of her most of the time. The Crow, and by extension Drosselmeyer, only need her to combat Tutu. What I find interesting about all of this though is that Rue is the only other person Drosselmeyer has shown himself to. Similar to Ahiru on the bridge, he came to tempt her, to better create his story. Like everyone else, she is a puppet on the greater Antagonists strings.
Where does that leave Rue now? Well she has quickly become my favorite character in Princess Tutu. As many of you already know, I am a sucker for tragedies. It’s my favorite genre, and I won’t begrudge some good old fashion suffering. But Princess Tutu is also formatted in a way similar to old tales and ballet. And while many of those are tragedies, they are generally focused on the lead, Ahiru. And Princess Tutu has built up time and again that Ahiru cannot tell Mytho how she feels without disappearing. Of course we could get a “fighting fate” narrative, like we will talk about with Fakir. They are literally combating the person writing their story, Drosselmeyer, after all. For me though, that would be almost to happy an ending. At least compared to the bitter sweet finale of a duck sitting in a pond, watching Rue and Mytho together.
Moving on we come to Fakir, who has come a long way from his first introduction. He started as an abusive and over-protective villain, all but shutting Mytho out from the world. And while he still mostly is that, now he also has layers. Showing us that he can be kind, that he does truly care for Mytho, and values his protective nature. That he has become what he is because of a twisted sense of love and fear of a seemingly set fate. A lot of this was touched on in Episode 9, similar to Rue, with the Goat and Cat teachers. Talking in the background about how they are “different people, with different interests” and they are “changing”. In a way its like a long metaphor for growing up, as friends change around you, just presented fantastically. With Mytho being the one doing the changing.
Just as episode 9 focused on Rue, so did episode 10 Cinderella focus on Fakir. And while he had gotten his moments before, this one really re contextualized his relationship with the Prince. Showing us that as Fakir has grown up, Mytho has remained unchanged. How Mytho retained his instincts to help people, but none of the care or emotions to really process it all. In a word, Mytho was even more of a child than Fakir was. Meanwhile Fakir himself was raised from a young age on stories on Mytho. About how he was the Knight reborn, meant to protect him. It’s easy to see how Fakir could end up as he did, specifically with Mytho, even if it isn’t agreeable. However none of it would work I think without what these two episodes brought to the table. Namely, his loyalty.
What I mean is, it’s very easy for Princess Tutu to tell us Fakir truly cares for Mytho. It’s another thing entirely to show us. And while his early attempts were misguided, it is here we see that its real. Princess Tutu shows us a Fakir that is willing to follow the Prince’s decision. He doesn’t like it, he would prefer Mytho just break his heart again. But if its the decision he has made, he is willing to follow it to the grisly end. Even when such an end, for him, is foretold to supposedly be death. He is abrasive and rude to anyone who threatens Mytho, such as when he chastised Tutu for not striking down Kraehe. He is brutal in his response to those who cross him. But he is also loyal and steadfast, unsure how to show his feelings, only that they are true.
I am probably romanticizing it a bit in my presentation, to be honest. I don’t think anyone should seek to be like Fakir, as he has a myriad of problems. However I do think it would be unfair to only ever criticize him for his faults. Never calling to attention his positive traits, his kindness to weak creatures, his devotion to his friend. In a way, he is like the opposite of Rue perhaps. She started in a positive light, but as we learned more, she showed herself to be possessive and manipulative. Meanwhile Fakir started negatively, and is showing himself to be loyal and kind, just hiding it from most. It makes me think that all the characters will actually end Princess Tutu the opposite of how they started. Ahiru ending in tragedy, Mytho with his emotions, etc. However it goes though, I think they are pretty good.
The last thing worth talking about this week is actually the heart shards themselves. You see, I wasn’t a fan of them, and actually thought they were handled clumsily. For all that their theme connected to the characters stories, devotion and regret etc, their presentation was… odd. As if Malen and Karon’s heart shards were included for the sake of having a heart shard, rather than it making sense that they were there in the first place. In a way, I think Princess Tutu actually tried to do to much in these episodes. I would have preferred we focus entirely on Rue and Fakir, rather than that and attempting to progress Mytho/Ahiru as well. Overall, I still love the core of these episodes. But they could have been better, smoother, and closed out a bit less awkwardly.
All in all, Princess Tutu did a good job this week. It wasn’t perfect, the heart shard segments were less than great. But overall I really enjoyed focusing in on two of Princess Tutu’s other leads. Seeing Rue’s fall or Fakir’s rise has made me excited for where the story is to go. Of what is to come. As at only 10 episodes in, we still have the Crow and Drosselmeyer himself to confront. Fakir has figured out who Tutu is and it’s only a matter of time until he figures out Kraehe. Were this a 1 cour show I would say we are gearing up for a finale, yet Princess Tutu is only half-way done. I can only hope that the 2nd half is as good as this first half has been.
