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R1 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:00 |
 Yucie's apparently endless stream of part-time jobs continues, although this time one of them brings a chance encounter with the boy who may just be her missing prince - although somehow, he doesn't quite fit the image in her memories. Add in the fourth Platinum Princess candidate - a rather uptight girl from the kingdom of the Heavens - and there's a lot for Yucie to deal with...
6 - Could it be Him!? The Encounter Comes Without Notice
Just when it looks like Yucie's going to get first pick off the job board, she's caught sliding down the bannisters by the principal. One long lecture later, and she's once again reduced to having to make do with the last vacancy on offer - looking after the local church for the night. On her own. In the dark. On an ominously rainy night. Just as well that Glenda and Cocoloo turn up to help her out, as a mysterious stranger soon comes knocking at the church door. Meanwhile, Glenda is called away to deal with an urgent problem - a monster has escaped from the Demon World, and Yucie and the stranger soon become its targets...
7 - Oh, Meow? The Demon World is Full of Cats
The principal has a special assignment for Yucie and Glenda - to retrieve a Crystal Flower. The reason's simple enough: you need five crystal flowers to become the Platinum Princess, but the practicalities are a problem. First, it means Yucie and Glenda will have to work together, and second, they'll have to retrieve this crystal flower from the Demon World. You would think the chance to go home would make Glenda a happy princess, but her father's remodelling of the place leaves something to be desired. Worse still, the self-proclaimed Meow the First is roaming the land, turning everyone into cats - and her father doesn't seem to be doing anything about it...
8 - Sparkle, the Me Within Myself
Yucie and her class are working on self-portraits, and as usual the rivarly between Yucie and Glenda leads to a row over who's painting is more worthy of a princess - but their row is interrupted by a voice that seems to be coming from inside Cocoloo. It's Chawoo, her spirit companion who's been hiding patiently away for the past while - but now he's gotten tired of hearing about Glenda and Yucie, and wants to see Cocoloo start to take herself more seriously as a Platinum Princess candidate. When a famous artist visits the school looking for a girl to model for him, Cocoloo finally gets her chance to shine when she's chosen - even though she didn't audition...
9 - Perfection? Enter the Princess of Heaven!
The Princess Academy has a new student: Elmina, Princess of Heaven, and a Platinum Princess candidate to boot. Her arrival's just the thing to get Glenda worked into a frenzy - although Elmina's robotic steward Balizan should make sure Elmina doesn't end up on the wrong end of too much havoc. Her natural grace and elegance soon impresses the other students, too - but it soon becomes apparent that Elmina's having problems adjusting to life in the Human World. Yucie & Glenda have problems of their own, as well - it's the school's Visitor's Day, and they're both having nightmares about what their fathers will be like when they turn up...
10 - Is it Destiny? The Library Reencounter
Cocoloo's latest job is in the Royal Library - a massive place with over one million books, and the most popular of the part-time jobs on offer, so Yucie's very pleased when Cocoloo invites her to help out. The job turns out to be slightly different than they were expecting, though, when along with Glenda they're assigned to tidy up an underground storeroom. Say hello to dust, old books, a very dark room - and Arc, who's chosen the storeroom as his latest hiding place...
Arc's arrival adds a little bit of interest to the story - the job-of-the-week thing was beginning to get just a little tired, but with Arc on one hand and the new quests for the crystal flowers on the other, things are beginning to move a little. It's fairly clear that Arc's arrival is significant - too many people making comments about him for it not to be - but whether he's the missing prince or not is still left up in the air. There's a distinct sense of mystery around these episodes, as you do get the feeling that the Queen knows more about the process of selecting a Platinum Princess, and about Arc, than she's letting on to Yucie and co. Could being Platinum Princess turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing? Arc's certainly curious about just what exactly the Eternal Tiara is, and as you'd expect there are the seeds of a romantic entaglement with Yucie sown - not that she'd admit to that herself, of course.
There's plenty of comedy, too, with episode 7's trip to the Demon World being the best of the stories here as far as bringing a smile to the face goes. Glenda's probably my favourite character in Petite Princess Yucie, so there'll always be bonus points for episodes that heavily feature her, but the cat episode is just so wacky and enjoyable that even a devout Glenda-hater would probably enjoy it.
The final item of note here is the arrival of the fourth Platinum Princess - leaving one more to appear, if the opening credits are anything to go by. Elmina's one of those enigmatic characters who seem to have had all emotion removed by some awkward / unhappy personal circumstances. It seems the King of the Heavens doesn't have much time for dealing with his daughter, or much appreciation for anything other than perfection, so underneath the poise and grace Elmina's one messed-up little girl who's just ripe for some real character development. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.
Overall, then, a good disc that moves the story away from the more standalone, jobbing tales that made up volume 1 and begins to but a little meat on the bones of the story - but not so much that the comedy gets left behind. Petite Princess Yucie is a show that carries a great feel-good factor with it, so that even though it's not really outstanding (yet, anyway), there's plenty to enjoy. Well worth a look.
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