Princess Tutu (プリンセスチュチュ) is an anime TV-series based on and around ballet and the art of storytelling and fairy tales, particularly those of a Germanic origin. The series ran from August 16, 2002 to June 28, 2003 on Kids Station in Japan for 38 episodes (13 half-hour episodes and 26 15-minute episodes which were later combined on DVD for a total of 26 episodes). It has also been broadcast across Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and other regions, by the anime television network, Animax. The series was created by Ito Ikuko, and a manga version illustrated by Shinonome Mizuo ran in Champion RED Comics. The opening and ending themes, "Morning Grace" and "Even Though My Love Is So Small", were composed by the late Ritsuko Okazaki. The television series and two-volume manga are licensed by ADV Films for US release.
In many ways, Princess Tutu can be categorized as a typical shōjoanime. The main character, Arima Ahiru ("ahiru" means "duck" in Japanese), gains a special brooch that allows her to sense when something is amiss, and turn into Princess Tutu to handle the situation. As typical with other shōjo series, the chapters and episodes for the most part follow a distinct pattern, in which the main character transforms into Princess Tutu and saves the day with her dancing.
However, although the anime appears to be a magical girl show, it is actually more a fairy tale and meta-fairy tale, which adds a twist to the formal structure. It draws together many disparate elements of myth, fairy tale, ballet, and opera. The series borrows most notably the The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, including much of the background music, and the name Drosselmeyer (derived from the Nutcracker). Like many fairy tales, it's rich in wordplay, with names and terms are assign different layers of meaning, often across multiple languages (particularly English, German, and Italian). The soundtrack is classical and romantic, and episodes are often named for their most prominently featured ballet movements. While Princess Tutu is in many ways a typical shōjo title, it also remains one of the few anime series that does not pander to a stereotypical portrayal of any kind of character, good or evil. The heroine blends the traits of a true hero and an ordinary person. The major female antagonist defies genre categorizing; being simultaneously villainous, sympathetic, tragic and heroic.
We learn before even the theme song starts for the first time, of a man named Drosselmeyer. Drosselmeyer wrote stories, and was in the process of writing a new story when he died, thus locking the prince and the raven of the tale in eternal battle. Growing tired of this, the raven broke from the story and the prince soon followed to seal him away - but to do so, he sacrificed his own heart by shattering it with a sword. Drosselmeyer, however, is not quite as dead as he would seem. When he sees a duck watching this sad heartless prince dancing on the water, he decides to let the story unfold on its own and grants the duck's wish to help the prince. To do so, he transforms the duck into a girl named Ahiru.
To be able to help the prince, Drosselmeyer makes Ahiru into a student at the ballet school the prince attends. Ahiru remembers seeing a handsome prince dance on the water. Often, Ahiru sadly reminds herself that she is not the graceful Princess Tutu, but alas, only a clumsy duck. At some points during the series, Ahiru turns into a duck because it is more convenient (such as going underwater). Although, from some initial confusions and reactions from her throughout the series, it would seem that she does not seem to have any firm memories at all prior to the first episode - though this could be because she's a bit scatter-brained.
Ahiru wears an egg-shaped necklace that glows red and cues her transformation into Princess Tutu when one of the pieces of the prince's shattered heart is near. The prince's heart pieces seem to flock to those who are beginning to feel the feeling that they represent and prove to heighten it to a dangerous level. For example, in one episode, Mytho's missing heart's emotion of loneliness resides in a restaurant owner who has lost her husband. In her attempt to resist the painful feeling of loneliness, she obsessively continues bringing food to her customers in order to keep them from leaving.
Unlike most Magical Girl heroines, Princess Tutu does not literally fight these victims or their emotions. Instead, she chooses to dance with these victims, so that she may better understand what they're feeling and show them how to overcome it. Since these heightened emotions are a result of the heart piece that resides within them, they are freed of this artificial intensity when Princess Tutu removes the heart piece and returns them to the prince.
One of the distinct characteristics of the Princess Tutu anime is its use of anthropomorphism, as many of the characters in the story are actually animals. Unlike most anime, these animals aren't just limited to catgirls; we're even treated to crocodiles and anteaters. Every episode features a different (real-world) ballet interwoven into the storyline and the soundtrack makes use of original ballet music to good effect. For example, the first episode uses Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker", and both Tutu and Kraehe's outfits are based on Swan Lake's Odette and Odile, perhaps to show the differences between them.
Manga
For the most part, the manga's plot is similar to the anime. As in the anime, Ahiru turns into Princess Tutu to return the shattered pieces of heart to Mytho. Unlike in the anime, however, the entire theme of fairy-tales and stories has been lost, save for Mytho being referred to vaguely as a prince.
Besides the lack of the story theme, the use of anthropomorphism and animals that makes the anime unique is not present. Except for Neko-Sensei (literally, "Teacher Cat"), all of the students are fully human, including Ahiru. Although, in what seems to be an effort to make up for this, the characters sport hairstyles that seem to make them resemble animals.
Voiced by: Nanae Katou (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)
Ahiru, or "Duck" in the official subtitles ("Ahiru" is the word "duck" in Japanese; this is why Ahiru is named Ahiru and has been localized to Duck in the official subtitles, reportedly due to the traditional European fairy-tale tradition of naming animal characters after their names) is the series' protagonist. She is a friendly, kind-hearted thirteen-year old girl (the age is approximated as it is never given officially), although as her name suggests, she is very duck-like with her tendency to talk loudly and excessively, and since she's technically part-bird, she named and made friends with fellow birds around campus. In fact, in the anime, she is actually a duck who was transformed into a girl at the series' beginning. Ahiru possesses a magical pendant (which in later episodes prove to be Mytho's last heart piece) that, when dramatically appropriate, transforms her into her alter ego Princess Tutu. Whenever Ahiru takes off her pendant or gets surprised, shocked, scared, etc. in the anime and quacks, she instantly turns into a duck and cannot return to a human unless she touches water, with the pendant on. However, when she returns to human form, she comes back nude, often embarrassing herself. Ahiru is often shown in cartoony situations, which embarrasses her more.
Princess Tutu (プリンセスチュチュ, Purinsesu Chuchu)
Although Ahiru transforms into Princess Tutu, they seem to be two different characters in behavior and thought. Princess Tutu is wise, graceful, elegant, and a distinctly better dancer than klutzy Ahiru. In the anime, Princess Tutu is in love with the prince of the story, but is fated to turn into a speck of light and vanish upon confessing her love to the prince. Despite this, she cheerfully dances on collecting the prince's scattered heart pieces, for she believes that when Mytho has his heart whole again, he will find happiness - to her this is all that matters. She disappeared after she returned the last piece of heart to Mytho, her role in the story complete.
Mytho (みゅうと, Myūto)
Voiced by: Naoki Yanagi (Japanese); Jay Hickman (English)
Mytho, who takes his name from the Greek word μῦθος[1] (mythos or muthos, literally meaning "plot," or the unfolding events of story, which is a word also used in German), from which the English word "myth" is derived, is the prince of the story. He was once noble and kind, sacrificing himself to protect the weak and the needy. However, when he was battling the monster raven, he shattered his own heart in order to seal the raven away. Now as a talented and popular senior at Kinkan Academy ("Gold Crown Academy"), he possesses no emotions, and is largely dependent on Fakir for his well-being and survival. Over the course of the series, particularly the first season, Mytho associates his new emotions with Princess Tutu, making him both drawn to her and afraid of her. Although the process is painful, he eventually becomes thankful for Princess Tutu's mission and seems to be falling in love with her, though it is hard to say with Kraehe's cruel interventions and his lack of understanding to his own emotions. In episode 11, he searched around the town for Princess Tutu so he can give her a necklace (a chain connected to a jewel called "Love," given to him by Edel) as a gift to discover her feeling for him. He shared a romantic moment with her under an umbrella, only for it to be spoiled as part of an elaborate plan by Kraehe. In the beginning of the series, Mytho is clueless, obedient, and gullible. This is mainly due to the fact that he does not have any feelings.
In the second half of the series, Mytho changes because Kraehe soaked the feeling of love in the monster raven's blood, and it starts to consume him. He tries to take out girls' hearts to sacrifice to the raven, but is always foiled by the intervention of Princess Tutu. When the raven's blood takes him over, Mytho's eyes change from their normal amber to pinkish red. He tried to fight the inner demon within him, but alone, could not overcome it. Mytho under the raven's blood even verbally abused Rue/Kraehe and often manipulated her to do his bidding, but Rue's true love for him eventually made him overcome this, thus making Rue his new princess.
One of Mytho's quirks is that unless he is wearing his school uniform, he regularly lacks pants (thus earning the nicknames "The Pantless Wonder" or "Pantless Mytho").
There are three variations to Mytho's name used by fans: Mute (which is pronounced like "Myuto" by the Japanese actors and is used in some early English subs), Myuto (by how Mytho ends up sounding) and Mythos, which is what Karon calls Mytho when he first sees him and is shortened to simply "Mytho" by Fakir. ("Mythos" is Greek for "story" or "legend.") In the end of the anime, his real name is revealed to be Siegfried, the same name as the prince in the ballet Swan Lake, from which the Princess Tutu series has taken plot elements.
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Chris Patton (English)
Mytho's roommate and another talented ballet dancer. At the start of the series, Fakir appears to be very cruel - he's rude and forceful, especially to Mytho, as well as possessive to exclusively him. Fakir had tried to prevent Princess Tutu from regaining the prince's heart pieces and would become very agitated when Mytho began to experience emotions. The reason for this though, was still in best interest for Mytho. Fakir only wanted to protect him from the original, tragic course of the story. As the series progresses, however, Fakir's behavior changes drastically, mainly through Ahiru's antics. He loses his possessiveness and a little of his harsh edge, which lets his essential nobility of spirit shine through. He agrees to help Princess Tutu, realizing she is a trustworthy, kind person after all and that Mytho himself wishes his heart back. In the anime, Drosselmeyer's story The Prince and The Raven the character of the knight who is to protect the prince dies by the claws of the raven without landing a single blow of his sword. Fakir took the role of the knight when long ago he found the pure, heartless prince and named him Mytho. He is only a reincarnation of the prince's knight though. By joining Princess Tutu on her quest and allowing the story of The Prince and the Raven to start again, he accepted the threat of the knight's fated death and all the while tries to defy it. Although Fakir himself has never said anything to prove it, Fakir seems to grow a kind of affection for Ahiru in the second season while they are working together to aid Mytho, shown well in the pas de deux the two dance together in the Lake of Despair where Fakir encourages Ahiru to accept "her true self" as a duck.
One of Ahiru's best friends, Pique (called "Mai" in the manga) has a bit of a crush on him, and describes herself as part of the "Fakir-sama Faction". Like Mytho, he 'enjoys' a reasonable share of popularity at the school despite his antisocial behaviour. Later in the series, Ahiru herself is forcibly tossed into the 'faction' and is told to deliver a letter confessing her own love for Fakir, which she vehemently (though some what comically) denies.
Rue is the most advanced ballet student at Kinkan Academy, but her aloofness isolates her from her peers. So despite the fact that she is greatly admired, she does not have many friends. The manga and anime versions of her are almost completely different, as in the anime she is snooty but seems to have a good heart, and in the manga she's cruel and cold. In the anime, she and Mytho seem to be the ideal couple, but as he does not have emotions, the term "couple" seems to be stretching it a bit. In the anime, Ahiru considers her to be a friend, and before Rue becomes Ahiru/Tutu's enemy as Princess Kraehe, Rue seems to soften a bit to Ahiru's kindness. Like Ahiru, she also has a magical princess alter ego.
Rue is also sometimes spelled "Ruu".
Princess Kraehe (プリンセスクレール, Purinsesu Kurēru)
Like as Princess Tutu is to Ahiru, Princess Kraehe is another side to Rue - and a not too nice one. Unlike Tutu, she uses force to retrieve heart pieces so that she may destroy them. In the anime, it would seem that Princess Kraehe loves the prince greatly, but the love she has for him is bittersweet. Perhaps because she suspects that if the prince gets all his heart pieces he will not choose her, Princess Kraehe tries desperately to prevent Princess Tutu from getting the heart pieces and returning the prince to his true self. In anime terms, she is one of the most complex characters ever. She acts out of loneliness and fear, but is not outwardly as weak as such characters generally are. She genuinely does love Mytho, having been aided by him at an early age, as he gave her a refuge from her Raven monster father, who she also yet loves. She stands constantly in the balance between her own, Mytho's, and her father's futures, each of which seem murky and incompatible from the start.
The Raven (大鴉, Ōgarasu)
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugou (Japanese); Mike Kleinhenz (English)
The monster raven of Herr Drosselmeyer's story The Prince and The Raven and the father of Princess Kraehe, the Raven requires the sacrifice of young, beautiful hearts in order to eat them and regain his form. He is the one who advised Kraehe to soak Mytho' feeling of love in raven's blood, causing the shard to corrupt the prince. As his daughter continues to fail at obtaining a heart because of Princess Tutu's interference, the Raven continues to criticize her, as he has been throughout her life, calling her human form ugly and telling her that the only ones that will love her are himself and the prince of the story.
Drosselmeyer is also the name of the man in The Nutcracker who first hands the wooden doll to his niece. However, he does not play the same genial role in this series, instead showing a sadistic and tragedy-loving personality that makes him an opponent for Ahiru and Fakir to fight when they try to escape their tragic destinies. He is the one who first wrote the story The Prince and The Raven, and continues to watch and deliberately influence the events in Kinkan Town from the "loop hole in time". He is the one who gives Ahiru her magic pendant in the beginning of the series, turning her from duck to girl to Princess Tutu. He is not present in the manga.
Edel's role in the manga and anime are very different. In the anime, she is a puppet-like advisor to Ahiru - with blank eyes, an organ grinder, and a collection of creatively named jewels, she gives vague advice and tells stories to Ahiru. Drosselmeyer created her to aide the story and plot in his place. With each interaction with Ahiru, Edel seemed to grow human emotions which Drosselmeyer had not intended to happen. At the end of the first season, she becomes somewhat of a martyr by burning herself in a fire to light the way for Fakir and keep him warm. She knew of Ahiru's love for Mytho and requested that she dance a pas de deux with the Prince before she was consumed into ashes.
In the English dub, Edel is pronounced "AE-dul." In Japanese, it sounds more like "Ederu."
In the manga, she is the (supposedly more human) owner of a shop where Ahiru sees a tutu that she admires. As a gift, Edel gives her an egg-shaped necklace, and makes her promise to come back again. She seems to take the place of Drosselmeyer, and the manga hints that she plays serpent and encourages not only the kindly Princess Tutu but the cruel Princess Kraehe as well.
Uzura is a toddler-like doll created by Charon from Edel's ashes. She plays a drum and semi-inadvertently helps Ahiru. However, her tendency to help turn Ahiru back into a girl with a splash of water often create awkward moments for herself and Fakir. Uzura also has an odd habit of adding the extension 'zura' to the end of her sentences, obviously derived from her name. She is very curious, and is fixated throughout the series on figuring out what love (or, as she calls it, "lovey-dovey-zura") is.
In the English dub, Uzura is pronounced "OO-zura." In Japanese, it's like "Uh-ZUR-ra."
Autor (あおとあ, Aotoa)
Voiced by: Yuu Urata (Japanese); Adam Conlon (English)
Autor means Author in German (which is heavily used in Princess Tutu) and is pronounced as the name is written here in Japanese, Aotoa. Autor is a music student at the Academy and has a rather snobbish personality. He's obsessed with Drosselmeyer and his powers and knows a lot about the dead writer. Autor is also interested in Fakir for reasons revealed later in the series.
At one point in the anime Rue seduces Autor in order to feed his heart to her father. However, Autor professes his love for her, which casts doubt on her father's words that no one but he and the prince could love her; conflicted, Rue then lets Autor go.
Ahiru's two best friends who share the same dance class. They provide much of the comedic relief of the series, continuously cracking jokes, and cheering Ahiru on in her feats of dance and unrequited love. Pique (Mai in the manga) is a more outspoken tomboyish character, and in the manga she seems to be the object of other girl's crushes despite her feelings for Fakir. In the second season of the anime, she is the first victim of Mytho after the raven's blood in his heart posseses him and almost loses her heart, but Tutu is able to dance with her and save her from that fate. Lilie (Yuma in the manga) is far cutesier, resembling a cat in the manga and constantly squealing 'how cute' in the anime. She is constantly trying to push Ahiru into a doomed relationship with Mytho, and later Fakir, because she romanticises star-crossed lovers (the joke being that she expects the relationships to fail and openly says as much in her dramatic expositions to Ahiru and Pique). Some might also argue that she's a sadist, and compare her to Drosselmeyer as they both seem to have a taste for tragedy and conflict.
Neko-sensei ("Mr. Cat" in English) is the dance teacher at the academy that all of the main characters attend. He is quite literally a cat, and he likes to threaten marriage to the girls if they do not do something right. His demeanor appears to come from a Japanese fairy tale about a cat that similarly threatens marriage to beautiful, young girls. He also appears to be the only animal in the manga. In the anime, Neko-sensei constantly threatens to force Ahiru into marriage for her lateness to class and lack of concentration and practice. However, as it is in his nature to propose to most females (save for goats and sloths) for marriage, it can't really be said he singles her out. In fact, in one part of the anime, Neko-sensei even unknowingly counsels Ahiru when she is unsure of her abilities to help Mytho, so it can't be said Neko-sensei picks on Ahiru due to dislike.
This female voice narrates a short tale in the prologue before each episode, often one related to the theme in the episode's title. Her voice also narrates in a few other situations, such as the closing of the Chapter of the Fledgling and in the split-episode previews in the Chapter of the Fledgling (only in the TV version, but also in the extras on the DVDs).
Guest Characters
Anteaterina (アリクイ美, Arikuimi) (2)
Voiced by: Akemi Kanda (Japanese); Tiffany Grant (English)
One of the many anthropomorphic characters in Princess Tutu, she is an anteater in the ballet class who is jealous of Rue. Urged on by the first piece of Mytho's heart, the feeling of bitter disappointment and frustration, she tried to surpass Rue by imitating her and even took the emotionless Mytho from her as part of the challenge. When she becomes frustrated at her failures, Princess Tutu has to release the feeling by dancing with her. The naming of her character is composed of the word for the animal (arikui) and then a common feminine ending (-mi), a pattern which is followed with many minor characters that appear later such as Crocodelia (ワニ子 Waniko) and Boanita (ボア代 Boayo). ADV translated the animal names and adapted suffixes to carry the same effect in the English dub.
Ebine (えびね, Ebine) (3)
Voiced by: Rie Ishizuka (Japanese); Kelly Manison (English)
She is the widowed owner of a restaurant who is very enthusiastic about serving food to her guests. Ahiru and Mytho come across her restaurant, but Ahiru discovers the food she cooks is somewhat cold and unpalatable. At first, Ahiru misunderstands her intentions and thinks she plans to eat them, as in the tale of Hansel and Gretel, but in actuality she is in grief over the loss of her husband who was a great cook. Princess Tutu must release the feeling of loneliness from her.
Wili Maiden (ウィリの乙女, Wiri no Otome) (4)
Voiced by: Romi Paku (Japanese); Robin Terry (English)
Inspired by the tale of Giselle, she is the spirit of a beautiful woman who took her own life when her love for a noble man could not be requited. Her love still unfulfilled as a spirit, she must take another man in his stead, and she calls out to Mytho. Ahiru and Rue find him in time and attempt to save Mytho from being taken away to the world of the dead. The Wili Maiden possesses the feeling of sorrow.
Lamp Spirit (ランプの精, Ranpu no Sei) (5)
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Kim Prause (English)
She is the spirit of a lamp that had long since been abandoned by its owners. The lamp, wanting to share her light with another person forever, offers her light to Mytho when he is locked in the darkness by Fakir. When Ahiru comes to rescue Mytho, the Lamp Spirit presents her with a riddle about who she is, but Ahiru fails to answer it correctly at first. After Ahiru becomes Princess Tutu, she figures the riddle out and dances under the glow of her lamp's light to release the feeling of affection. Ahiru keeps the lamp.
She is the star dancer of a visiting dance company in an episode in the Chapter of Egg, performing as Briar Rose in the ballet Sleeping Beauty. Her fear of her own inadequacy to dance the role she idolized as a child leads the shard of Mytho's heart containing the feeling of fear to possess her, but it leaves before Ahiru can find it when Paulamoni's husband Paulo reassures her. Paulamoni shows an interest in Ahiru's dancing style during the class's visit, noticing the true emotion and self that Ahiru puts into her dancing despite her lack of grace.
Paulo (パウロ, Pauro) (6)
Voiced by: Atsushi Kisaichi (Japanese); John Swasey (English)
The loving husband of Paulamoni in the Sleeping Beauty episode; he comforts her when she confesses her fear of incompetence in the role of Briar Rose.
Malen (まれん, Maren) (9)
Voiced by: Erino Hazuki (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
A shy girl studying art who becomes obsessed with using Rue as a model when the shard of Mytho's heart containing the feeling of devotion possesses her. Ahiru notices Malen watching the ballet classes and investigates; after becoming Princess Tutu, she removes the heart shard and returns it to its owner, but not without a confrontation between the knight Fakir and the villainess Kraehe that involves Fakir cutting Tutu's pendant's chain.
Used Bookstore Owner (古書店主, Kosho Tenshu) (9,21-23,26)
Voiced by: Takeshi Sasaki (Japanese); Robert Leeds (English)
He is an old man who owns a used bookstore in town, which Fakir visits at one point early in the series. This man is also the leader of a group called the Book Men (図書の者たち Tosho no mono-tachi) whom Drosselmeyer abhors as the "stoppers of stories".
Karon (カロン, Karon) (10,20)
Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese); Robert Leeds (English)
A father figure to Fakir and Mytho, he took Fakir in after the child was orphaned, and introduced him to fairy tales; specifically, the tale of the monster raven, the prince, the knight, and Princess Tutu from The Prince and The Raven. Possessed by the shard of Mytho's heart containing the feeling of regret because of his blaming himself for introducing Fakir to the story and sealing his fate, Karon denies Fakir the knight's sword in an attempt to protect him. Ahiru, stuck in duck form because Fakir was in possession of her pendant, observes this; after the distraught knight gives Tutu's pendant to his "duck friend", unknowingly returning it to its owner, Ahiru becomes Princess Tutu and peacefully removes the heart piece from Karon.
Karon is also spelled "Charon" by many fans, likely basing their spelling off of the Charon from Greek mythology who ferried the souls of the dead to the underworld.
Freya (ふれいあ, Fureia) (16)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Kaytha Coker (English)
A beautiful dancer with a passion for flowers and a wish for the world to be filled with them; because of her youth and the "beauty" of her heart, she is the second victim of a raven's-blood-soaked Mytho. The corrupted prince approaches Freya and, by covering the surroundings in beds of eerie, red-black blooms, sways her to try to give him her heart for the monster raven, Kraehe's father. Fortunately, Princess Tutu appears and saves the day by reminding Freya of her pure love for flowers, and how the raven blossoms prevent her from "hearing the voices" of the flowers in her garden.
A colorful, narcissistic French dancer in the apprentice class; he believes that he is "sinfully beautiful" and so must take divine punishment (by way of his balding companion Montand intermittently stampeding him with a bull). Constantly surrounded by dramatic spotlights and flower petals (blown by the industrious Montand), Femio claims that he loves and is loved by all. He sees Mytho as an adversary (claming his admirers have "resigned themselves" to his "false love"), and alleges that he is a true prince. Rue, as Princess Kraehe, attempts to take his heart for her raven father in place of the discerning Mytho; it does not work, as in the "Love only me/Hate all others" part of the brainwashing process, Femio tragically announces his inability to love one person alone. Princess Tutu arrives late, to find Femio attempting to romance a confused Kraehe. In the end Femio is the only "victim" in the second season who does not come dangerously close to having his heart taken from him.
Montand (モンタン, Montan) (17)
Voiced by: Toshihiko Nakajima (Japanese); John Swasey (English)
The balding companion of "Prince" Femio, he is always at hand for the overdramatic dancer's special effects: blowing rose petals from a basket, cuing a bull to stampede with a red cloth, et cetera.
Ghost Knight (幽霊騎士, Yūrei Kishi) (18)
Voiced by: Toshihiko Nakajima (Japanese); David chadwick (English)
A tragic figure, the Knight is a physical manifestation from a mysterious play discovered by the theatre students. Intensely noble and focused, the Knight was famed for his strength and how he completed all quests assigned him by his king. Because of this, a great army came to fight him, and the Knight fought singlemindedly for his kingdom--even to the point of murdering his lover, who he thought had been an enemy spy. His side of the battle won the war, but he was exiled; confused and lost without an objective, he died and continued to wander. Around the time of the theatre girls' discovery of the script, rumors rose on the Kinkan Academy campus of a ghostly knight haunting the woods. Regarding this as no more than good publicity, the theatre students seek out a male dancer for the part of the Knight in their production of the play; Ahiru convinces them against casting the conflicted Mytho and recruits Fakir instead. After having a recurring dream involving himself slaying the Ghost Knight in a duel, Fakir takes off to kill the Knight and so release him from his wanderings; they fight for a time, but Ahiru henshins into Princess Tutu and leaps between them. Tutu and the Ghost Knight, who is possessed by the shard of Mytho's heart containing the feeling of pride, are separated from Fakir, and Princess Tutu is attacked when she asks the Knight to dance. She continues to reach out to him him anyway, and in being her compassionate self reminds the Ghost Knight of how his lover, even in her last moments, worried more for the Knight than for herself. Once the shard is removed and sent to the watching raven's-feather-clad Mytho, Tutu's injuries catch up with her, and when Fakir finally reaches her, she has reverted to duck form.
Hermia was the tallest girl in the class and was always in the back. After a while, she began to sense the feelings of love in the girls in front of her. She dressed as a donkey named "Bottom-san" ("Miss Bottom") and delivered love letters to people. She also has a crush on Lysander (Hermia and Lysander were the names of the two main characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is also the name of the episode they appear in). She almost had her heart taken out by Mytho, but Tutu saved her by reminding her of Lysander. Later on, she confesses to Lysander, who feels the same way.
Lysander (ライサンダー, Raisandā) (19)
Voiced by: Eisuke Asakura (Japanese); Rob de los Reyes (English)
Lysander is a male student in Kinkan Academy's Scupture division, and is the admirer and secret crush of Hermia. At the end of the episode they appear in when Hermia confesses her love, Lysander admits to Hermia that he was going to confess his love for her once he was through finishing the sculpture he was making of her.
Raetsel (レーツェル, Rētseru) (20)
Voiced by: Sayuri Yoshida (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
Raetsel is something of an older sister to Fakir and Mytho, though Fakir tells Ahiru that she was like a second mother to him after his parents died. She is in love with Karon, but when she told him, he did not do or say anything. She also loves Hans, and he loves her back. At first Raetsel comes to Kinkan in an attempt to convince Fakir to write a story for her, but changes her mind after seeing Fakir's reaction to Ahiru confronting him with the issue. Raestel almost had her heart taken out by Mytho because she did not want to waver between Karon and Hans, but Princess Tutu appeared and convinced her to look at both the feelings of the ones she loved and her own, instead of merely looking at theirs to determine her own happiness. In the end, Raetsel gave up on Karon and left to marry Hans.
Oak Tree (樫の木, Kashi no ki) (21)
Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese); Lidia Porto (English)
This evergreen oak tree was utilized by the spinners of stories in Kinkan/Gold Crown Town to test their power. At the stroke of midnight, if a true storyteller touched the tree, the voice of the oak would speak to them as proof of their ability. A false storyteller would instead be absorbed into the tree. The oak was chopped down long before the events in the story, but Fakir is able to contact the oak through a specific stone that lies above what little remains of the tree. It was recently revealed by Ikuko Itoh in the Princess Tutu Cast Party at Ushicon in January 2007 that the wood of the oak tree was in fact made into Edel.
"What's this jewel called?" "Hope." "This one?" "Adventure." "How about this one?" "Mystery." "Then what about this one?" "Artistic License." "...That's a strange name." - Ahiru and Edel
The ballet-within-a-story structure of Princess Tutu allows the opportunity for meta-anaylsis on the storytelling form, as well as on the stories being told.
Free Will vs. Destiny
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate. There is glory for those who defy their fate." -Edel
The theme of destiny vs. free will is one of the strongest running themes in Princess Tutu, and eventually moves from metaphorical to literal as the characters question not only their destinies, but the roles they play in the story itself.
The first series is the happy ending, in which the characters play out their roles within the tale of the Prince and the Raven: the raven princess captures the prince's heart; the Knight battles to protect the prince, and "dies" at the claws of ravens; Princess Tutu uses dance to profess her love; the Prince is freed and chooses to dance with Tutu instead of Kraehe, casting off the raven's control.
The bridge between the first season and the second is Edel: the only character who does not accept her fate. She fights her role (that of a passive messenger), and though she is destroyed in the process, her effort saves Mytho and Tutu, as well as the life of the Knight, Fakir.
The second season is the glorious ending, in which the characters fight the roles fate has pressed upon them and eventually fight the story itself. Fakir joins Ahiru to fight against the inevitability of the tragic ending Drosselmeyer demands; Mytho fights his own nature as a person controlled by forces both good and evil; Rue questions her role as Princess Kraehe and eventually rejects it. Even Ahiru questions her role as Princess Tutu and her fate to disappear in a flash of light after saving the Prince.
The end of the series is open to interpretation. Some characters seem to accept their fate while in other ways they defy it, but in doing so they end up becoming what they rejected...even as the ultimate course of the story is altered by their defiance.
Role Reversal: A Prince With Two Princesses, A Princess With Two Princes
"A prince does not need two princesses." - Drosselmayer
The first thirteen episodes chronicle Tutu and Kraehe's battle for Prince Mytho's heart: Tutu wishes to free it and Kraehe wishes to keep it for her own. Simultaneously, both Ahiru and Rue are drawn to Mytho as the boy they both love, or are at least infatuated with.
Ahiru and Rue embrace their respective identities as Princesses battling for the Prince, and the first season ends with a ballet "duel" in which the Prince chooses between them, as the strength and purity of their affection shows through their ballet.
Season 2 becomes a juxtaposition of that theme. Rue clings to Mytho even as Mytho becomes further corrupted by the poison of raven's blood, and his interest in Tutu/Ahiru's role increases and his interest in Rue wanes. At the same time Ahiru and Fakir become closer as they seek to solve the mystery of the story of the Prince and the Raven, and through this process Ahiru/Tutu takes the place Mytho once had in Fakir's life: the person he protects and serves. The story has come full circle-- Rue has fallen from power and Ahiru/Tutu has become the princess with two princes, Fakir and Mytho. In an interesting inversion of roles, Mytho is now to Tutu as Kraehe was to him in season one, and Fakir is to Tutu as Tutu was to Mytho in season one. The dark and cruel knight has become the noble force under the Princess, while the true and good prince has become the dark force and embodiment of the Raven.
Role reversals are many and varied over the course of the series, as each of the four main characters (and to a degree such side characters as Drosselmeyer and Edel as well) shift within the story. Antagonists become protagonists, and protagonists become antagonists. The only constant is Ahiru, but even her role changes several times over the series: she changes symbolically as a plot force, emotionally as relationship dynamics change, and physically/literally as she goes back and forth from a duck, a girl, and a prima donna princess.
Ballet, Opera, and Classical Music
Princess Tutu is several things at once: a fairy tale, a story, and a ballet. While ballet is an ever-present element of the series in a literal way (ballet school, Tutu's ability to communicate through dance), the climaxes of both season one and season two make it evident it's not just about ballet--- that the story itself is a ballet, in everything from theme to structure.
Below are the titles of 26 episodes from the anime. The first season contained 13 episodes while the second season was originally aired so that one episode was split into two parts, but on the US DVD release they were brought together as 13 complete episodes. The first name is the English name of the episode according to Princess Tutu's US distributor ADV; next is the name of the musical piece or collection that is featured as the main theme of the episode in German; lastly is the name of the musical piece or collection in English.
Season One: The Chapter of the Egg
Act 1: The Duck and the Prince
~Der Nußknacker : Blumenwalzer~
(The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers)
Act 26: Finale
~Der Nußknacker: Finale~
(The Nutcracker: Final Scene)
Additional Notes
Gold Crown Town (translated from "Kinkan Town" in the original Japanese version), the fairytale city in which "Princess Tutu" is set, is a fictionalized version of the real German city Nördlingen.
The seiyū (Katou Nanae) of the main character Ahiru takes care to speak like a duck to reflect the dual nature of her character (a duck turned into a girl). Her devoid-of-all-emotions counterpart, Mytho (played by Yanagi Naoki), is well portrayed as a cool and unintentionally indifferent character.
(False - Correct)
Mute - Mytho
Fakia - Fakir
Ruu - Rue
Pike - Pique(?)
Ririe - Lilie
(There is apparently a discrepancy in official name spellings, as in the Japanese DVD inserts Pike was spelled Pique, but in the R1 DVDs it is spelled as the original Pike. The Japanese Anime Series Guide Book (Chapter of the Egg volume) lists her name as Pique.)
In the English dub of the fifth disc of the ADV release Fakir is caught saying:
"That's right... I can write a letter to the president."
This was not present in the original Japanese audio and speculation would lead one to conclude that Chris Patton took his own liberties with the script.
