Princess Tutu

STAY AWAY FROM THIS MANGA. This is nothing compared to the original anime. They even changed the story. This manga sucks. The anime was awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. But the manga is so horrible that I actually took the trouble of coming here and posting this review to warn the people who are about to read it. I wanted Ahiru to remain human but not like this. I wanted her to end up with Fakir not with Mytho. This manga might be good for Ahiru x Mytho shippers since it has so many Ahiru x Mytho moments without any Fakir x Ahirumoments. But the story sucks. They have turned the innocent Edel in to a bad person. I don't want to say anything more about this manga because it may contain spoilers. Overall this manga is horrible. I hated it.

Firstly, I read this with the mindset of not expecting this to be exactly like the anime that it's based off of. You should never do that with any mini manga series that was based off a long anime, unless you want a guarantee you'll be disappointed. After watching the anime and finding out there was a manga adaptation, I was curious about it. I went in with the mindset to read this manga as it was its own thing. Including the understanding that there will some changes like minor/major plot points being alter and characters from the anime will removed or changed in the mangabecause it's a short story. On it's own, the princess tutu manga is actually pretty good. It tells the same story as the anime, but shorter and differently. In comparison I do liked the more dramatic and convoluted story the anime has. The manga is a more simple story about a human girl with the secret identity 'Princess tutu' and her duty of returning heart shards to an emotionless prince, while a rival magical ballerina princess tries to stop tutu out of fear she'll lose the prince if his heart is restored....there's admittedly more to it, but I don't want to spoil it. There are some scene for scenes panels in the manga, but with some minor changes. Like Ahiru waking up thinking she's late and shows up to class early, Tutu dancing a Pas De Deux alone, and a few others if you'll recognize if you've seen the anime. The story isn't perfect, there were the equivalent of "jumps cuts" in the manga which created somewhat off pacing issues for a couple chapters. Other than that, I like the new changes to the characters as it offers a different take on the anime's story. On it's own it's a good story and I recommend it to people who want to dip their toe into princess tutu and don't have the time to watch a nearly 30 episode anime. If you want a simple story to read in your downtime then give this manga a chance. If you find yourself enjoying it, then please go check out the original anime!

Since the manga's story is different from the anime's plot, it would be unfair to compare them here, especially since the manga does a good job of standing out on its own as it is. While the plot is predictable, it's enjoyable and the fairy tale ballet concept of the series makes this manga adaptation worth a look for fans of the magical girl genre. The story is simple and sweet, and there is a lot of charm to Princess Tutu's journey to fulfill her dream and save her prince. There wasn't a moment where the story became boring or confusing, but the minimal backgroundinformation revealed about the prince gave rise to more questions than answers. Thankfully, this wasn't enough to break the immersion and only left behind the desire for more. In that way, it is very reminiscent of familiar ballet plots where the magic of the story comes from just accepting the fantastic plot elements materialized on the stage in front of you. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of panty shots and the sexualization of several characters, which does contribute to some unsavory moments that certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. One character gimmick in particular leaves a bad taste in my mouth - the director of the anime really said that Mr. Cat was a vital character in the series, but his entire identity is built around harassing little girls with threats of marriage. The contrast between that testimonial and the lighthearted one from Mytho's voice actor at the end of volume 2 is so stark, but Naoki Yanagi's humor and thoughtfulness regarding the series is rather endearing. Overall, I enjoyed the journey, but I don't think I will reread this manga in the future.