Scrapped Princess DVD 2: Melancholy Wagon Tracks
Sex/Nudity: None
Music:
Runtime Episodes: 25m / 23
Overall Rating: A
Artwork: A -
Story: A
Comments: There are 3 volumes of a manga series as well, but it is only very loosely connected to the anime. Where's the extras?
Voice Acting English: B
Voice Acting Japanese: A
Genre: Fantasy Science Fiction
Extras: Textlss ending, Credits, previews for: Digi Charat Nyo, Gundam Seed, Overman King Gainer.
Date Reviewed: 11/25/06 Last Updated: 10/26/09
Basic Premise: The Scrapped Princess and her older brother and sister, having been unable to find a place where they can be safe, take up their travels once again to no place in particular in the hopes of finding a place where Pacifica will be safe, at least until after she turns 16 and the prophecy is proven false or becomes of no concern. Along the way they run into a troubadour whose weapon is music and a girl named Cin who becomes the center of attention making Pacifica jealous.
Review: With this DVD there is more of a feel that there is a real story to tell. In fact the entire fantasy just engrosses you to the point that it feels like a novel that you don't want to end. I love how every adventure is not an adventure unto itself, but a piece of the puzzle that is the scrapped princess.
The colors are very bright and blue and green and optimistic, which is almost a bit strange given the dual constant happiness and sadness that pervades our traveling protagonists. Take Pacifica. She is a 15 year old girl and often shows herself as a spoiled 15 year old brat, and I suppose to some degree she is. She feigns ignorance to dangers and is willing to accept gifts from strangers such as when she and her companions come across a harmless looking troubadour named silencer. The Silencer offers to play some music to entertain the trio briefly on their travels and Pacifica gladly accepts, but her older brother Shannon aims his sword at him and says no. What is most amazing is that Pacifica accepts this without any protest and in perfect trust in her brother, which is one of the strongest testimonies of love to her brother. It also shows that maybe the spoiled brat attitude is not what it looks like.
Pacifica is willing to accept death a little too easily, though, as the toll begins to show that on Pacifica of the desire that people have to kill her. This causes her self worth to be a little low at times, which is why she hides behind her holier than thou attitude at times and demands to be treated like the princess that she is. With all of that said, Pacifica does not really have much opportunity to grow as a character until the second two episodes on this DVD when a lost and innocent girl named Cin who is found with no memory and standing in the rain, comes into the story and becomes part of Pacifica's family. This makes Pacifica feel less important to her brother and sister than Cin and makes Pacifica feel truly jealous instead of just pretending to be jealous. It is kinda hard when you are not the center of attention anymore after having been so for so long.
There are hints in this DVD that the storyline and even basic theme may not be what we what we were led to believe at all. The plot does progress and loose ends are tied up quickly that lead to more loose ends. The way the story progresses continually give this anime a much richer storyline than most out there. It is not altogether clear where the story is headed and that is part of what captivates the audience. There are also several story lines going on than what I just mentioned and in this DVD the stories seem largely unconnected, which make me curious as to where they are headed in later volumes. For example, there is Chris from the first DVD who is on a new mission after failing to kill the scrapped princess to find out exactly what the 5111th prophecy of Grendel that proclaims the end of the world should Pacifica reach her 16th birthday says and means. He talks to Pacifica's birth family to covertly ask more about it as well.
There is the church of Mauser. It is unclear what role this plays in all of this, but it seems to be much like our catholic church. It is also unclear why the peacemakers talk to the cardinals in this church and what their relationship is. Peacemakers are something like the gods of this world.
The extras on this DVD really are lacking to say the least. I was rather surprised and disappointed at how little there was to offer. The translations in this DVD were sadly a bit sloppy as well. The animation is beautiful and feels like biting into a juicy peach. With most every scene and the way it is portrayed you can actually feel like you are there. I am not sure about others, but I particularly enjoyed both the opening and closing themes. The songs were both beautiful and after having seen several anime now I can say that the music is a very important if not vital aspect to an anime. I am willing to buy an anime just for the music. No, the music in an anime should never be taken lightly.
Conclusion: This volume is a step above the last and indeed shows that there is a lot more to come than what the first volume only hinted at and it promises to have a great story that will unfold. Whether it ends well is another matter. This anime comes highly reccomended. It feels like a good novel that you just can't put down. I have watched this DVD several times and enjoy it very much.
Publisher: Bandai
Related Website: www.scrappedprincess.bandai-ent.com
Where Found: Suncoast, Amazon, rightstuf.com
Copyright: 2003 / 2005
Author: unknown.
If you enjoyed this anime try: none yet.
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