The Gist:
The History:
Originally created as a manga series by Akiko Higashimura, Kuragehime (the original title in Japanese) started appearing near the end of 2008. The 11-episode series, directed by Takahiro Omori of Durarara!! and Baccano!, started showing in October 2010, on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block.
Manga Vs. Anime:
The manga hasn't been released in English yet, but the show is almost certainly an abbreviation of the ongoing story (which is at five volumes as of August 2010).
How to Watch:
- DVD/BD combo version from FUNimation (compare prices)
- FUNimation / streaming video (simulcast)
- Hulu / streaming video (simulcast)
Genres:
Romance, comedy, drama
Studios:
Distribution: Fuji TV
Animation production: Brain's Base
Air Dates:
Rating:
The Review:
Tsukimi hides behind a mop of unkempt hair, a pair of clunky glasses, a shapeless jogging suit and a love of jellyfish. She's an otaku, someone with a fascination that outstrips most everything else in their lives, even if it isn't all that useful. She's right at home in the Amamizukan, an apartment house shared by several other women who are equally reclusive and eccentric. The world of the "Stylish" -- the elegant, classy, well-heeled girls of Tokyo -- is alien territory to them.
She's no dummy, though. Tsukimi's knowledgeable enough about jellyfish that when she sees two different breeds sharing the same tank in a pet store (which can cause one of them to die), she overcomes her terror of men long enough to tell the store clerk about this. Along comes Kuranosuke, a "Stylish" who also stupefies Tsukimi with her mere presence, but bargains with the shop owner to let Tsukimi have "Clara" (the endangered jellyfish). Then Kuranosuke crashes in Tsukimi's room overnight, and the next morning Tsukimi is doubly stupefied to discover this woman is actually a man in drag.
Nobody in the house, least of all Tsukimi, is prepared for the cheerful and kindly Kuranosuke, who only wants to cheer them up. It turns out he's the son of a politician who has no interest in inheriting the family business, as it were, and uses crossdressing as his escape hatch from all that. What's more, when Kuranosuke gets Tsukimi dolled up, he discovers his own brother, Shū (who is as straightlaced as Kuranosuke himself is free-wheeling) develops a severe crush on her. Will Kuranosuke let things take their course between Shū and Tsukimi, or will Tsukimi and Kuranosuke stay together?
Kuragehime, or Princess Jellyfish as it's been translated into English, turned out to be one of the best surprises of the fall 2010 anime season. It's one of those shows that ought to appeal to a far larger audience than you might initially expect -- it's not just funny and loopy, but endearing and good-natured, and has some unexpectedly deep things to say about its characters. They grow on you. The whole idea of what's "conformity" or "non-conformity" gets toyed with throughout the show, and it's smart enough to understand that people don't fit into such easy categories -- that what we think is one or the other is often just our own projections. And it's all as laugh-out-loud funny as any show in recent memory.
