'Princess Tutu' ~ 中途半端

I was not the first among my friends who watched 'Princess Tutu'. 2 or 3 years ago they were already engaged in discussions of Fakir's hotness and general greatness of 'Princess Tutu'. I could not understand why they were enjoying it so much, as I thought it to be a shoujo for younger girls. seeing them, nevertheless, so fascinated, I thought that maybe, 'Princess Tutu' is an anime for a wider audience. unfortunately, I was wrong

plot and characters

some things in 'Princess Tutu' are be taken for granted. such as the fact that the reality and the stories are mixed in the city where the characters live

or the past of the characters being told only in small portions, with their feelings and motives never explained, which especially arrests my attention in case with the main characters

with time, the story only kept growing more and more complicated, with more and more characters, more and more problems, and more and more riddles. none of them were solved until the end, or at least some crucial moment
another weird thing is the distribution of roles. a typical shoujo Main Heroine is present, but the role of Main Hero with

is shifted from the Main Hero to the Second Hero. moreover, from the very beginning those two are bound by a relationship that only young innocent children will see as natural, unlike me, who instantly started to doubt whether they were not dictated by the wish to please the audience

the first episodes were a little strange, but gradually I was getting used to them. however, season 2 broke everything. the most distorted is the ending. everyone who was turned into a human-animal returns to his true form and is 'happy', such as my favourite character, Cat Teacher

and others

those who were not turned into anyone, but had some problems that Ahiru helped to solve, live 'happily'

this is supposed to be a happy ending, and Ahiru's happiness consists in her friends forgetting her existence...

 ...silent swimming in the pond...

...and no normal life at all
in other words, Ahiru has to throw away
1. her life as a human girl - with ballet school, chatting with friends, everyday joyous life - turning into a duck again, simply because this is a premise of the story
2. her love, because the Prince suddenly realises he is in love with another girl for a reason far from convincing
3. her chances of having any normal relationship, as the only possible love interest for her in the end of the story is a man who says to her - let us return to our true form, because even when you are a duck I will be with you
......excuse me?

music

the background music consists of a number of most famous classical pieces, such as parts of 'Pictures at an Exhibition', 'Flight of the Bumblebee', 'Aquarium' from 'The Carnival of the Animals', and 'Gymnopedies', to say nothing of 'Swan Lake' itself. for me, who is fed up with listening to them, they were nothing special. OPEDs were so boring that I only listened to them in the very 1st episode and skipped them all the rest

seiyuus
were good, but I cannot say they were memorable. they fulfilled their types, that is what I can say

graphics
for 2002, this is not bad. outlines are simple, but in general everything is beautifully done

the only thing that puzzled me was the constant greyish and slightly dark colouring of everything. it looked to me as if most episodes took place either at twilight, or on cloudy days, if not at night at all

conclusion
under-appreciated masterpiece! 10 out of 10! are you kidding?

in order to fully appreciate this 'no doubt' story one must be as a child, able to perceive everything unconditionally, believing that if the characters does this or that, or suddenly undoes this or that, then this or that is only natural
meseems I am slightly beyond the age type allowing to enjoy a story like this. I demand a full explanation and responsibility from people of art for what they present. I demand meaning and reason in what people do - both those who create, and those whom they create. if I am left with an expression like this o___O, if I am left with a bunch of mis/non-understandings, then I see an artwork as a fail. I wonder is this is the director's, Koumoto Shougo's, fault

中途半端 - one of my favourite Japanese words. 'half-made', 'incomplete' - according to the dictionary. 'lame' - my own way of interpreting. this is what I would call 'Princess Tutu'. the first season was so-so, the second made me absolutely bored 
what really makes me sad is not that 'Princess Tutu' ended like that, or that it turned to be worse than I expected, but the fact that it seemed to me an anime with high standards, the anti-mainstream one, praised by so many people who are far from seeking cheap entertainment, and being done by HAL, which is responsible for many good anime series. 'tis truly not a popular thing for wide masses, but it did not reach the other shore, either. it makes me sad, not angry, as usual

p. s.
to think that I hoped to add 'Princess Tutu' to the list of recommendations for my young pupil...