Introduction
In an obscure corner of feudal Japan, a clumsy young girl carrying a massive box searches for a legendary ninja. That girl is Rangiku Ayawatari—the sole survivor of the Ayuwatari clan—and she seeks revenge against Lord Sadayoshi Karimata, the man who slaughtered her family and stole the secrets of her father's prized puppet collection. However, in place of the legendary ninja, Rangiku finds Yasaburou Manajiri, a vagabond who is being pursued by "deathless ninjas"—strange, fearless warriors who can survive seemingly fatal blows. Upon discovering that they share a common enemy, the pair team up to defeat the cruel lord and rid the world of strange puppets that conceal a horrible secret.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
8 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
fh1478
What Are The Strings Made Of?
Puppet Princess is an anime about a princess who truly knows how to pull strings, but sadly is a bit dense, but that is why she needs an ninja.
it is fun and morbid, and truly has mastered the horrifying face look that continuously happens throughout the OVA. it feels so dark and bloody, but it feels more like does it to feel cool, then too really be a horrifying experience.
It's also such a fun concept, puppet soldiers fighting and their animations truly make it feel like, they are puppets.
The tone is constantly jumping from silly to dark and then back and forth, it's constant throughout the ova, so I hope you are like me, and can enjoy that.
The two main characters are fun. the main herring has that cute and endearing quality, but with a will, that wil…
Read at the sourceUnknow0059
I'd written this a while ago, but forgot to put it here.
Karakuri Princess was not bad, just mid.
Slightly under "perfectly mid".
This is not even a full-length movie, it's basically an OVA with 14 extra minutes tacked on.
It has a lot of exposition for how little runtime there is, and for the themes they could've explored instead in that time.
This should be called "Rangiku's Evil Dad Who Died In The Past".
It certainly feels like that's most of the runtime, in the middle of it all.
Afterwards, in the penultimate sequence, the titular princess just... gives up.
She doesn't regain what she gave, either, the movie just continues to the obligatory final section.
The story has themes of rape, innocence, virginity, mechanization, man VS machine, dehumanization, usual villainy stuff.
I'm not…
Read at the sourceEpisodicFan
Quite frankly, it's worth watching. Not a masterpiece by any means, but the animation is beautiful, specially in the way it transmits motion and movement; on the case of some of the characters, it's a astonishingly unnerving in a way that I haven't really seen before. The pacing is brisk and surprisingly never drags nor gives whiplash, which should always be commended.
There is also a very interesting dynamic between its main characters; despite ignoring the source entirely, and thus being wholly ignorant on how accurate they were portrayed, I would like to see more of them if they are this way. Individually they are quite fun, as a duo they are a riot. The dainty princess (Rangiku) with her can-do attitude, unassuming innocence and overall merry disposition also has a secondary layer of…
Read at the sourceRyanSpring
We've fallen on dark, desperate times when I somehow find myself watching and subsequently writing a review for a 41 minute, quarter-century old anime movie that no one else has heard of and there are FOUR reviews for prior to my own. That's about one every five years!
Puppet Princess isn't the worst of the worst, but talking plainly it came out in 2000, looks like it came out in the mid 90s at best or even the late 80s, is short, doesn't have time to develop characters or plot points or provide any emotional depth whatsoever and might as well not have a soundtrack at all. Aside from being able to say "I've seen that" or being the hardest of the hardcore old school anime or martial arts anime fan, there's simply no reason to go back and watch this now.
It is, in every way, somewhere und…
Read at the sourceIzzyMarrie
It's short and has charm, so watch it if the premise appeals to you. But don't go into it thinking it'll be on par with series like Ninja Scroll, the Kage OVA, or Vampire Princess Miyu in terms of either fights or beautiful animation. It's got style, but at a fraction, but it's definitely got some things going for it that make it a classic.
Animation was alright, and I'm not just saying that for the time this came out. It feels like, surprisingly, despite this OVA being an almost 1:1 shot of the one-shot it was based off of, that the manga did it better. Fights were decent, with cool moments of violent blood sprays accompanied with great choice of music. The final fight was its best fight and most well choreographed. Sound design was mediocre, however, with sound affects for a few of the…
Read at the sourceKamuiX1999
Wow, how did I manage to miss this one back in the day? It may say it was released in 2000, but everything about Puppet Princess screams mid-90s anime excess, and that is right up my alley. All 45 minutes of the film are pretty much non-stop action, with lots of gore and eye-catching set pieces. The whole use of puppets as warriors is cool as hell and their designs are all different and striking, with a steampunk aesthetic. The pace is brisk with a score that's pretty epic, featuring horns that really reminded of the stuff heard throughout Record of Lodoss War. Would have been cool if something more spun out from this, as there's definitely more material in here to be tapped, but as it stands, this is a quick watch that's a genuine blast.
Read at the sourceSidewinder51
Rate of 7 (good)
Seen via english dubbed
Likes
A true classic approach to tales much like the anime about Frankenstein i reviewed in the past. Some stories just plain start while others like this build you in. Rather than providing you a buffet of food you have a sampler dish placed in-front of you. Eat how you will but at least you can have an idea of what to is to come. Intro does not stop there. After sampling the dish the waiter instructs the chef to come out and explain his dish. What makes it flavorful. What makes it savory. What not to expect. You get the idea. At the end of your meal the chef reappears for questions and final remarks. Now, the idea of food/chef was my fancy feast for you. The message behind it is what your tasting. Top that childhood actors *wink wink*
In terms o…
Read at the sourcebarcaman101
I felt satisfied after watching this,a very short but worthwhile watch.After her family is killed and her kingdom was destroyed by rival forces a young princess called Rangiku embarks on a journey to get revenge on her enimies.Along the way she seeks the aid of the legendary samurai Manajiri to join her in her quest.what make this anime so good is that unlike todays anime this female character is more than just big breasted fan-service,on the contrary she is a reasonably interesting character as she is both nice and at the same time being a bumbling cluts.she carries around her fathers finest poppet warriors ,and man does she know how to use them.Manajiri the other main character is your typical sleezy pervert and provide a nice dose of humour.
I really liked the animation the drawing is…
Read at the source