subject: Corpse Princess Part 1 Aka And Part 2 Kuro [print this page] Corpse Princess sounded like something that should have been right up my alley: a supernatural, action packed anime with a woman lead kicking butt and taking names. Makina is a member of the living dead, but instead of shambling around questing for brains to munch on, she's the sidekick of a monk, Keisei, and together they combat the REAL unpleasant members of the undead, the ones who do want nothing more than to eat your brains or do unspeakable things to your soul. Makina is something called a Corpse Princess. She was murdered, brought back to life, and now must slay 108 of the unsavory types of Corpses to get her final rest. On top of all that she has a mystery to solve: who killed her and her family and what connection do they have with the organization she and Keisei work with?
There are two seasons of Corpse Princess, Aka and Kuro. How "seasons" of shows usually work in Japan is that the first season is usually self-contained because who knows if it will prove popular enough to warrant another season. The first season of Corpse Princess, mostly builds up and has lengthy exposition for an action packed season two. All the actual plot and main conflict of the story are contained in the second season of the show. It is a very action packed show and the female characters, even if fan-servicy, do represent fairly well, it's just more of a light romp than the serious drama I was expecting.
The show does feel like it's aimed at a more younger and masculine audience, which might explain it not grabbing me the way I thought it should have, being a woman and well out of school. Some shows can be enjoyed by those outside of their target audience, but Corpse Princess seems really driven on who it wants to appeal too, much more so than other shonen shows. The main character is arguably Ouri, which we see the story through his eyes after all, our true focus is Makina the Corpse Princess. Her parents and siblings were horrifically murdered, SHE was horrifically murdered, and now she has to spend what might be an eternity fighting monsters or face becoming one herself. She should have epic amounts of angst, existential and otherwise going on.
If weighty plot isn't really what you're in the mood for, you just want to curl up on the couch with a big bowl of brain popcorn, then this show will probably fit the bill nicely. It's a supernatural romp that has lots of action and pretty girls in short skirts. The main girl putting the smack down on the hordes of the evil dead may just be the cathartic ending you need to unwind after a hard day at school or work. This series is licensed for North American distribution and released by Funimation Entertainment and both part one and two are available on DVD.
