I also changed a bit of the review's layout for this review, think it looks better this way.
ふしぎ星の☆ふたご姫
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime
Episodes: 51
Also known as: Twin Princesses of the Mysterious Star
Aired during: April 2005 – March 2006
* This review contains mild spoilers. *
Now, before I even start. If you dare to come and say Futagohime has nothing to do with Pretty Cure or the basic concept of Sailor Moon I will smack you, because it does. Pretty Cure finished at January 2005, Futagohime started at April 2005. And let's face it, what 'normal' magical girl anime doesn't take influence from Sailor Moon? In any case, combine those two and add a bit from Wedding Peach and you're all set. And if you're still wondering how much the twin princesses have to do with Pretty Cure, then let's see this.
Dress, check.
In Pretty Cure only Honoka has a dress, but in Futagohime both of the main heroines do.
Two heroines, check.
This goes without saying.
Cute little creature(s), check.
At Pretty Cure we get Mepple and Mipple. At Futagohime we get Puumo and Buumo, the later having nothing to do with the main characters though. They look alike, and have a same kind of speaking style, pumo. You try to tell me they don't have anything to do with each other.
Similar plot, check.
Save the world, collect stones... At Pretty Cure Prism Stones and at Futagohime later on Grace Stones.
I could probably go on longer, but that's not really what reviews are for (comparing two series), so I'm sorry for getting a bit carried away with this. Now onto the actual review!
'At the Mysterious Planet, there are seven kingdoms which each other affect the well being of the planet. At Sunny Kingdom exists the Blessing of the Sun, which brings light and hope to allover the world. However, recently, it's power has started to fade again. The twin princesses of Sunny Kingdom, Fine and Rein, meet the original savior of the planet, Princess Grace, and are granted a special kind of power, the power of Prominence, they must now use to save the Mysterious Planet before it gets taken over by the power of darkness.
But can these two princesses labeled as the most unprincesslike princesses of Mysterious Planet's history really do it?'
The plot, it's a cliché. Save the world from being destroyed, how many times have you heard it? You can't really expect anything more from a basic magical girl anime like this, however, there is a catch. Futagohime starts out a bit boring and low, but as some time passes on new stuff happens and every time you might feel like you don't want to watch the series any longer, it throws in a new plot twist which keeps you interested. That's one thing I really liked with this series, the plot may be basic but it's well thought out.
It's nowhere near the same level as with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for example, but it's up there. It's not bad.
I can't say I'm impressed at the animation, because I'm not. Futagohime finished at 2006, the same year stuff like Death Note and Code Geass got made, hence you might expect something a bit more from this. Sure it's supposed to be all cutesy and shoujo and aimed towards younger people, mostly children, but still. I'm also not calling the animation bad, because it's not. It's just a bit... Bland, I guess.
There really isn't a lot more that can be said about it. That scene with Nagiño that's in the picture under the animation text always cracks me up. It's just so wrong and creepy and hilarious at the same time. From episode 44.
Opening and ending
The series greets you with an overenthusiastic opening song, which is pretty damn catchy and most likely you'll find yourself dancing and singing to it in no time at all. I know I did. The song is good and suits the series well, creating a suitable atmosphere for it before you even start watching it.
For the ending songs I have nothing to say, once again... I'm not a big fan of ending songs. The second one's lyrics are a bit funny at the beginning though. Patatata run patata~
Voice actors
Okay so, we have a weird combination of more well known voice actors and some that aren't known basically at all; For example Mirlo's seiyuu hasn't been in any other series. Almost all the characters have their own actors, and they all suit their characters perfectly, great job there. To name a few:
Rein's seiyuu is Mikuru from Haruhi, Fine's is... No-one you'd probably know, but she was Sachiko Kawamura's actor from Nana for example. Shade's is Ritsuka from Loveless, Puumo's is Ushio from Clannad Afterstory. Interestingly enough Bright's voice is Natsu Dragneel's, the main character from Fairy Tail's voice. I don't know what to think, since I never saw even one episode of Fairy Tail and I didn't really like Bright's voice at all... Also Moon Maria is the same as Luna from Sailor Moon. Coincidence? No, I don't think so.
I've said everything more or less, but one more notification is that many of the characters' seiyuus have been either at Pokemon or at Mermaid Melody. Also the duo from FLIP-FLOP, the people who sang the opening theme make an appearance at one episode, they're called Aada and Iida at the episode.
Background music
To be honest I completely forgot all about the BGM as soon as the series ended. No memories at all about it. It wasn't bad, but nothing too great either. Once again, something you'd expect from a series like this. A bit like Sailor Moon -level kinda music.
Apart from the song Princess Pearl sings. I just can't get over how beautiful it is, and I have to say it moved me to tears at the both episodes it was heard in.
The cast of Futagohime is really big, even though there are only like six characters you see constantly, and only three during the first few episodes. All the characters have their own personalities, Fine is a big lover of food, Rein loves decorations, Altezza loves jewelry and so on... One I really like is the natural airhead Sophie. Nagiño is a complete weirdo you can't help but to like on the long run. Although many of them seem to have clichéish personalities, they suit their characters well and make them interesting to watch.
To sum it up shortly, the cast of Futagohime is well thought out, and one of the strong sides of the series.
Overall, Fushigiboshi no Futagohime is not bad, not great either, but something you will want to watch if you're a fan of the genre. Otherwise, stay the hell away, you will hate it. Also if you enjoyed this series, check out Pretty Cure.
Oh man, I want to watch the second series so bad, but I'd have to do it completely in Japanese... I mean, my Japanese understanding skills on these kinda series is about 80-90% per episode, but it would still be nice to watch them with subtitles. Bleh. In any case, until next time, see ya~
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