The Essentials

Name: Scrapped Princess
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
Episodes: 24
Released: April 8, 2003 – October 7, 2003
Based On: Scrapped Princess light novel series by Ichiro Sakaki
Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Produced By: BONES
US Distribution By: Bandai Entertainment

Major Japanese Cast

Pacifica Casull: Fumiko Orikasa
Shannon Casull: Shinichiro Miki
Raquel Casull: Sayaka Ohara
Leopolde Scorpse: Takashi Kondo
Zepheris: Kaori Mizuhashi
Christopher Armalite: Takahiro Mizushima
Winia Chester: Ayako Kawasumi
Seness Lulu Giat: Yuki Matsuoka
Prince Forsyth: Junji Majima
Fulle: Katsuyuki Konishi
Kidaf: Daisuke Ono
Baroness Bilach: Yukari Nozawa
General Peters-Stahl: Hiroshi Takahashi
Steyr: Michiko Neya
Socom: Kazuya Nakai

Major English Cast

Pacifica Casull: Bridget Hoffman
Shannon Casull: Crispin Freeman
Raquel Casull: Bridget Hoffman
Leopolde Scorpse: Yuri Lowenthal
Zepheris: Kate Higgins
Christopher Armalite: Steve Staley
Winia Chester: Michelle Ruff
Seness Lulu Giat: Wendee Lee
Prince Forsyth: Dave Wittenberg
Fulle: Liam O’Brien
Kidaf: Doug Erholtz
General Peters-Stahl: Dave Mallow
Steyr: Karen Strassman
Socom: Lex Lang

Scores

Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 9/10 (x 2 = 18 pts)
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)

Total: 171/200 (85.5%)

Review

Scrapped Princess is about a girl named Pacifica who, according to a prophecy handed down by the god of the world she lives in, will bring about the end of the world on her 16th birthday. As a result of this prophecy, her father, the King, ordered her to be killed immediately after birth and thus she was tossed from a cliff side.

However, Pacifica was not killed. Instead, she was saved and then adopted by the Casull family as their daughter. Later, her two older adopted siblings – Shannon and Raquel – protect her when it is discovered that she, the Scrapped Princess, is still alive and is now less than a year from turning 16.

Along their travels, Pacifica and her siblings have to fight off those who wish to kill them, and end up learning about the past of the world they live in – Leinwan – and discover that the “poison that will destroy the world” which Pacifica is prophesied to be isn’t all that it appears to be.

I have to admit, I really liked this series. It seemed to have a fairly unique fantasy world which kept getting deeper and deeper as the story progressed. It also raises up the question of what one should do if given the choice between saving someone close to you, and saving many people whom you know nothing about, as Pacifica’s protectors must decide. Of course, even that choice isn’t everything that it seems to be.

The story can drag on in some episodes, but overall it is excellent, with the story holding up well through all 24 episodes. The animation of the series is also excellent, and the CG special effects blend in with the 2D animation virtually seamlessly. The music is also pretty good. Perhaps the weakest thing about the series is the English dub, and even that is pretty good.

Overall, if you like a good fantasy or action anime series, you’ll probably enjoy Scrapped Princess.

First Watched: March – May 2007
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes