Monday, April 22, 2019

Review: Hiiro no Kakera - The Tamayori Princess Saga (2012)

Hiiro no Kakera - The Tamayori Princess Saga (2012) is a Japanese fantasy anime. It contains 26 episodes.

Tamaki Kasuga, a first-year transfer student, is the next Tamayori Princess after her grandmother, Shizuki. She is very connected with, and can sense through, her body whenever something happens to the Onikirimaru seals. When she first comes to the rural village, she has no idea what was going on. She is completely unaware of her role as the Tamayori Princess. Things start to get weird when mysterious dark forces and a gang of misfits called the Logos come after her. Luckily for Tamaki, she is suddenly surrounded by five handsome young men that come to her rescue and now act as her guardians. Because being a princess isn't easy, and she'll need all the help she can get.

I discovered this anime on Anime News Network when I was searching for similar fantasy anime to Fushigi Yugi. Tamayori Princess takes place in contemporary Japan with frequent references to Japanese mythology. The historical background was interesting because it used ancient Japanese art to portray the monsters that the original Tamayori Princess used to lock up the ancient evil. At times, however, I thought the pacing was awkward because I couldn't understand the importance of the priestess' role in preserving the artifacts. The romance part of the plot also felt forced towards the end because the direction of the story didn't imply forbidden love between a priestess and a demon. The anime quality is surprisingly superb, making some of the scenes look live-action. The soundtrack music is quite good, reminding me of another anime, AIR (2004). Overall, this is a good series worth binging on a rainy day, but the plot is quite forgettable.

Opening song #1: Hey! (Nee) - Fujita Maiko



Opening song #2: "Takanaru" by Maiko Fujita



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