Hmm, I can really see the similarities to other CLAMP works. Shamanic Princess features a wisecracking animal sidekick, some magical girls, some pretty boys and some nice clothes too. Hmm, Cardcaptor Sakura or Magic Knight Rayearth, anyone?

Despite the fact that it uses the magical girl formula, Shamanic Princess is still an excellent 6 episode series, that features some excellent fight scenes, a great setting, and an excellent cast of characters.

The plot is actually quite interesting. I don’t want to say too much, since I could ruin some of the plot. The Throne of Yord, a magical object from a umm magical world, has been stolen by Tiara’s boyfriend, Kagetsu. Now, Tiara must hunt by night for the Throne of Yord with her little animal pal, Japolo. However, Tiara must face her rival, Lena, who is protecting Kagetsu for some unknown reason. Will Tiara accomplish her mission or will she be sidetracked by her emotions and her feelings for Kagetsu and the protector of the Throne of Yord, Sarah?

Shamanic Princess is gorgeous. The art and character designs are excellent, and the battle scenes are well choreographed. The fights are intense and exciting, even for a shojo anime. The magic powers, the summons and the magical transformations are flashy and well, incredible. It feels like a fancy Sailor Moon without the cheesy monologues, better art, better fights and better story. My favorite battle scene had to be the battle in the church in front of the stained glass window at night. It was just so cool!

The setting is great too. It felt like the whole show was set in a European small town with some excellent architecture; very gothic. Most of the show takes place of night, so the whole atmosphere feels dark. Even each character has a dark side. For example, Tiara is not exactly the nicest hero around… I do like the characters. They were all quite interesting, and even though character development was pretty weak, I still liked most of them, although, Tiara did annoy me a few times and so did Kagetsu.

The Japanese voices are excellent, but the English voice acting is awful. I love Japolo’s Japanese voice (They gave him a European accent in the Dub. WHY?!!?!).

I do have a few problems with the show though. Most of the character actions seem unjustified. The love between Tiara and Kagetsu felt fake and very forced and the rivalry between Lena and Tiara didn’t really feel very justified either. They don’t seem to have a reason to hate each other. Also, did I miss something? What exactly does the Throne of Yord do?

The action music is nice, but the opening theme is pretty lame, as well as, the opening. How many times do we have to see girls dancing around in flower petals? Jeez.

As I said, I like the story, even though, it seems a little confusing at times and when it comes down to it, it’s just a simple plot with details to dress it up. Although, the many plot twists are nice.

Although, I don’t consider this a problem, others may. On the DVD, the main episodes about the search for the Throne of Yord are the first four episodes. The last two episodes delve into Tiara’s past, so it’s sort of like a prequel. Now, I don’t know if it’s a bad thing or not, but I think watching the prequel first would of helped me understand the first four episodes better. However, I did like having those “Oh, so that’s it” moments when I made connections with the first four episodes. I also think the ending to the prequel episodes is actually much more satisfying then the ending to the Throne of Yord episodes.

So, Shamanic Princess is a great OVA series. However, if the characters were developed a little better, the story a bit stronger and some of the loooong stretches of dialogue were cut. It could’ve been better. However, it’s an excellent OVA series, even if it is a shojo, magical girl series. (I still think it’s too uncute to be a magical girl series.) Anyway, you have to see it, to see the amazing fight scenes and the awesome Shamanic powers. Well worth your time and the DVD with all six episodes only costs $25. It’s good and it’s a bargain!