With her enormous eyes, Barbie-doll figure, skimpy costumes, and masses of auburn hair, Tiara is almost a caricature of the clichéd anime heroine. The theft of the mysterious and powerful Throne of Yord sends her from the magical Guardian World to Earth to recover it, accompanied by her weasel-like partner, Japolo. Tiara sometimes battles her old friend Lena and sometimes allies with her; both women seem more interested in their friend Sara and in winning Kagetsu’s affection than in the fate of entire worlds. Director Mitsuru Hongo, who also wrote the original story, shows more of a flair for choreographing midair battles than presenting a coherent story. Numerous dreams and flashbacks interrupt the flow of the narrative, and much of the plot doesn’t begin to make sense until the final episodes. Even fans of the series concede that Tiara’s adventures are easier to follow if the viewer begins with episodes 9 to 12, then goes back to “The Throne of Yord.” Shamanic Princess embodies the visual style of the Clamp studio at its most flamboyant, with lots of full moons, figures reflected in vast eyes, blizzards of flower petals, and so much hair blowing in sinuous curves, the screen resembles an Alphonse Mucha poster gone berserk. Rated 13 and up for nudity and violence. –Charles Solomon
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May 9, 2010
#1
Okay this isnt a review but a question I would like answered. What is the difference betweeen this DVD and the one that has a different cover and is about 7 dollars more? I can’t find the difference, can someone please help me?
May 9, 2010
#2
As an anime, I liked it. not a favourite… but it’s worth watching… what really detracted was the quality of the DVD itself.
I’m the kind of person that isn’t fond of watching EVERY intro/ending theme EVERYTIME.
This collection is episode based… each episode with an intro and ending theme… as opposed to a movie with one intro and one ending theme.
Normally being Episode based isn’t a problem for me, I have Gundam Wing, which is 49 episodes… I can just click next to skip the intro and go right into the anime… but during the production of the anime they placed only few track breaks (locations the dvd can skip to)… none are directly after the intro… most if not all are only at the halfway mark of an episode.
honesty… I don’t like being forced to watch the SAME exact intro 6 times. the only solution is to move the track manually… and GUESS where the intro theme ends… which greatly annoys me.
From an artistic aspect it’s good. From a technical aspect, it’s poor. there is no excuse for this technical failure.
As an anime, I would give it 4 stars… as a product i would give it less than zero if I could…
If you’re like me… avoid watching this anime on DVD… the technical failure will drive you nuts… and it will prevent you from enjoying the anime itself.
May 10, 2010
#3
Tiara is a good character but the plot was so corny. It lact style and grace. I mean really her searching for the throne of yord witch was stolen is sooo old.
But on the good side,the art was spectacular. The music was good and jablo was the cutest little partner I ever seen.
May 10, 2010
#4
Same schoolgirl crushes seen on many anime: the love triangle theme of schoolgirls ogling one guy.
Kicking and boxing Ninja action, with amorphous monsters. Again.
Special powers, again.
The artistry is pretty good and in some places excellent. Some scenes are drawn deliciously. But the charaters are the same shelf-nosed Japanese Europeans you’ll see elsewhere – not realisticlly drawn people.
The plot is strong enough to keep it from being a total dump, but overall it’s a weak story. It’s par normal anime, worth a rental, and for anime fans a must buy. Overall it is aimed at the 12 to 15 year old schoolgirl set. For example, the “nudity” word is used as a disclaimer but actually there’s only one bit of nudity, a red demon (the demon inside us all) of the main character during a later episode. That and bkini-level suggestive shots in the credits (you get more and better skin from a bikini shoot; an R rate movie is far above this in nudity).
What would have made a better? Humanly drawn characters. The main character being married instead of a schoolgirl-with-infatuateion level celibate nun. Something on par with mature themes.
That or a price of [amt.] instead of [amt]. [Amt.] is what real movies are worth, not cartoon fare.
May 10, 2010
#5
Shamanic Princess was pretty good. I watched all three hours in one sitting. I thought it was interesting and the art was beautiful. ^__~