Anime Review - Princess Principal - Cute "Mafia" Girls Doing Serious Jobs

Like most original anime, we should usually expect an open-ended conclusion since animation studios use it as a teaser to see whether the anime has garnered a decent amount of followers and sales. Princess Principal is a surprisingly good original series about cute girls doing "dirty mafia work" and also talks about a separated nation - the Commonwealth and the Kingdom. I'm gonna assume that the naming of the two main sides is related to reality (United Kingdom and the rest of the Commonwealth).

The story starts off in the present, but then delves back into the past of the characters. This happens for about 5 episodes (1 for each character at least), so don't expect a chronological storyboard. However, the studio handled and presented the unchronological approach very well. I was never confused at any point and I knew what was going on. The unchronological approach worked because they bunched the backstories together, rather than just splitting it all over the series. This allowed the audience to know that it's gonna be full of backstories and how the girls came together. The anime's action is very well done and it kept me engaged throughout. 

However, there are a couple of flaws in this anime. I felt that one of the episodes in the anime didn't explain the motives of the girls capturing a criminal. The episode (Episode 7) involved a soldier named "Poison Gas Jack" who uses nerve agent to kill people. There was just a severe lack of information since we don't really see him killing anyone and the dispatching of him seem pretty lackluster. I expected more from a criminal who has such a cool name. The anime also just focused more on the relationships between Princess and Ange, rather than the main plotline of "tearing down the London wall" and creating a unified nation. Well I can't fault them on that since it is only 12 episodes and we know 12 episode original series are notorious for leaving it open-ended. 

The group of girls are all very unique since they serve a distinct role when serving carrying out a mission. My personal favourite girl is Chise (the samurai girl) since she seems the most coolest and one of the more useful and offensive unit. I also like how all the English characters (all of them except Chise) look Western. Their hair colour is random and crazy, and it made the anime look realistic and appealing. Dorothy has very good plot too (since she's a seductress).

The voice acting is pretty good - it's not super spectacular. The main highlight of the sound aspect is definitely the OP. That OP is so catchy, and it's even better when paired with the funny and quirky animation that goes along with the OP. I like the aesthetically pleasing artstyle of this anime - it kinda reminds me of Baccano and that's how it should be. It is supposed to represent a "Industrial Revolution" setting and it established that vibe very well.

Nice plot ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Overall, the anime was very enjoyable to watch and very easy to follow. Viewers should not expect too much and definitely should expect an open-ended conclusion. If you like Baccano and you like cute anime girls, this is definitely a would recommend. It looks like Season 2 won't be anytime soon and from my research, it seems that the possibility of a Season 2 will be based on how much Ange figures they sell (really? lol).

Score Summary (8/10):
Story: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10

(Note: I am trying out a new approach in my review. I sometimes feel that some parts of previous reviews seem repetitive and restrictive since the sections usually intertwine with one another. However, I still maintain the same framework for the reviews - I still analyse it in the same order, but I can now combine certain aspects like sound and characters together, or sound and art. By removing the headings, I can write a more succinct review, but I'm not sure whether people will like it since I also sometimes like to know the scoring for a particular aspect of the anime from my experience on MyAnimeList. If you like this style, please comment to tell me so, and definitely tell me if you prefer the older style.)