Ciao lovelies! Today, I’m reviewing a somewhat older anime
that came from a serial comic in in the Kodansha manga magazine Kiss- Princess
Jellyfish! (Kuragehime). This anime really touched my heart and shaped a lot of
my early teen years, so I figured I should review it!
In this review, I’ll be going over storyline, characters, and
of course, fashions. I will include some little tidbits in an “other” category as
well. Warning! Some spoilers ahead!
Storyline
The storyline of this anime centers around a girl named Tsukimi.
She is a otaku who loves jellyfish, and lives in a retro building called Amamizukan
with her friends Chieko, Mayaya, Banba, Jiji, and the elusive Miss Mejiro. Each
member of the “nuns” or “Amars” as they call themselves, has a special
interest- Chieko loves traditional Japanese Dolls and Kimono and Yukata, Mayaya
likes a show called “Records of the Three Kingdoms,” Banba’s special interest
is trains and food, and Jiji likes old men. Tsukimi is an awkward girl who
hates social interaction, like the rest of her peers. They only socialize with
each other unless it’s an emergency.
One day, while visiting a spotted jellyfish in a pet shop,
Tsukimi notices that the shop owner put a moon jellyfish with the spotted
jellyfish, which will kill the spotted jellyfish, who Tsukimi has named Clara.
She tries talking to the stylish man who is cashiering, but he’s freaked out by
her otaku rant and shoves her. A beautiful woman intervenes and manages to get
Tsukimi the jellyfish and helps her bring it home, then falls asleep on her
floor.
Tsukimi is nervous about this woman when she wakes up. She’s
admiring the wig worn by the woman when she notices the woman is awake and…not
a woman. Surprise! Cue the freakout as Tsukimi realizes shes accidentally snuck
a man into the “nunnery.”
From there, she and the man (named Kuranosuke Koibuchi)
become a strange kind of friends, and Kuranosuke manages to gain tolerance from
the others in the “nunnery” (though they don’t know he’s a boy.)
The main conflict of the story is revealed as we see that
the building they all live happily in is going to be torn down. They begin to
work to save their building, with Kuranosuke’s help, and they learn that beauty
can be a weapon.
This storyline was really sweet and genuine and really stuck
with me. I loved how it could be comedic at times, yet sweet at other times.
Not to mention I totally want Kuranosuke and Tsukimi to be together. It’s so
cute.
Storyline overall is 5/5 for me. I didn’t reveal every
detail here, so you’ll have to watch the anime to find out more!
Characters
God, I love these characters. Each character has their own
special interest, which I love, because I have many myself, and can connect to
these characters. The characters are lovable without being perfect, which makes
them very relatable and dimensional. Even the beautiful Kuranosuke isn’t
perfect, shown to be bratty and spoiled and not too kind, and we see his
amazing character development without him losing all his flaws.
Even the “minor” characters are well fleshed out and easy to
relate to. Characters like Inari who are only really there for conflict still
have complex feelings and motivations, enough to make them fully dimensional
and believable.
Each character is likeable in their own way really. For
characters, even though I love them, I’m still giving this anime a 4/5 because
they do still have a few characters who only exist for a running gag, like the
Prime Minister and ex prime minister.
Fashions
For a show very centered on fashion and beauty being weapons
and armor, Princess Jellyfish contains interesting and cute fashions, many of
which I would even wear. While most of the best fashions are reserved for our
golden boy Kuranosuke, when the Amars get makeovers, they look pretty dang
amazing too. I’ve made a collage of all my favorite looks from the show below:
I think I will make a post soon trying to find ways to
replicate some of these looks.
The hairstyles in this anime are also incredible. Most anime
has the character have only one hairstyle the entire time, but this anime has
huge variations and styles! I made a collage of the best hairstyles below:
I want to make a post attempting to recreate some of these.
Overall for fashion, 5/5. Well done, creators of Kuragehime,
you’ve got me wanting to look like a perfect Tokyo street snap every day of my
life.
OTHERS
-This anime cuts off rather abruptly and leaves a lot of
loose ends, but you can read more in the manga.
-This anime focuses on some heavy topics like the death of a
parent and social anxiety.
-The music in this anime is spot on and very emotionally
appropriate.
OVERALL
I love this anime so much. This anime shaped my early teen
years and high school, and Kuranosuke was my biggest inspiration to experiment
with fashion, which was the biggest thing that brought me out of my shell of
social anxiety. This anime to this day has a piece of my heart. 5/5!
I will leave you with some inspiring words from our golden
boy Kuranosuke:
(Skip to 1:52 for the speech)
Thank you so much for reading! Do you like this anime? Let
me know in the comments below!
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Thank you very much for reading, and I’ll see your lovely
face in my next post! Till then, stay amazing!
2 Comments
tHIS IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE ANIME (really the only one I watched) AND I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE IT
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing anime :)
DeleteType your thoughts here!