User:PriPrifan/Anime

Princess Principal.

Princess Principal (プリンセス・プリンシパル) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Studio 3Hz and Actas. The series was directed by Masaki Tachibana and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Kouhaku Kuroboshi and Yukie Akiya, and music composed by Yuki Kajiura. The series takes place during the early 20th century in the Kingdom of Albion, which is split into two districts by a giant wall: the Commonwealth and the Kingdom. The story focuses on five Commonwealth girls, who are attending the traditional and prestigious school Queen’s Mayfair, are spies disguised as high school girls.

The series premiered on July 9, 2017 and ended on September 24, with a total of 12 episodes. A spin-off game for Android and iPhone titled Princess Principal Game of Mission, was launched in August 2017. A six-part film series will be released in 2019.

Production
The concept of a spy-themed anime originated when director Tachibana and Bandai Visual's producer Atsushi Yukawa were discussing about an anime where "high school girls were spies", thus starting the development of Princess Principal.

The characters were created by Tachibana and character designer Kouhaku Kuroboshi. Tachibana wanted the designer to be someone who would "be the best person for the job to make characters that are cute but could do other things too." He described Kuroboshi as "someone with a cute touch, but is able to do something far apart from cute." Stating that they "ended up doing something both cute yet hardboiled at the same time." The Japanese Military Analyst Yuu Koizumi shared his thoughts on the characters, stating that Ange was the most suited to being a spy, saying "It seems like she has absolutely no feelings of guilt about deceiving people and lying, and this is the most important quality to have as a spy...As long as someone says that they're killing their conscience, they can't be a spy. I think that unless someone either has no conscience from the start or can ignore it, they should not be a spy."

Reception
Princess Principal has garnered significant praise from critics, with many calling it one of the best anime of 2017. Kotaku picked it as one of best summer 2017 anime series, with writer Cecilia D'Anastasio noting that the "soundtrack is jazzy madness. Its animation is pure beauty. It’s full of sharp writing, surprises and edge-of-your-seat intrigue." Anime UK News stated the series is "a steampunk action anime that featured some truly spectacular and kinetic animation".

The music gained positive comments, especially the opening theme song to the series, "The Other Side of the Wall". The song was named by Chris Farris and Theron Martin from Anime News Network as the best theme song of 2017. It was also nominated for the best opening song at the 2017 Crunchyroll's Anime Awards.