Imagine being a jellyfish princess and not something like a phyllorhiza punctata princess.
"Princess Jellyfish," originally known as "Kuragehime," is the 2010 anime adaptation of the 2008 comedy, slice of life manga that ran until 2018. The original manga was written and drawn by Akiko Higashimura, who also made "Tokyo Tarareba Girls" and "Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey."
The anime adaptation was animated by Brain's Base, which is an admittedly awesome name for an animation studio. They've worked on the "Natsume's Book of Friends" Series, second season of "Spice and Wolf," "Princess Jellyfish: Go, Sisterhood Explorers!," and more.
This time, I was the only who suggested the anime I watched with my friend, who was cured of his Eatten. Although, for some reason, now I've contracted Bofa. Why does this keep on happening with me and my friend's watchalongs?
Why did I suggest it? Honestly, it was because jellyfish was in the title... I mean, I'm sold on a game after hearing one track from it, I'm not sure what you expected... Unless you're new to my questionable decisions to watch/buy fictional media.
Tsukimi & Kuranosuke
Premise
Tsukimi Kurashita is a NEET, someone who isn't in school nor working, riddled with social anxiety who lives with The Sisterhood, Amars in the Japanese script, full of adult girls like her with weird hobbies. These hobbies include trains, being obsessed with "Three Kingdoms," kimonos & dolls, and just a straight up fetish.
Tsukimi Kurashita's hobby is illustrating jellyfish, which she fell in love with as a kid. In fact, while trying to save a jellyfish, she meets and gets help from Kuranosuke Koibuchi, who has a hilariously hard to remember name in comparison to everyone.
He figured it was the right thing to do, and even- Wait, why did I say he-
Oh nut, he has peepee! Kuranosuke Koibuchi is a crossdresser who now must hide his gender from The Sisterhood members aside from Tsukimi since... Well, they're The Sisterhood. However, Kuranosuke wants to spend more time with Tsukimi, and Tsukimi will need Kuranosuke by her side for the upcoming drama.
The Duo
I honestly adore the premise. Tsukimi Kurashita and Kuranosuke are both eccentric but work off each other well despite Tsukimi being an introvert and Kuranosuke an extrovert. They both try to understand each other, even if Kuranosuke's methods are a little...
Quirky... However, it's funny, so it's perfectly okay. Tsukimi Kurashita is awesome given her passion for jellyfish is endearing and relatable. She has such a strong love for jellyfish, glowing brightly when she's talking about them.
Kuranosuke Koibuchi was easily my favourite character for his entertaining personality and dynamics. He's just so much fun to see him interact with others with his flamboyant and confident nature. His dynamic with The Sisterhood is especially interesting given how different his and their worlds are.
Another reason Kuranosuke is my favourite is because of his designs because damn, he dresses fabulously. Each one is stylish, unique, and visually stunning in terms of design. It's so hard to even choose a favourite.
[Credit: Brain's Base]
Every character is well-designed, with The Sisterhood being designed to clearly not have makeup, with them either wearing glasses or having their eyes hidden. At the time, glasses were seen as something nerds wore. Although, I hope that isn't the case anymore. In-universe The Sisterhood are unattractive and their tropes reflect that.
In comparison, you have the "Stylish" who have lipstick, eyeliner, clothes that pop out more, and other makeup. It helps to make the line between The Sisterhood and the "Stylish" clear.
Design stuff aside... Both Tsukimi and Kuranosuke are amazing characters that, despite their flaws as people, such as Kuranosuke's selfishness or Tsukimi's low self-esteem, you can't help but root for both. Despite Kuransouke's faults, he's supportive of Tsukimi and even drops his feminine voice when he's serious.
[Credit: Brain's Base]
Especially when they tackle the technical antagonist of "Princess Jellyfish," who surprisingly works well. On one hand, they do messed up stuff, yet they're hilarious when their guard is down given their over-the-top freak-outs and reactions.
These three make the drama so interesting, and even tense at times, because I found myself having a lot of fun with these characters and caring about them. Well, the antagonist writing-wise, I don't support [REDACTED] and especially h*ndholding without protection. Regardless of the ethics, "Princess Jellyfish" nails the serious moments well.
There's even romance involved. While it isn't a huge aspect, it got the romance fan side of me excited and going "d'awww" a lot. It's adorable as h*ck, with the right amount of tension.
Deviations
"Princess Jellyfish" does deviate from the manga, mainly by adding scenes. For example, in the second episode, two Sisterhood residents are close to discovering Kuranosuke's gender. However, in the manga, this scene doesn't exist.
This also applies to the scene where The Sisterhood go shopping for their hot pot. The "Princess Jellyfish" anime shows them shopping, but the manga doesn't. The anime even gives one of the residents, Banba, a meat sonar.
This deviation might've made Banba the most powerful anime character of all time. I mean, what is the weakness of nearly every Shonen protagonist? Wanting to eat, but Banba can steal their meat- WHAT HAS THE ANIME DONE?!
An interesting detail in the manga is that when extreme emotions are on display at times, black ink splotches occur. Intentional or not, I think it's a cool nod to jellyfish since they shoot black ink.
However, a major deviation occurs around episode 10, which is around chapter 20 in the manga. The drama in the anime ends in an open-ended fashion, with the manga playing things out differently. Some things are also thrown out of order.
I can see why though; the season needed an ending. Unfortunately, aspects of the anime's ending are underwhelming or unearned for a "please buy the manga" advertisement.
The Comedy
The comedy of "Princess Jellyfish" is amazing with both visual gags and subtle jokes. My favourite of the former is when The Sisterhood turn to stone when attention is on them or in the presence of the "Stylish."
I especially love when Kuranosuke takes Tsukimi to his house, who he ties up despite Tsukimi being in stone mode. The presentation helps a lot with making the comedy work so well with great visuals, good animation, and solid stone graphics.
[Credits: Funimation & Brain's Base]
The characters can be haphazard though. If you find a character funny, they're a lot of fun. If you don't, they can be a bit too much or feel they overstay their welcome, which unfortunately applies to every Sisterhood character minus the kimono-wearing Chieko and Tsukimi.
[Credit: Funimation; Studio: Brain's Base]
The static Sisterhood Characters are necessary to have in the plot as they are part of what drives Tsukimi and Kuranosuke, but you get the gist of what they're like early on.
Thankfully, it doesn't take away from what "Princess Jellyfish" does well. The drama, characters that work, and comedy come together to make an engaging story.
Miscellaneous
Despite the quality of the presentation, I didn't like the Opening and Ending. The western references make sense for the titles of the episodes/manga chapters also being western references, and the Opening even acts as a creative character roll call.
However, most of the references don't fit the characters at all, making it hard to get a read on most characters. For example, I was expecting the character Mayaya to be a martial artist because of the "Kill Bill" reference... Oh how far from the truth that was, never even punches a guy. The song used also gets on my nerves admittedly.
The Ending has better and more fitting visuals, but it's still not an Ending I find myself wanting to rewatch. The song used also isn't my cup of tea. I do like how they incorporate the next episode preview in the Ending; I love it when anime does that.
These aren't bad by any means; they just didn't do much for me. The same goes for the soundtrack. The music is wonderful, but the OST isn't my thing.
However, I'll admit the Sisterhood theme is a banger. What starts off as a silly song goes unexpectedly hard.
Finally, the dub voicework is great. The voice actors perform their characters well and add a lot to certain characters like Kuranosuke. It's also kind of funny seeing Josh Grelle, who dubs Armin in "Attack on Titan," doing a feminine voice.
Overall (A)
"Princess Jellyfish" is a wonderful time with hilarious jokes, engaging drama, strong main characters, a fantastic antagonist, and solid presentation. While most of the Sisterhood characters, Opening & Ending, music, and open-ended ending weren't my cup of tea, there's a lot to love about "Princess Jellyfish."
Japan seems to agree, as "Princess Jellyfish" got a live-action movie in 2014 and a TV Mini-Series in 2018. Strangely the anime never got a second season
However, I think it's missing something to truly be special to me personally. It's hard to explain, but I don't feel the same excitement talking about this like last week with "Ai Yori Aoshi" in last week's review. This doesn't reduce any points for "Princess Jellyfish," it's just something I felt was worth mentioning.
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