Kaoru Chujo
2006-10-03, 14:27
For me, the first episode was very nice, very simple, well organized and well acted, with decent inexpensive animation and good music, and some nicely played emotion.
The story features a half-dozen princely bishounen and an innocent Japanese boy, Yuuta, as the only students in a huge old school on an isolated wooded island in Europe. It is based on a keitai love-sim game for girls. The protagonist's amazement at the school and the princely students is the heart of the first episode, which begins with Yuuta using his keitai to introduce his new schoolmates to his onee-san in Japan, and ends with a mystery and a big problem for Yuuta.
http://img423.imageshack.us/img423/5165/marginalprincepskl5.jpg
The protagonist is played by Sugiyoshi Higanuma (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=14385), whom I first heard in (the few eps I watched of) Tactical Roar. He has a very affecting, somewhat uncontrolled voice. I didn't like the breathless stop-and-start quality of the voice at first, but decided in the end that it produced the right emotional effect. The big name is Nojima Kenji (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=4667), who plays the aloof prince. Okiayu Ryoutaro (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=718), and old pro who was Kunimitsu in Prince of Tennis, Yuu in Marmalade Boy, and Scar in FMA, does an excellent job as the sympathetic Joshua. He sings an insert song in ep1 beautifully, as well.
The director, Inagaki Takayuki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=20428), is a newcomer who directed one episode of Black Cat. The script is by Hayasaka Ritsuko (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=21422), who did series structure for Galaxy Railways. The character designer, Sasaki Toshiko (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=21422), did character design for Gallery Fake and was animation director of Urusei Yatsura. Sound director Iida Satoki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=14261) did the same job on Soul Link and Magikano.
official site (http://www.mpri-a.jp/)
Anime News Network page (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6805)
The first broadcast of the week is on Sundays at 26:13 (2:13 at night). There was already a Chinese sub of the first episode available on Monday, but neither raw nor sub had appeared on an English-language site by Tuesday morning. The likelihood of this being subbed in English seems quite small.
The story features a half-dozen princely bishounen and an innocent Japanese boy, Yuuta, as the only students in a huge old school on an isolated wooded island in Europe. It is based on a keitai love-sim game for girls. The protagonist's amazement at the school and the princely students is the heart of the first episode, which begins with Yuuta using his keitai to introduce his new schoolmates to his onee-san in Japan, and ends with a mystery and a big problem for Yuuta.
http://img423.imageshack.us/img423/5165/marginalprincepskl5.jpg
The protagonist is played by Sugiyoshi Higanuma (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=14385), whom I first heard in (the few eps I watched of) Tactical Roar. He has a very affecting, somewhat uncontrolled voice. I didn't like the breathless stop-and-start quality of the voice at first, but decided in the end that it produced the right emotional effect. The big name is Nojima Kenji (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=4667), who plays the aloof prince. Okiayu Ryoutaro (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=718), and old pro who was Kunimitsu in Prince of Tennis, Yuu in Marmalade Boy, and Scar in FMA, does an excellent job as the sympathetic Joshua. He sings an insert song in ep1 beautifully, as well.
The director, Inagaki Takayuki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=20428), is a newcomer who directed one episode of Black Cat. The script is by Hayasaka Ritsuko (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=21422), who did series structure for Galaxy Railways. The character designer, Sasaki Toshiko (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=21422), did character design for Gallery Fake and was animation director of Urusei Yatsura. Sound director Iida Satoki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=14261) did the same job on Soul Link and Magikano.
official site (http://www.mpri-a.jp/)
Anime News Network page (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6805)
The first broadcast of the week is on Sundays at 26:13 (2:13 at night). There was already a Chinese sub of the first episode available on Monday, but neither raw nor sub had appeared on an English-language site by Tuesday morning. The likelihood of this being subbed in English seems quite small.