Fena: Pirate Princess, Episode 12

[ben0119]

I still don't see why the whole MAIDEN OF CHOOSING thing was necessary.  Could have just had Fena following her memories and the clues etc.  This episode may have jumped the shark.  I would re-watch it to try to make more sense of things, but this episode kind of pissed me off.

At least Fena seemed to get her memories back.  I hope.

[OwlChemist81]

On to The Long Halloween!!!

[DangerMouse]

13 minutes ago, ben0119 said:

I still don't see why the whole MAIDEN OF CHOOSING thing was necessary.  Could have just had Fena following her memories and the clues etc.  This episode may have jumped the shark.  I would re-watch it to try to make more sense of things, but this episode kind of pissed me off.

At least Fena seemed to get her memories back.  I hope.

Yeah, felt like they kinda forced it in just because they needed to give her a culmination moment at the end proving she'd choose protecting her new friends over herself, like they have for her the whole time, specifically since it was the finale.

I enjoyed that little revisiting montage they want on to try to help her remember though.

Yeah, very confident she got her memories back at the end given that last moment. So that was good.

Edited October 24, 2021 by DangerMouse

[DangerMouse]

VA's indeed did a good job with that big emotional moment between Fena and Yukimaru as she made her choice even if it was forced. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by DangerMouse

[DangerMouse]

Overall I had fun watching it but lots of wasted potential, should have been so much more too. Plus, Abel sucked.

Hmm, they really are continuously just calling it season 1 even in the marathon promo too

Edited October 24, 2021 by DangerMouse

[MasqueradeOverture]

Lame

[Daos]

Here's someone's long ass review of Fena that I agree with....

"If B: The Beginning is what happens when the producers at Netflix restrict Kazuto Nakazawa’s creative vision so much, the final product feels watered down and forgettable, then Kaizoku Oujo is what happens when the retards at Toonami and Crunchyroll clamoring for any original content they can use to advertise their dying platforms say yes to everything and allow the project to completely fly off the rails. B: The Beginning is this team’s previous project, and Kaizoku Oujo undergoes a similar decline. The first five episodes of B: The Beginning were solidly written, and they were packed with originality and intrigue. However, that intrigue ultimately amounted to very little, and while the show was never truly bad, it felt like the journey wasn’t worth the destination. Moreover, the show also declined visually. The first five episodes were so well-animated, I could hardly believe my eyes. I always expect the best from Production IG’s in-house animation staff, and they always deliver, but gosh, B: The Beginning just caught me off guard for some reason. It was incredible, but they unfortunately weren’t able to maintain that quality. The remaining episodes still looked good—obviously much better than the average trash you and I waste our time watching—but they were undoubtedly disappointing when compared to what came before, and this combined with the writing getting worse just exacerbated the fact the show as a whole wasn’t turning out as great as it originally seemed. Kaizoku Oujo is both similar and different. Unlike B: The Beginning, its staggeringly beautiful animation remains consistent, and it’s easily among the most well-produced anime I’ve seen this year (alongside Ousama Ranking, Sonny Boy, and Mushoku Tensei). But much like B: The Beginning, the script didn’t really pan out. However, whereas B: The Beginning stopped at being merely underwhelming, this show gets downright stupid.

It begins as a good old fashion treasure hunt. It’s like National Treasure, only if Nic Cage was an adorable anime girl, his friends were Japanese ninja warriors, and the Freemasons’ treasure was a place called “Eden.” At first, everything about the show is praiseworthy. The main cast is fully introduced by episode three, and their characterization is immediately delightful. You’re quickly endeared to everyone, and the show has almost no melodrama throughout the entire first half, so you’re never forced to hate any of the characters for the sake of conflict. The artwork is always beautiful, and the animators clearly had tons of fun drawing amusing and expressive faces, and since the show is so well-animated, these expressions get to have so much soul and make everyone feel alive. The voice actors and actresses also clearly had just as much fun. I can count on my hands the number of anime where the comedy isn’t the most annoying, unfunny shit on the planet, and this is one of them. Since this is a shoujo/josei anime instead of your average shounen/seinen anime, the male characters actually get to have some personality and be more than self-inserts, and in general, the characters are also allowed to have sex lives, so both of these aspects make the show feel richer and more multifaceted. Everything is just so merry. When this colorful group of intricately designed female pirates showed up, I thought to myself, “Well, they won’t be animated much. They’re way too detailed.” But less than a minute later they’re all flipping around the screen, sword fighting our main characters. It’s a great time, but this time eventually comes to an end. The essential issue with the final act of the show, simply put, is that it forgoes too many details. If you’re someone who doesn’t sweat the details, then it should be a fun, swashbuckling adventure with an exciting, unexpected finale. But if you aren’t, then…well, let’s see…

>Biba from Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is actually a demon with Vampire Eyes?
>Hamona from Wolf’s Rain is maybe implied to be the reincarnation of Joan of Arc, also the mother of our protagonist?
>The Force Ghosts from Return of the Jedi have romantic reunions in the ruins of the Biblical Noah’s Arc?
>Entire swaths of characters are anticlimactically nuked out of the story by a giant fuck-off Gundam canon when they loose relevance?
>Dead people become alive and explain to our protagonists how the plot of the anime was supposed to end?
>Alive people become dead (maybe incorporeal?) and explain to our protagonists how the plot of the anime is ending?
>Some random background character becomes literal God from the finale of Space☆Dandy? lmao roll credits?

I encourage everyone to go to YouTube and watch the original preview trailer Crunchryoll uploaded on July 25th, 2020. This preview was clearly animated entirely by Director Nakazawa himself before any major animation production had even begun, because most of the character designs are different, a few shots aren’t in the actual show, and the shots which are in the show look completely different than how they do in the preview. The example which sticks out the most to me is the Rumble Roses (that group of female pirates I mentioned), because this original preview makes their crew look less silly, less like 21st century cosplayers, and more…like actual pirates. I'm going to guess whoever was originally writing the script got canned and replaced by a monumentally incompetent hack, or Nakazawa simply failed to provide the writers with a completed outline and only bothered creating the foundation and inciting incidents of the story so they had to wing it. Either way, the original concept was clearly replaced at some point, but I wonder why they decided to change it from a pirate adventure into this magical, fantastical potpourri of disconnected Western concepts which the Japanese writers apparently aren’t terribly familiar with. I was trying to stay invested, but I feel like they totally lost the plot of the show over the course of the last five episodes and didn't bother going back to find it. It always left me scratching my head, and while the production values remained amazing and the voice acting is always on point, it really feels like half of a two-cour show. And I don't mean that like, "our budget got cut so now we have to fit the plot into 12 episodes.” I mean that if I viewed the entire show and then someone told me that it was 12 episodes of a completed 24-episode show, I would believe that completely, since so many writing choices only make sense viewed through the lens of a truncated script. It doesn't feel hacked together or like it moved too fast, it feels like it's full of holes which are so blatant, they have absolutely no reason to exist.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they explained why Fena is called the “White Marginal.”
>Oh, they skipped the episodes where they all get locked up and then escape prison.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they got trapped at harbor and the pretty boy love interest fought the villain on a burning ship.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where the ninja warriors face consequences from their people for siding with Fena over them.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they finish teaching Fena how to use weapons so she’s not completely helpless.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they explain all the post-Industrial Revolution technology in “Mid 18th Century Europe.”
>Oh, they skipped the episode where the ninja warriors talk about why they're doing what they're doing.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where it’s explained why the navy is involved.
>Oh, they skipped the second half of the villain’s backstory.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they explain why Fena’s memory holds all the answers.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where they explain why the treasures of Eden make people go nuts.
>Oh, they skipped the episode where their wild and bizarre guess about Eden turns out to be wrong, so they need to actually sit down and discuss things instead of pulling the answer out of thin air.
>Oh, they forgot another plot line.
It seems like the writing staff was completely allergic to even the slightest hint of exposition and decided instead to spend the entire show moving slowly and mechanically from plot point to plot point. It was always entertaining, but how they started it—atmosphere wise—wasn't how it went. It's like they changed sub-genres half way through, all the while leaping over giant turning points in the story which would’ve made the shift in tone feel much more natural. I repeat, the episodes we got are paced intentionally, but it feels like whole episodes in between were deleted.

Fena and the ninjas were great. They were all very simple, but they were also all very charming, and that’s all you need to build lovable characters. A series of ninja warriors becoming pirates and embarking on a One Piece style journey while following the action-comedy nature of the first few episodes would've made this a great series you could recommend to anyone, but nope. The characters as they were initially presented had lots of charisma and potential for growth, but when the writing went to shit, those who weren’t reduced to plot devices were ignored until the very last minute. The direction this series went was so disappointing and weird. It doesn’t even make sense to call it a pirate show in the title when the main cast does pretty much nothing to label themselves as pirates, which is particularly unfortunate since the concept of using a band of ninja warriors as pirates is a pretty refreshing idea. It feels like there are so many plot elements and plot holes which suggest a very different story before it got turned into whatever the fuck it became, especially when viewed after revisiting that preview from over a year ago. The writing choices were utter madness, but I still had fun with the first seven episodes and the visuals were always absolutely gorgeous. It looks like they had no deadlines or anything to make this show, as the average episode only had around three animation directors, and a few episodes were key animated solo, which is a seriously phenomenal achievement considering the current state of the industry. Lucky for Production IG’s reputation, Nakazawa confirmed that producing an anime for Crunchyroll—despite all their marketing and branding—is basically the same deal as producing one for Netflix. They work up a contract for sharing online distribution rights, slap their name and a Netflix/Crunchyroll Originals credit on the promotional material, and then fuck off, so this production was pure and uncorrupted. It’s so odd seeing a show which was so exorbitantly produced, but which, from a writing perspective, seems like it came from a complete trainwreck production which was rushed to hell and back. It’s so bizarre.

I mean, even if Nakazawa didn’t give the writers a completed outline, or even if the head writer was changed halfway though, was it really so hard to write a semi-amusing treasure hunting adventure?
>Learn of a big treasure.
>Go from place to place solving riddles and evading the law.
>Sprinkle some character moments along the way.
>Have the same orgasmic Production IG animation.
Even with just twelve episodes, this would be perfectly doable. It seems like every show nowadays has to try and force some insane Shyamalan Twist for the sake of depth. Nothing can ever just be a straightforward, grounded, and sincere adventure anymore. What made Kaizoku Oujo DUMB as opposed to simply good or bad wasn’t pure incompetence, it was clumsy ambition. If they never tried taking the story to such unworkable creative lengths, it never would’ve lost its own plot and could’ve stuck to its original, modest, and entertaining formula. I’m just at a loss as to why it all turned out like this with such a strong production. Maybe writing a review wasn’t the best idea, because I’m totally conflicted over what I should even score this show. I suppose I have to give it a five, because it was astoundingly gorgeous and tons of fun, so I can’t give it a negative score in good conscious, but it ended up jumping the shark and making basically no sense, so I also can’t give it a positive score. I mean, I can hardly even say it jumped the shark, because the shark it tried to jump was in a different ocean altogether, sat there wondering “where the fuck?”

[The1gairon]

Holy shit I need rewatch that preview! 😮

[Blatch]

I think the review Daos posted sums it up. This show had so much missed potential that it goes without saying. What disappointed me the most was the fact that, in this world, pretty much every conspiracy and secret society is real. So how come there wasn't an episode where, say, the Freemasons decide to make a run at Fena? Maybe they could've taken on the same role as the Rumble Rose pirates? And also, to get the obvious joke out of the way: for a show called "Pirate Princess", there was barely any piracy in the whole show. Only at the end, when the Goblin Knights got all of the treasure within Eden, did it really qualify.

This show's ending is probably going to trip up everyone more than anything else when discussing it, and I agree. Fena's role being the one who decides if the world is retained or reborn came out of nowhere, and the reveal that Cody was the one behind everything in the story is just lazy writing. Not to mention, the scene where Fena watches her predecessor be burned at the stake was hilariously lame; it made me think whoever wrote that had a teenager's sense of morality. And the way she handled this grand final plot point (which amounts to kicking the can down the road) isn't going to placate anyone who actually wanted her to be a strong female character. On the other hand, I thought the resolution and actual ending was pretty sweet. I don't know how she ended up on that remote island or for how long, but given every other issue the show has, it doesn't matter. Neither does three of the Rumble Rose pirates being shown alive near the end.

Ultimately, I think this show ended up tricking people, with its competent production (no mean feat when half the anime industry is on fire) and respectable premise. Maybe if it had been as big as dumb as the finale was from the beginning, people would be a little kinder to it? In the meantime, I'll remember it as the gold standard for a 6/10 series that could've been a lot more. Oh, and for making me realize I was pronouncing the name of one of my favorite iM@S characters wrong. I'd even make a comment about possibly rewatching it with the sound off, but that would be slagging off all the talented VAs, English or otherwise, who worked on this thing.

[Daos]

I haven't seen such a retarded ending to an anime since...

[rpgamer]

How to follow up with this:

"Turns out, the navy took off with some of the most important treasures from history. Relics so powerful, they threaten the course of future events. It's our responsibility to track these items down and return them to Eden"

There. I just stretched this shit out by like 200 episodes. Fighting military, royalty, rival pirates, the works. Do some pirating, do some ninja-ing, character development, world building, background, exposition.

Just... gotta treat this ending like a massive fart and keep walking as if nothing happened.

[OwlChemist81]

That would make sense!

Actually, this ending was foreshadowed in the first episode. The "blue water" she could have chosen was the bio-ark floating around in an empty sea. Instead she chose to be with Yukimaru--and therefore "storm clouds".

Those storm clouds will probably begin to take effect in Season 2.

[Daos]

23 hours ago, rpgamer said:

How to follow up with this:

"Turns out, the navy took off with some of the most important treasures from history. Relics so powerful, they threaten the course of future events. It's our responsibility to track these items down and return them to Eden"

There. I just stretched this shit out by like 200 episodes. Fighting military, royalty, rival pirates, the works. Do some pirating, do some ninja-ing, character development, world building, background, exposition.

Just... gotta treat this ending like a massive fart and keep walking as if nothing happened.

Nah it's over. It's a lot like Lost. Once the writers expose that they never had any idea what they were doing there's really no demand for more.

[rpgamer]

Yeah, I hold no illusions that it could, or should, be continued. That's just kinda my wild idea for what they could've done with this if/when the realized just how off the rails they were getting at the end.

There really is no coming back from "you have to decide the fate of the world (and we have done absolutely nothing to foreshadow this event)."

[CountFrylock]

I Hope Blade Runner Black Lotus is much better than this.....because this one was a mess and really isn't something toonami should be proud of

Edited October 28, 2021 by CountFrylock

[PokeNirvash]

I won't hesitate to say that I cringed reading the staff and cast raving about how awesome the show was post-finale on Twitter. I mean, if they had fun on it, good for them, but still...

I'm still a little iffy on Blade Runner living up to its potential, but the trailer looks good, and I'm fully accustomed to Sola Digital Arts' CG animation after Ultraman and the new GITS anime, so consider my expectations hopeful but much more tempered than they were with Fena.

[Daos]

9 hours ago, CountFrylock said:

I Hope Blade Runner Black Lotus is much better than this.....because this one was a mess and really isn't something toonami should be proud of

Its all up to the writing. Most people aren't that familiar with it, they have a lot of leeway and no toxic fanbase ready to jump down their throats over whatever direction they decide to go.

But as you can see with Fena, good writing is rare.

[OwlChemist81]

I will admit that the ending wasn't necessarily very subtle, and that took away from the show somewhat. The prognostication that Fena would have to choose between "Blue Water and Storm Clouds" was something I expected to play out on the way to Eden, not when she actually got there. And the amnesia twist somehow made sense to me despite the glaring lack of subtlety. There is almost no doubt in the viewer's mind that despite her love for Yukimaru shining a light, Fena has chosen storm clouds, and that could play out in Season 2.

Even if it wasn't necessarily a ratings hit, I feel that this show has a decent shot at an Emmy nomination like Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, and if it wins would happen as Toonami's first co-pro Emmy on their 25th Anniversary!