Scrapped Princess (Sutepuri)
Family first

// Synopsis: Pacifica Cassul is known as the “Scrapped Princess.” According to a prophecy, she is the poison that will destroy the world on her 16th birthday. In order to stay alive as an entire kingdom hunts her, she is on the lam along with her two siblings who vow to protect the princess every step of the way. At each turn assassins and the army are seeking to destroy her before the truth of her destiny is revealed.

// Review: On the surface this seems to be standard fantasy anime fare. A teenage protagonist who struggles against her fate and tries to write her own destiny, a doomsday prophecy, brooding heroes, amnesia, an insane king, a bumbling idiot who creates more harm than help, and dramatic teenage love drama. While Scrapped Princess definitely has all of those elements, it still manages to stand out and not end up being typical paint by numbers anime.

/ Pacifica is the 15 year old Scrapped Princess that will somehow bring about the end of the world if she is allowed to see her 16th birthday. So the series follows her and her two beastly step-siblings and they travel the land trying to stay one step ahead of assassins and keep their identity hidden from the local populace. Along the way they make friends and allies and slowly the truth behind her history and a religious conspiracy fueled by the puppetmaster type Peacemakers are revealed.

/ Not surprisingly there are heavy themes of free will verses fate and organized religion along with the military are cast as inherently evil and corrupt institutions. At times it's a little disconcerting how black and white they are made out to be, and how individuals involved in them are only redeemed once they reject them.

/ The series had good pacing. While each episode has some type of closure, they weren't completely irrelevant filler and it was easy to finish the 26 episodes in a few sittings. I found the sub-plots and characters pretty interesting. They had the few demur static chicks, but there were also some well developed characters. Pacifica is often petulant and spoiled but struggles with the weight of the world on her shoulders and wonders that maybe everyone would be better off if she were dead. She also has a special relationship with her brother who is fiercely protective of her and has a very complex relationship with one of the villains.

// Wrap up: A good mix of action, emotion, and storytelling. The story had enough plot twists, intriguing characters and excitement to make this a very solid and entertaining watch.

Entertainment rating: 4