Fena: Pirate Princess

When we were little, we heard and watched many stories about Pirates who went on brave and thrilling adventures across the seven seas. We saw morally good types, ambiguous types, wild types, and morally evil types.

Regardless of their kind or contribution to the story, the air of free-spirited vigilantes they gave off had a unique appeal to younger audiences. Has that appeal ultimately died down within us, or can it still be revoked via a new, engaging, and fun Pirate story? The answer may lie in the following series!

Fena: Pirate Princess | Be A Pirate | Pinnedupink.com

Fena: Pirate Princess, also known as Kaizoku Oujo, is a 12 episode TV Anime series that aired from the 3rd of October until the 19th of December, in Fall 2021. It featured the genres of Action and Adventure and received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.

It was produced by flying DOG, DMM pictures, and Crunchyroll SC Anime Fund, licensed by Crunchyroll and brought to life by Studio Production I.G. The main staff behind it include Kuroki Rui as Producer, Fuji Saki as Director, Nakazawa Kazuto as Director, Sound Director, Original Creator and on Key Animation and Takahashi Tetsuya as Director. This series is an original anime with no other source material.

The story revolves around the protagonist and titular character, Fena Houtman, who got caught in a tragic shipwreck accident around a decade before the series started. During this incident, she separated from her childhood friend Yukimaru and lost her father.

Now, she is 23 years old but is unfortunately trapped on an island where she is doomed to spend the rest of her life selling herself off to random men. To her delightful surprise, two old acquaintances intervene and help her getaway. But on the very night, she was supposed to be forcibly wed to a client, Fena decides to take matters into her own hands and hatches a plan to escape from her employers.

The trio then makes haste for the open sea and happens to land upon a mysterious place named Goblin Island, where only a clan of fierce warriors call home. Here Fena makes a shocking discovery about her father's ill-fated final journey into the sea; that it was all in search of a mystical place called "Eden," a location with something of prime importance which he simply had to protect.

Equipped with a clear crystal as the only clue, Fena is now given the daring task of finding this place, as she is possibly the only person with the ability to. While still contemplating the mysteries of the search her father left behind, Fena is reunited with Yukimaru, who also encourages her to take up this quest.

After being made the captain of a seven-person crew, she must now navigate the high seas in their search for Eden. Their ship won’t sail as smoothly as they had hoped, though, as numerous uncanny groups begin to target Fena, proving that this perilous journey is far more challenging than they had previously deemed it to be.

Fena: Pirate Princess is an Anime original series with high production values and a great introductory episode. The narrative attempts to engage viewers using a solid pattern of showing things rather than stating them.

The world-building and details are put forth via character dialogues, alongside numerous references to both eastern and western mythology. While this show may not meet all expectations, it is beautiful enough to be worth a watch.

The world-building itself is pretty unique, as it is an exciting mix of European explorers and Imperial Japanese within one cohesive world. Added to that are mythical weapons and various religious references.

They manage to execute and deliver it in an acceptable manner that draws viewers into a tale about treasures and historical artifacts from multiple cultures. It also employs many mystical elements that can really refreshingly invoke one’s imagination without too much unnecessary breakdown.

The Story is captivating initially, but they mess up the finale. It suffers from not sticking to a solid ending. Thus the end feels rushed, has too many events occurring, does not have any foreshadowing, and lacks an organized design that is coherent with the story leading up to it.

The pacing was off after the first few episodes, and they end up destroying everything they’ve built up thanks to the inconsistent narrative. Viewers see Fena finally overcoming her fate and achieving freedom, only to be mauled down due to her lineage….

The climax may appeal to some, as it depends on viewer preferences, and it could be said that it has its own gripping beauty, albeit being a letdown from a storytelling perspective. The lack of proper construction and pacing wouldn't hit so hard for viewers who don’t mind a jarring finale that clashes with the previous story but is still beautiful and emotional.

The Characters of Fena: Pirate Princess was also pretty disappointing. A majority of the characters are utterly wasted and not used to their potential. This is primarily due to its limited length, making it difficult to flesh out the cast. It is a huge letdown to see such good character designs and interestingly depicted characters fall flat and become cartoonish antagonists who don’t have much of an effect past a few episodes.

For example, the female pirate cast and the British naval forces had so much potential for development, yet they chose to speed through the plot instead while killing most of them off. There are also more than a fair share of wasted plotlines, supporting cast backstories, and motivations.

The character interactions are subpar and awkward as well. Fena and Yukimaru are the only characters whose personalities are decently expressed. His subdued and romantically oblivious personality makes up for her boisterous and romantically shy behavior. Their romance isn’t really that convincing, and most attempts at it fail, ending up as mere comic relief.

The Art and Animation of Fena: Pirate Princess are high-performing. It features smooth and flowing fight scenes, beautiful and lively backgrounds, and attractive character designs. A key point was the difference in the reflection of skin tones between ethnicities in character designs.

The Asian characters had a slightly off-white to tan tone of skin, while the European characters had a robust pale complexion. The visual aspect was the best part of this show regarding the sheer amount of attention and detail put into the world. It helped bring their mystical world to life and added a significant emotional impact.

The Sounds and Music of Fena: Pirate Princess were strong too. The Opening theme is "Umi to Shinjuu" by JUNNA, and the Ending themes are "Saihate" by Minori Suzuki and "Taiyou no Funaji" by JUNNA.

The OSTs are excellent and fitting, alongside great sound effects for weaponry. Thanks to the captivating sounds and visuals, the show’s mood is expertly handled via the audio aspects, and even the lousy finale scenes were beautiful to watch.

Although the production values are pretty high, Fena: Pirate Princess had severe pacing, narrative, and story issues, primarily due to the limited number of episodes. The ending was terrible as it didn’t close all the storylines or explain what was happening acceptably.

Other issues include how antagonists seem to appear out of nowhere, character personalities suddenly change, lacking character development, wasted characters, insufficient foreshadowing to justify what happened, and the inconsistency of the series.

Regardless, you can still enjoy this Anime thanks to its high visual appeal and great audio, making for a beautiful and entertaining watch. This series will keep you entertained if you generally want mystical adventures with some decent action. Overall, mildly recommended. But if you can’t stomach the aforementioned jarring flaws, it's best to avoid this one!