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[yami4ct]

What is this?

Earth year 2110. Having expanded into space and secured many asteroids abundant in natural resources, it seemed mankind's prosperous future was assured. However, Earth is now being invaded by Urgal, a mysterious galactic empire from Jupiter. Just as mankind is facing certain destruction, the secret military agency MJP undertakes a gene manipulation project to create humans who can adapt to life in space. The result is Team Rabbits, a group of children who are given combat devices called "Ash" and sent to the front line as shields for the Global Defense Force (GDF)

Who's Making It?
Animation Studio: Dogakobo,Inc.
Director:Keitarou Motonaga (GetBackers, Jormungand)
Original Creator:Rando Ayamine
Music:Toshiyuki Watanabe (Space Brothers)
Series Composition/Script:Reiko Yoshida (D.Gray Man, Bakuman)
Character Design:Hisashi Hirai (s-CRY-ed, Fafner, Gundam SEED)

Why Should I Care?
Majestic Prince is a lighthearted, funny mecha show. Mecha comedy is a genre that we don't see often. If that sounds like something you're interested in, give it a try.


Where Can I Watch?
Crunchyroll's got you covered. http://www.crunchyroll.com/majestic-prince


Those character designs are awful. What happened to their faces?
The main characters suffer from a debilitating case of "Hiraiface". It is an incurable illness that causes the shrinkage/disappearance of noses and flat expressions. A fortunate side effect is this is often used for great comedic effect.


Characters

Izuru Hitachi
Voiced by: Hiroki Aiba

The protagonist of the show and leader of Team Rabbits. He's absent minded with a tendency to goof off. His dream of becoming a hero is often ridiculed by his teammates. Pilots the "Leader" mecha.

Toshikazu Asagi
Voiced by: Shintaro Asanuma

Thinks himself the "ace" of Team Rabbits. Doesn't get along with his team and feels they're responsible for his poor battle performance. Has a tendency to crack under extreme pressure. Pilots the front line "Forward" mecha.

Tamaki Irie
Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi

Clumsy and hyperactive. Quick to confess her love to any handsome boy around, only to receive rejection in return. She pilots the high-speed "Booster" unit.

Kei Kugimiya
Voiced by:Yōko Hikasa

The serious member of Team Rabbits. Has a tendency to look down on fellow teammates. She has great hearing. She pilots the information gathering-specialty "Control" unit.

Ataru Suruga
Voiced by: Junya Ikeda

A huge military buff. Wants to know everything about the mecha and equipment. Specializes in sniping and other long range tactics. Pilots the "Gunner" unit. Don't let his looks fool you, Wolf-Boy is secretly the best character.

Simon Gato
Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi

He's a leader in the GDF and sends Team Rabbits and other MJP units out on missions. He wears a visor because this is a mecha anime.

Rin Suzukaze
Voiced by:Miyuki Sawashiro

A commanding officer in MJP. Debriefs Team Rabbits and gives them mission objectives.

John Smith

He has a massive nose.

 

[yami4ct]

The Mecha (AKA The Real Stars)

Team Rabbits


Red Five

Leader type unit piloted by Izuru. Specializes in communications and front line combat.

Blue One

Forward type unit piloted by Toshikazu. Specializes in front line combat.

Purple Two

Control unit piloted by Kei. Specializes in information gathering and reconnoissance.

Rose Three

Booster type unit piloted by Tamaki. Specializes in quick, hit and run combat.

Gold Four

Gunner unit piloted by Ataru. Specializes in long range combat.

Random Mechanics

Team Rabbit's Ship.

Random Ally mecha.

The enemy.

 

[yami4ct]

Impressions

Majestic Prince - Episode 1



That was a good but rather safe and predictable start to the show. It's very much what I expected from it, maybe a bit too by the books in some ways but it's a fairly standard opening episode which introduces the setting, lays out the basics and characters, and includes a major action sequence to show what the show has to offer.

Right off the bat I will say one thing which I know some people will probably disagree strongly with - Hirai's character designs absolutely work on the show. They're not cool designs nor are they good art, but he does have the ability to turn out a huge number of characters who look distinct and can be visually identified by the audience by their quirks. This is important because the show has a pretty large cast, and it helps to be able to make that connection early on. The other thing is that it's a pretty goofy show, so the characters all looking kinda dumb fits really well with the tone.

The CG action is really well done as we would expect from this being a major project for Orange. I think the action is well composed and uses the CG camera as would be expected for exciting looking action. The only downside is that similar to their work on Akito the Exiled, the CG explosions still look off. That's something they have to work on as they take on more of this sort of work I think, because they stand out from the rest of the visual composition.

Story-wise there isn't much to talk about at the moment. It's still very early on, but the comedy+action element works for me. The pace is pretty fast, and it doesn't waste time on drawn out stuff. The comedy feels a lot of a stand up stage production to me, where a lot of what makes the dialogue work is from the performance of the voice cast in delivering the lines. It doesn't rely on intant gags so much as setting a constant tone of lulz for most of the characters. We'll see how it progresses, but I like what it's doing.

Overall I'm just glad a show like this is even made at all. We have mecha shows every year, but most of them tend to be serious, and those who aren't tend to be over the top super robot stuff, or filled with perverted lewd jokes. It's nice to see someone actually produce a mecha show which is a mix of more "serious" shounen style action scenes and lighthearted character comedy about goofy characters while not in combat.

tl;dr - This was enjoyable, will keep watching.

[Majestic Prince] 01

The good: The CGI and everything involving CGI. Great action. The music too.

The bad: Everything fucking else. Garish character designs, awful colour choices, cringing dialogue, the list goes on. I'm gonna take the Black Rock Shooter approach and just fast-forward anything hand-drawn for all the actual good bits.

Those fifteen minutes or so between the opening scene and the actual sortie had me annoyed and bored. It's obvious that the CGI portions are being prioritised over the rest, and as a result it feels like two different productions meshed together to form a weird chimaera that just doesn't have any identity.

Majestic Prince 1

The episode definitely lived up to my expectations for it and easily manages to have been as awesome and fun as I expected. The plot is heavy on the terminology and acronyms but I figure over time Ill have them all understood. The Godinion and its various features, the characters in the CIC, especially the one operator-kun (with good English) the two commanders, and the members of Team Rabbits made for a really fun and interesting time. Hitachi and his desire to be a hero puts him as my favorite as thats something I can get behind and him taking on that attitude when it matters most was both shocking and interesting in mech battle (best mech, want). Gunner Suruga is my favorite design and all around nice, do like his sniper abilities,

Anyway was way fun and intriguing and hope they do continue to improve their abilities both individually and as a team. Music, especially the song playing when they were being briefed on the mission, was really nice and makes me wish the OST was out now, actual vocal song, guess its the ed was exceptional (or is it the OP?).

Please get a huge fandom.

Majestic Prince 1

Hisashi Hirai is NOT a good character designer. Having said that, when my mind wasn't focusing on the fugliness of the characters on display I actually found this pretty damn entertaining, at least as far as introductory mecha show episodes go.

I find the slapsticky reaction faces to be dumb rather than funny more often than not and really distracting in the worst cases but still, if the alternative is boring serious delivery with boring serious (and ugly) faces then I think this is an acceptable compromise.

One could say I'm hopping aboard this season's Duckroll hype train for now, albeit still somewhat cautiously.

Majestic Prince 01

I could say a ton about this, but I don't really have the time or energy. I'll just summarize by saying, for the first episode of a mecha show, I kind of loved it. Great music, pretty action, great mechanical designs. The action parts are totally covered. The story is fun and generic, but the characters are neat and the writing actually quite funny. Character designs are still ugly, but in motion and in conjunction with the comedy do work. Really enjoyed it. Will watch again.

Majestic Prince - 1

I'm a bit confused what the big deal was about this show?

Anyway, I got a HUGE Final Fantasy VIII vibe during this episode. It reminded me of the SeeD exam, to be exact, and kinda developed in the same way now that I think about it.

What I like:
- 4 out of the 5 characters.
- Sawashiro in a Quistis-style role.
- That :chet on the lead engineer or whoever.

What I didn't like:
- The genki girl is damn annoying.
- The soundtrack feels really uninspired.

Majestic Prince 1

Y'know, this crow's pretty tasty if you just cook it a little bit.

Damn this was pretty entertaining thanks to how cheesy everything is. I can see myself getting tired of the fairly predictable nature of the comedy but they dialled it back towards the end so I doubt that's gonna be much of an issue in the future. The reaction faces are also entertaining in their own way and the characters are pretty varied in their design (sans the Hirai facestamp).

The CG was really fucking good. They did a great job with keeping things dynamic and interesting with all the neat camera angles and movement. Though some of the SFX, most notable the explosions felt kinda flat at times.

Good shit, will watch more.

Trailers: 1 2 3

Full Credits:http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=14971

Airing in Japan: Thursdays at 10:30 PM on Tokyo MX


Woo, this monster is now over.

 

[amishpriest99]

Nicely done on the OP, yami4ct! It's nice to have a mecha series to look forward to for once...quite enjoyed the first episode. Didn't even mind the Hirai or the CG mecha!

 

[duckroll]

Lol. Subscribing to dead thread. RIP.

 

[Enron]

My impressions -

Did not like at all. Generic mecha, generic characters, generic space battles, generic fight choreography, average attempts at humor, generic story. If you sat down to create Blah: The Mecha Animation - this is what you would come up with. It was just all so....uninteresting. It was a chore to finish episode 1, will not be returning.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Suruga easily the best of the bunch and Hitachi too. Fun series.

 

[Regulus Tera]

If only this were CGI-only anime.

 

[yami4ct]

Lol. Subscribing to dead thread. RIP.

I'll make it live dammit. It will live!

Suruga easily the best of the bunch and Hitachi too. Fun series.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/d40d3a809535877389d8419abe8bf9c0/tumblr_mkufobD23D1r5he8vo2_500.gif[/ig][/QUOTE]

Hitachi was a real surprise to me. Due to his wolf-boy design, I though he'd be terrible. Turns out, he's the best character. So excited.

The thing that shocked me the most was the CG. As a person who hates CG, I was really worried that the action would look terrible. Turns out, it's freaking gorgeous. So many reasons to be hyped.

 

[duckroll]

If only this were CGI-only anime.

Hirai characters are ugly but adorable (aka cute). Come on, don't hate.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Hirai characters are ugly but adorable (aka cute). Come on, don't hate.

If anything this show may be what finally pushes me over the CGI future fence. You should be happy!

 

[yami4ct]

Hirai characters are ugly but adorable (aka cute). Come on, don't hate.

I agree. His designs are terrible, but work with the energy that MJP has. When they are just the flat bowls of sadness like in Gundam SEED is when his character designs really fail.

 

[Verelios]

Enjoyed it for what it was.

I did kind of turn my head once I realized that who I thought was the protagonist wasn't actually the protagonist.

Yeah.

Plot seemed weird. Not simple weird, or even far out weird, but just... in congruent. It was like there weren't actually rational people talking in the show.

To give an example, some Mecha shows just throw you into the action, but there's always a justification. A shitty justification, sure, but there's always one. Like Turn A-Gundam. That progression from simple farmhand to piloting a robot was believable. Hell, I'm sure a lot of people would have done the same thing.

This one? Not so much. They don't think of the consequences, and without giving spoilers, since some people may want to watch the show, I can only say...it didn't make much sense.

I just have this problem.

Spoiler

If team Rabbit was going to be a sacrificial pawn, which I had suspected in the beginning or something of a throw away group, why the hell would they make specialized mecha for them? So I guess they weren't. But they're the lowest skilled in the school? It makes sense to hand out an incredibly important mission to a bunch of failures, because possibly 'I can see their potential'. No. And also, did no one have any qualms about going into a fucking war, fighting for time against a large invasive force the regular military got destroyed against? Again, just a problem I had. Nothing big and I can suspend my disbelief enough.

 

[massoluk]

I'm not sure why I used to like Hirai Gundam Seed's design. Now I hated it so much.

I liked the first episode well enough, but I'm really not convinced at the badassness of the final battle. Didn't really feel it, looks like the enemies still got extreme numerical advantage, their retreat felt very forced by the plot.

 

[trejo]

For as much hate as I give the Hiraifaces, at least they don't look quite as offensive to me as the blobs in Flowers of Evil.

Sure, it's like the difference between poking my eyes with a needle as opposed to a large rusty nail but there you have it.

HYPE!

 

[duckroll]

I just have this problem.

Spoiler

If team Rabbit was going to be a sacrificial pawn, which I had suspected in the beginning or something of a throw away group, why the hell would they make specialized mecha for them? So I guess they weren't. But they're the lowest skilled in the school? It makes sense to hand out an incredibly important mission to a bunch of failures, because possibly 'I can see their potential'. No. And also, did no one have any qualms about going into a fucking war, fighting for time against a large invasive force the regular military got destroyed against? Again, just a problem I had. Nothing big and I can suspend my disbelief enough.

I think it will be revealed very soon. I hope. There are hints and clues as to why based on stuff I read on the website though.

 

[JCG]

It's pretty clearly suggested that everything turned out according to whatever plans the commander with the visor has in mind, so I figure the details will be explained eventually.

Aside from that, I'll just reiterate that the CGI action is the best part of the show so far, but the music was also nice and I'm still finding the relaxed atmosphere enjoyable enough to keep watching. Even the team dynamics are mostly alright despite my not finding the overly-excited girl to be that funny, though I suppose she's within tolerable limits for now.

So yes...Majestic Prince is apparently fairly watchable, though not very impressive.

 

[Branduil]

LOL at the thread title.

 

[Enron]

I see a whole lot of people rationalizing liking a bad show. tsk tsk

 

[duckroll]

I see a whole lot of people rationalizing liking a bad show. tsk tsk

And your contribution to this thread is?

 

[Enron]

And your contribution to this thread is?

the voice of reason!

 

[duckroll]

the voice of reason!

 

[yami4ct]

Duckroll has illuminated a one true way. From now, all emotional image responses must come in the form of hiraifaces.

 

[OceanBlue]

Plot seemed weird. Not simple weird, or even far out weird, but just... in congruent. It was like there weren't actually rational people talking in the show.

To give an example, some Mecha shows just throw you into the action, but there's always a justification. A shitty justification, sure, but there's always one. Like Turn A-Gundam. That progression from simple farmhand to piloting a robot was believable. Hell, I'm sure a lot of people would have done the same thing.

This one? Not so much. They don't think of the consequences, and without giving spoilers, since some people may want to watch the show, I can only say...it didn't make much sense.

That's kinda how I felt too. I was really confused on why the team was chosen in the first place, but it'll probably be explained later on. I felt like the team motivations thing was kinda lazy too, but they had a lot to stuff into this episode so whatever works! That'll probably be expanded on later as well.

I thought the Hiraifaces were okay, lol. He should just stick to comedies.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

The music is great and the mecha look cool, but the character designs are absolutely awful.

The last few minutes of the episode were pretty good, so hopefully that will lead into the show being better in future episodes. I'm willing to at least check out the second episode.

 

[Tomat]

Nice OP.

The character art in the OP looks really bad. Going to have to give the first episode a rewatch because I swear they didn't look that bad in motion.

 

[OceanBlue]

Is this the show which has a mecha with four swords, or is that Valvrave?

 

[duckroll]

Is this the show which has a mecha with four swords, or is that Valvrave?

Valvrave has 4 swords, Blue One has 1 sword.

 

[Branduil]

Nice OP.

The character art in the OP looks really bad. Going to have to give the first episode a rewatch because I swear they didn't look that bad in motion.

.

 

[Tomat]

.

Even that looks better than what is in the OP

 

[duckroll]

The character art designs look like lifeless zombies, in the show they're expressive monstrosities having a good time.

 

[yami4ct]

Nicely done on the OP, yami4ct! It's nice to have a mecha series to look forward to for once...quite enjoyed the first episode. Didn't even mind the Hirai or the CG mecha!

Nice OP.

The character art in the OP looks really bad. Going to have to give the first episode a rewatch because I swear they didn't look that bad in motion.

Thanks guys! Yeah, it's the strangest thing about this show. In stills, especially the character art stills, it looks terrible. Heck, even stills taken directly from the show don't look that good. Part of why I included the gif at the end was to show the character expressions in motion. You really need to see it in motion to get a good sense.

 

[Cloudy]

Bad Art, I'll pass

 

[yami4ct]

Bad Art, I'll pass

You should at least give the first episode a try. I was totally anti-hiraiface as well, but it works in the show. Who knows, the show might work for you as well.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Bad Art, I'll pass

I think its worth giving a shot, the battle action is worth it.

 

[Charoncaori]

I had forgotten what this show was called and thought the Kaz Hirai worshippers/gif makers had gotten their own creepy fanboy thread in OT. Hahaha

 

[amishpriest99]

The character art designs look like lifeless zombies, in the show they're expressive monstrosities having a good time.

Couldn't have described it better. I think at this point though I'm pretty much desensitized to Hirai's work.

 

[Dynedom]

Reposting from the Anime OT:

Majestic Price - 01

Passable enough to survive the rule of 3. Next 2 episodes need to deliver. The character designs are quite goofy, with Tamaki perhaps being too :cajun for this show. Then again, there is no real indication to the tone of this show. If its a lot less serious than say Fafner or the SEED series and is going to fill a sort of Vandread void that has been there in mechanime for the past few years, then I might enjoy it.

Worried that the first episode was all high production and we're going to see a huge dip. The CGI didn't bother me too much except for some of the shots on...Earth was it?

Honestly, with all the shots on their eyes, was half expecting Izuru to go into SEED mode :lol

 

[duckroll]

Episode 2

The direction the story is taking is a bit of a surprise, but definitely something I'm 100% on board with. It reminds me of the tone in the Fantastic Four comics, where they don't just battle baddies, but also have to deal with the reality of the press media, reactions of the world, and so on, but all in a rather lighthearted way but with satirical undertones. Tiger & Bunny was also similar to this I suppose, but for a space mecha show this is probably a first?

Either way, the episode was definitely enjoyable, and it moves the narrative in a new direction which wasn't present in the first episode. Definitely a good thing. The CG action remains top notch, and they're doing pretty interesting things with the robots. It definitely feels like it's directed like a super robot series at times and it really works for the designs.

Not quite digging the OP/ED though. Something about the selection of the TV-size versions of the songs feel kinda off. They're definitely nice songs, but I don't really feel they're used that well with the visuals, and the flow of the songs feel rather unbalanced. Maybe I'll get used to it.

 

[yami4ct]

Episode 2



The direction the story is taking is a bit of a surprise, but definitely something I'm 100% on board with. It reminds me of the tone in the Fantastic Four comics, where they don't just battle baddies, but also have to deal with the reality of the press media, reactions of the world, and so on, but all in a rather lighthearted way but with satirical undertones. Tiger & Bunny was also similar to this I suppose, but for a space mecha show this is probably a first?

Either way, the episode was definitely enjoyable, and it moves the narrative in a new direction which wasn't present in the first episode. Definitely a good thing. The CG action remains top notch, and they're doing pretty interesting things with the robots. It definitely feels like it's directed like a super robot series at times and it really works for the designs.

Not quite digging the OP/ED though. Something about the selection of the TV-size versions of the songs feel kinda off. They're definitely nice songs, but I don't really feel they're used that well with the visuals, and the flow of the songs feel rather unbalanced. Maybe I'll get used to it.

OOoooo, Tiger & Bunny with mechs? I couldn't really ask more from this show. Super excited to check out this week's episode tonight. (Also really need to get working on that Valvrave OT)

 

[Basileus777]

Majestic Prince 2

This was a fun episode. The humor and non-action scenes worked much better this week. I actually laughed at several points. The overall tone and atmosphere is much clearly now after these two episodes. And I think I'm sold on this show.

 

[789shadow]

Majestic Prince 02

This is so fucking stupid. Why the FUCK does the fucking military need fucking SPONSORS? Why the fuck is this subplot even IN the show? So stupid.

The opening and ending are snoozefests, along with the fight in this episode which doesn't even feature 2 of the protagonists. This show is now on a short leash.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

2
Somehow the episode felt enjoyable mellow of sorts. Interview at the start was fun and what not especially the scrolling comments and just personality of the kids responses. But then the action moment was nice to see. How different they are when under Juria System, I wonder if a plot point will be to actually get them to reach that level without its aid of sorts.

Spoiler

Walguru units were so epically fast but I wonder what their motives are, destroying those satellites seemed really minor

I love the OP song but I do think they could have selected maybe another area of the song, I love the beginning and the ending of it (tv size) as that really makes the song memorable to me.

 

[yami4ct]

Episode 02

Now the show has revealed its true colors, I love it. So much damn fun. The media interview was hilarious. Just a whole lot of great moments there and surprisingly well handled. Really liked seeing the characters meet all the people they saved. You don't see that kind of thing often enough in a mecha show. CG battle at the end was short, but still absolutely stunning. Guess they didn't blow their CG budget first episode and this will be the consistent quality we're getting.

All and all, so happy this show exists. It's such a welcome break from the dark and dourness of most mecha. Gundam should have tried this long before MJP came along. The AU stuff really needs a change up and a simple shift in tone just makes a show feel fresh. Cannot wait to watch this week to week. I now anticipate this to my favorite show of the spring season.

Also the whole "Do you have a boyfriend?" "I'm taking applications!" bit was pretty dang hilarious.

 

[JCG]

Majestic Prince - 2

Can't say I laughed a lot at the most obvious jokes myself, but the atmosphere was still enjoyable enough. Honestly, the funniest part of the episode for me was probably when the mysterious lady said that she hopes the MJP kids will at least get to fight majestically. Some of the reactions from the side characters were also worth a small chuckle.

That said...a few comments from the military personnel, the unexpected encounter during the mission and even the tone of the OP sequence suggest that things will heat up for our heroes sooner or later. Not entirely unexpected but it's good to get some confirmation. Hopefully that works out alright. Other than that, it was interesting to see public opinion will play a bit of a role in this story.

Thus, for another week...the show continues to be a good little way to spend some time.

 

[Necrovex]

Majestic Prince 2

Yeah, that was a really bad episode. This is going to be my first dropped show of the season. Later, Majestic Prince.

 

[duckroll]

Episode 3

:shounen

Hmmm, didn't really dig this episode that much. It's a bit too slow, and the direction felt rather off at times. I like where the plot is going, just not how it's being delivered in this episode. Out of the three mecha shows this season, this is definitely the slow-burn one. I really hope it pays off, because I do find the setting and characters really interesting, and not in an ironic way like Valvrave. Lol.

Once the new mission started, I felt things got pretty interesting. Next week should be a good indication of what direction the story will take from here on out.

 

[kayos90]

Did anyone notice the cell division in the OP?

 

[duckroll]

Episode 4

Much better than last week's episode. Lots of backstory stuff here with Rin-rin and the MJP Project, and the origin and nature of the war with the aliens. The war stuff is starting to remind me a lot of Babylon 5, and I really like it. The theme of failure to communicate and not understand each other, along with what seems like an alien princess trying to make peace with the humans.... Minbari-Human war?

Pretty interesting I think. I wonder how much time they're going to spend with the school setting now. It's hard to tell exactly where the series is headed in general, but I kinda like that feeling.

 

[yami4ct]

I haven't gotten to last weeks episode since I've been really busy with finals, but I found the first 2 to be really fun. I'll check out 3 and 4 tonight. Glad to hear you liked episode 4, duckroll.