Genre: Action/Drama
Company: Bones
Format: 24 episodes
Dates: 4/8/2003 to 10/7/2003
Fifteen years ago, God Mauzel gave a prophecy that the sixteenth birthday of the Scrapped Princess will be the poison that destroys the world. While still an infant, she was taken and cast into a gorge… but by luck or destiny, she survived. Now, 15-year-old Pacifica Kasull is nearing her 16th birthday, and her adopted brother and sister, Shannon and Raquel, desperately protect her from the followers of God Mauzel as they travel. Every step of the way is met with someone attempting to kill her, hoping to save the world from the coming cataclysm.
summary by Eek
Reviewed: 11/20/2003 by
Grade: 73% 
Highs: Interesting storyline and fight scenes
Lows: Mixed fantasy and sci-fi elements are hard to swallow; I wanted more character background
Hype is usually not a good thing, but with a production company like Bones, hype typically turns into a fulfilled promise. So why is it that Scrapped Princess left a sour taste in my mouth despite its pretty pictures?
What made Scrapped Princess look very tasty was the storyline and its progression. Often blunt and serious in its storytelling style, this anime does not come across as being as serious as X with the apocalyptic aspect. Rare scraps of comedy are usually contained to Pacifica squabbling with Shannon, and almost everything else comes off as being serious. Throw in the fact that Pacifica, who is a part of a prophecy that will destroy the world, is actually a very nice (if not bratty) teenager, you have the building blocks for an interesting plot. Equally as interesting are the fight scenes. With Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and RahXephon, Bones knows how to put together action sequences that will inspire awe. Flashy fights are not usually a bad thing, and in this case, they are done quite well.
Where Scrapped Princess begins to turn unappetizing is the sudden and awkward plot twist that takes place about halfway. Up until this point, the fantasy elements work quite well and feels like a darker version of Record of Lodoss War. When science fiction is suddenly thrown into the story, everything goes haywire. As hard as I was trying to buy it, the mix of fantasy and science fiction simply did not work. In addition to a mix that becomes slightly problematic, most characters lacked the proper background and were given just enough information to make them stand… but not enough to make them walk. It is good to know that Shannon is an excellent swordsman and Raquel can cast a few spells here and there, but how they gained such skills is never explored, nor are we privy to such information like why Pacifica and her two adopted siblings were forced to leave their village in the first place. Even if the main characters receive shoddy background like that, the side characters are worse off because they are only given a few bits of information in an attempt to make them tick.
To my disappointment, this series starts off tasting like a sweet strawberry and ends up tasting like a sour lemon. Scrapped Princess is good for killing time, but any other anime can do the same. So much for a fulfilled promise.
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