Elf Princess Rane Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-07-01 (updated 2011-02-08)
• 4 stars out of 5 (?)

Something like the manic fever dream Indiana Jones might have if he fell asleep watching Tenchi Muyo, Elf Princess Rane is chaotic, dizzyingly-paced, so stupid you can feel your brain cells screaming, and doesn't just nail the mark that so many other whacked-out comedies aim for, it drops a tactical nuke on it. In essence, it takes a nonsensical string of misunderstandings masquerading as a plot, loads it with anime references, and runs through it as fast as is humanly possible, with the fever-pitch dialogue and rapid-fire jokes occasionally broken up by moments of quiet (but still humorous) reflection before launching back into the chaos.

Elf Princess Rane is a masterpiece of hyperactive comedy and brilliantly erratic timing, but it is so extreme that only fans of this sort of thing will want anything to do with it.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-07-01 (updated 2011-02-08)
• 4 stars out of 5 (?)

Something like the manic fever dream Indiana Jones might have if he fell asleep watching Tenchi Muyo, Elf Princess Rane is chaotic, dizzyingly-paced, so stupid you can feel your brain cells screaming, and doesn't just nail the mark that so many other whacked-out comedies aim for, it drops a tactical nuke on it. It's a very specific kind of funny, but in that way it's funny like nothing else.

Fact One: If you like silly, hyperactive comedy then you must see Elf Princess Rane. Period.

Fact Two: If you don't like hyperactive humor, don't even get near Elf Princess Rane--you might have some kind of allergic reaction.

Personally, although it kept threatening to be so silly that it annoyed me, and I was never gasping for breath, I ended up chuckling out loud through every minute of it... and for quite a while after it was over as my brain continued to pick through the comedy it had been force-fed.

The plot technically involves the fire department and a major corporation repeatedly reading conspiracy into the weird events set into motion by our entirely clueless hero, that hero completely misinterpreting everything and anything going on around him as grand parts of his self-inflicted treasure hunt, and poor Rane hoping in vain that all the chaos somehow relates to the epic quest that brought her to the world of the humans.

Technically, that's the plot. In reality, it whizzes by so fast most people are unlikely to even notice it on the first try, and it wouldn't make a shred of sense even if you did.

The characters are about the same--from our reality-deprived, brain-dead hero, to his short-tempered would-be-girlfriend, to the hero's seven (at least) identical twin sisters, to the unintelligible anime-stud-genius who makes up the third corner of a non-love-triangle, to another competing fairy with a short temper and even shorter memory, to poor, cute, innocent Rane herself, they are a collection of weirdoes with every personality quirk you can think of. With the exception of Rane, who seems to be stuck in the wrong series (that's her quirk), I had no empathy for any of them, but they're too funny to care.

There are lots of scenes that poke fun at all manner of anime standbys: Guys with cool hair, massive corporate plots, young love, dramatic quests, hot springs... and rap. But you'll have to keep alert to notice any of that, because what defines Elf Princess Rane is the absolutely frantic pace. This is epitomized by several scenes in which a minimum of two (usually three or four) characters are railing at each other at near-auctioneer speed, not paying the slightest bit of attention to what anyone else is saying.

It's hard to explain just how much nonsensical dialogue gets crammed into such a short period of time, but to give an idea, the subtitles sometimes cover more than half of the screen and the text from at least three conversations is visible at once. Even better, scenes like these are framed by impeccably timed jokes of the exact opposite sort--a beat or two of total, awkward silence or should-be-dramatic dialogue.

Like a seemingly out-of-control roller coaster that slows down once in a while to let you catch your breath and look at the scenery (which, in this case, consists of yet more jokes) before careening down another hill, this violent stop-and-go style of humor is pulled off perfectly. Elf Princess Rane, despite its chaotic appearance, shows amazingly solid construction for a piece of downright stupid comedy.

On the technical end of things, this series would be more or less standard for a newish OAV, with generic character designs, bright, nicely drawn art, and above-average animation (the character animation in particular). Would be, because the visuals actually manage to keep pace with the chaos and match the comic timing, and that's pretty darned impressive. Despite a handful of cartoony touches it even manages to maintain a remarkably firm grip on its "reality," all things considered.

The visuals do more than just keep up, though; there are a few little artistic touches (split screen action, some slightly unusual camera work) and a number of very funny, almost throwaway, visual jokes that stand on their own, adding yet another layer to the humor.

The acting is the one spot that's a hard call. On one hand, there's the Japanese dialogue, which despite a total lack of any drama is brilliant. The fun and cuteness are infectious, but it's worth hearing if for no other reason than to experience the speed with which the actors speak (especially Go's dizzying monologues), and I am truly in awe of both the control that it must have taken to make the chaotic interactions seem so effortless and the dead-on timing of every single punchline. Versatile veteran Kouichi Yamadera as Go is the brightest star--manic, likably idiotic, and infectiously ecstatic about his incredible "luck."

The catch is the language barrier; a few plays on words and similar jokes go entirely untranslated, quite a bit of the humor relies on essentially nonsensical dialogue that a non-Japanese-speaker won't catch, and it's almost impossible to keep up with the barrage of subtitles in some scenes (though it's mostly nonsense anyway). Basically, you're trying to read a more or less literal translation of humor that is based entirely on things that just sound funny. I do give AnimeWorks' subtitlers credit for a valiant effort in the face of impossible odds, and in any case there are still dozens of jokes that survive the translation. Also, you can still enjoy some of the preposterously fast dialogue even if you can't understand a word of it (actually, even native listeners will have trouble following the most extreme scenes).

One thing is for sure: If you're going to watch the sub, you should watch it at least twice; the second time try to ignore the subtitles (switch to the dub or just turn them off) so you'll catch some of the many visual jokes that could easily get lost if you're trying to keep up with the text.

On the flip side there's the dub, which, despite being well cast, is an equally mixed bag. It's definitely funny, but as hard as they try, the rapid-fire dialogue rarely manages to hit the frenetic cadence that makes the original as funny as it is. Shane Callahan as Go is the exception; he has a properly hyperactive, whiny voice and several of his speeches build up enough steam to hit the sweet spot of stupid-fast language. Overall, though, the dub never quite has the timing or frantic quality of the original, and quite a few jokes (even ones that come across in the subtitles) fall by the wayside. Still, the dub is plenty funny and you probably won't have to pause it every ten seconds just to finish reading everything.

On a side note, cool-haired would-be-stud Zenshuuin is an interesting case. He of course has the problem that only he and one other character have any idea what he's saying. But, where in Japanese Ryo Horikawa mumbles his mostly-unintelligible lines with confidence appropriate for a guy as cool as himself, in the English dub it just doesn't sound like Michael Brady means... whatever it is he's saying. It also includes a higher percentage of understandable phrases.

Bottom line: You won't go wrong with the sub or the dub, but on balance I think the Japanese dialogue is just more fun, particularly since so much of it is unintelligible nonsense anyway. The music, incidentally, is sufficiently peppy and the catchy end theme appropriately devoid of meaning (there's no time for an intro).

In summary, Elf Princess Rane is three wacky anime comedies shaken together violently and put on fast forward. The plot is confusing and nonsensical, the characters are shallow and numerous, and it all zips by at a dizzying pace. But thanks to brilliantly erratic timing, an absolutely overwhelming volume of jokes, and some quirky cleverness, it's also a tour de farce of frenetic stupidity and a heckuva lot of fun. Way too hyperactive and silly for a lot of people, but this is high-speed comedy at its finest.

A final, sad note: As the aptly titled "Evil Preview" for the third episode implies, only two parts of this series were ever made, and even though most people won't care how the story turns out, it's a crying shame that there isn't more of it.

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Related Recommendations

For outright weirdness and manic humor, the obvious choice is the notorious Excel Saga, but that series is more focused on crazy than hyperactive (yes, you read that right--Elf Princess Rane is more hyperactive than Excel Saga). The little known Dragon Slayer is probably a closer match--not as good, but a cheesy fantasy epic with a similar rapid-fire sense of humor. The comedy that most closely matches Elf Princess Rane's irregular and quite brilliant comic timing is Jubei-chan: Ninja Girl (which is even crazier in its own way); the similarity shouldn't be a surprise, since they're both directed by the same fellow. All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku and Wild Cardz are both somewhat less clever and not nearly as hyper, but have a generally similar feel. If you want a much milder take on the cute girls from another world idea you might check out Oh My Goddess, Legend of the Last Labyrinth, Girl From Phantasia, or any of hundreds of similar series.