Princess Principal

In the early 20th century, the discovery of the substance Cavorite allowed the production of advanced military technology and steered the country toward conflict. London is now divided by a wall, and the Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Albion battle a silent war where espionage is the only weapon that can destabilize the enemy. A group of girls from the prestigious Queen's Mayfaire school work as undercover spies for the Commonwealth.

Led by Dorothy, an experienced driver with a striking personality, their group includes the talents of Ange le Carré, a cold-blooded liar and expert sharpshooter; Chise, a proficient samurai; and Beatrice, a voice-mimicking specialist. They use their unique individual skills for the Commonwealth to survive in a dark world filled with conspiracy, mystery, and infiltration. In the shadow of the war, they have only one goal in mind: completing their mission.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

le Carré, Ange Main

Imamura, Ayaka Japanese

Dorothy Main

Taichi, You Japanese

Charlotte Main

Sekine, Akira Japanese

Toudou, Chise Main

Furuki, Nozomi Japanese

Beatrice Main

Kageyama, Akari Japanese

Anderson, Amy Supporting

Watada, Misaki Japanese

Marilla Supporting

Furukawa, Yurina Japanese

7 Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Gaveston, Lily Supporting

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Julie Supporting

Kino, Hina Japanese

Maruyama, Shunpei Producer

Maniwa, Kenzou Producer

Kyoutani, Tomomi Assistant Producer

Azami, Yuusaku Assistant Producer

Reviews

Jul 5, 2026

Joe_Devaney

Recommended

Overview:
Back in the 2000s, the 'girls with guns' anime genre was popularized by a trio of similar but unrelated anime ("Noir", "Madlax" and "El Cazador de la Bruja"), and while the anime themselves have faded into obscurity, the genre itself remains popular to this day. "Princess Principal", a 2017 anime about teenage girls who moonlight as spies, feels in many ways like a successor to that trilogy of anime, keeping their strengths while also fixing their weaknesses, and while not without issues of its own, the end result is a unique, complex, exciting and highly entertaining series that should appeal to anyone who likes anime ... with strong female characters.

Story (7.5/10):
The setting for "Princess Principal" is Albion, an steampunk alternate version of early 20th century England that, due to a great war, has been divided into two factions- the Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Ange le Carre and Dorothy McBean are two Commonwealth spies who have infiltrated the prestigious Queen's Mayfair School disguised as students. Their mission is allegedly to replace the Kingdom's Princess Charlotte with Ange, but that quickly goes off the rails because of one reason- Ange is not only Charlotte's childhood best friend, but the real Princess Charlotte, who switched with Charlotte (the real Ange) when they were younger, and now desires for the two of them to run away together. Charlotte, however, has other plans, as she wishes to become the Queen of the Kingdom in order to tear down the walls between it and the Commonwealth, since she sincerely believes that's the only way she and Ange will be able to live in peace together. Ange is not happy, but ultimately agrees to help Charlotte fulfill her vision. The series then follows Ange, Charlotte and Dorothy, with the help of the princess' attendant Beatrice and the young ninja Chise, as they go on missions given to them by their elusive commanders called Control, uncovering and quenching various crimes and conspiracies across the Kingdom.

The story as a whole is a complex one, and it's only made more so by the fact that the episodes do NOT follow chronological order, with the only indication to when each episode is set being the 'case number' shown in each episode's name. To give you an idea of just out-of-order the episodes are, the first episode begins with the team having already been formed, while the second and third covers how Ange and Dorothy met Charlotte and Beatrice (or, in Ange and Charlotte's case, reunited) and formed the team, with it not being until the fifth episode that we learn how they met Chise. I'm not trying to say that anachronic order is a foreign concept to me, but there is a big difference between following multiple timelines simultaneously and dancing all over a single timeline from episode to episode for the sake of cleverness. Not only does this mean that the story is often hard to follow, but it makes the team's growth from a group of allies that barely trust each other to a close-knit band of sisters a lot less natural than it could have been. And while it isn't too much of an issue (if it even is one at all), I did find it kind of strange that the main characters are the only team their organization seems to be able to rely on; one episode involves the team having to infiltrate a girls' laundry mill to figure out the identity of a serial killer who's hiding in an all-male military barracks, with there being no explanation as to why Control couldn't just deploy a male team instead.

In spite of these problems, the actual content of "Princess Principal"'s story is certainly nothing to sneeze at. With the exception of the episodes that are part of the same story, all of the episodes feel completely different from each other. One case involves the team fighting off an assassin on a train, while another has them investigating the development of an experimental device by infiltrating a party. And speaking of experimental devices, I did mention before that the series is steampunk, which means that it features a number of out-of-this-world gadgets, the most notable being the C-Ball, which allows Ange to alter the gravity of herself and anything she touches. As a matter of fact, putting aside the fact that the main cast are teenage girls, the series could easily be summed up as "James Bond in the early 1900s", with high-tech gadgets, fabulous parties, hectic car chases and all kinds of high stakes action, though it also doesn't shy away from the trauma and psychological issues that someone who would willingly become a spy has, with every single main character having some kind of tragic past, though it is kind of ridiculous that four out of five of the main cast have abusive fathers, who range from realistically flawed to cartoonishly evil. What's more is that the non-linear nature of the narrative is completely done away with in the final quarter of the series, wrapping up the series with a fantastic final three episodes, and while the series does ultimately end on a cliffhanger, said cliffhanger gets followed up on in the ongoing "Crown Handler" series of films (of which I have already seen the first two) meaning it's all but guaranteed that we'll get a true ending to the story in the near future.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Princess Principal"'s visuals are good enough, but not what I'd call fantastic. The character models and environments are well-drawn and detailed, and the animations are generally quite smooth, but there aren't any particularly stand-out effects (for example, the effect when Ange uses the C-Ball amounts to just a green glow around her body) and the art style is kind of cutesy, with several of the characters looking like they came out of a moe series. I had a similar problem with "Madoka Magica" but if anything, it's more relevant here since, unlike that series, "Princess Principal" doesn't even pretend to be light-hearted. The fact that one of the studios is the same people behind the second season of "The Devil is a Part-Timer" doesn't help.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Princess Principal"'s soundtrack is composed by Yuki Kajiura, the same person behind the music of "Madoka Magica" and the "Girls with Guns" trilogy among others. And for those of you who have heard one too many of her soundtracks and are dreading to hear more of the same, have I got good news for you, because this is easily one of the most unique soundtracks she has done, combining her signature rock-opera style with jazz, which ends up fitting the series perfectly. The soundtrack is great all around, but my absolute favourite track would have to be the opening theme "The Other Side of the Wall", an absolutely awesome song that never gets old and is perfect to begin each episode with. The voice acting is similarly excellent, consisting almost entirely of American voice actors putting on fake, but VERY convincing British accents, save for Chise and a few others, who appropriately speak with Japanese accents instead. They even went so far as to keep some Japanese characters still speaking Japanese with subtitles while everyone else speaks English, adding a layer of authenticity you rarely find in anime. Yet even in spite of all of that, Avery Smithhart is still a standout among the cast, being able to switch between the various personas Ange puts on at the drop of a hat with ever dropping her accent. All in all, the highlight of the series without a doubt.

Characters (7.5/10):
The best way to describe Ange is that she's a master actor, displaying no less than three different personalities regularly over the series, though she puts on several others on occasion as well. When at school, she appears to be a clumsy, socially awkward girl who wears glasses, but that's just an act she puts on as a means to draw suspicion away from her. When around her friends and while on the job, she reveals her real personality- that of a reserved, intelligent and ruthless girl who's perfectly willing to kill if necessary and lies as easily as she breathes, constantly making up stories about how she's an alien from the Black Lizard Planet, as well as sometimes teasing people because she feels like it, though she has her limits and can get weirded out by certain things. And beneath this stoic, ruthless persona is the one she shows when she and Charlotte are alone together, that of a very warm, friendly and sensitive girl who is all but outright stated to be the real her, which makes for some very sweet moments, particularly when she begins to show this side to her other friends as well. What's more is that despite being a spy, Ange doesn't really care about Albion and wishes for her and Charlotte to run away from the whole mess, though she ultimately agrees to help Charlotte seize the throne, showing a strong degree of selflessness, loyalty and willingness to compromise. And when I say Ange is intelligent, I'm actually understating it, as she constantly shows herself to be extremely competent as a spy, being very skilled with her C-Ball and gun and having a brilliant eye for detail. Overall, Ange is a complex, badass and very likeable protagonist, and quickly cemented herself as my favourite character.

The second most important character, and my second favourite, is Princess Charlotte, whom everyone just calls "Princess" (save for Ange, who calls her "Ange" when they're alone together, with Charlotte calling Ange "Charlotte" in return). Despite not being of royal blood, Charlotte has long since settled into the role of a princess, and has the ambition of eliminating all the competition to the throne so she can become queen, though she's doing this for the selfless motive of wanting to tear down the wall between the Kingdom and the Commonwealth, albeit for the selfish reason that doing so will allow her and Ange to live out in the open together. Despite this ruthless streak, Charlotte is overall a very kind and polite person, and certainly the nicest of the team after Beatrice (more on her below). Much like Ange, Charlotte is a very smart person who is a master of many different skills (which is because she pushed herself to be the perfect princess so that nobody would find out she's a fake), and quickly proves herself to be an invaluable asset to the team, often using her status as a means to help them into places that would otherwise be very difficult, if not impossible to infiltrate. She's also brave to the point of fearlessness, as she's often willing to put her own life at risk when on missions, though she reasons this by the fact that she's already risking everything by being a princess working with spies, a truth that would result in her execution if it ever came to light. While I didn't agree with all of the decisions she made, Charlotte is nevertheless a very likeable and surprisingly badass character, and I definitely enjoyed her interactions with the others, particularly Ange.

Next up, there's Charlotte's attendant, Beatrice, who initially has a strong disdain for spies, believing that Ange will only serve to put the princess in danger, though once Ange shows how far she's willing to go for Charlotte, she realises she misjudged her and joins the team, soon growing to see Ange and the others as friends. While not quite as competent as the other girls, Beatrice does have the unique ability of being able to change her voice using a machine her father stuck into her throat as a child (yes, really), which comes in handy on more than one occasion. Personality-wise, she's bar none the nicest of the group, but also very innocent and naïve, though she partially sheds in later (chronological) episodes, going through arguably the most character development of anyone besides Ange and Charlotte. There's also Chise, a ninja who joins the team as a representative for the Japanese government as a way to determine which side of Albion her country should side with. Unlike the rest of the group who tend to favour guns in combat, Chise uses a katana instead, which she is very adept at using, being able to take on multiple enemies much bigger than her on a regular basis. Personality-wise, she tends to be very stubborn, which helps her sometimes but not when it comes to understanding other people's point-of-view. Finally, there's Dorothy, who despite appearances is actually a 20-year-old woman posing as a secondary school student. As the oldest member by several years, Dorothy serves as the team's leader, though her authority only extends as far as being the one in contact with Control and the one to receive the group's missions, with Ange taking more of a leadership role during the missions themselves. While I did like Dorothy as a character overall, she ultimately ended up being my least favourite of the main cast, largely because she seems to be focused only on getting the job done and doesn't seem to have any personal reason for being a spy (with even Beatrice being one so she can help and protect the princess), though her tragic past means it makes perfect sense as to why she would become one.

The supporting cast is interesting and varied, but they're called the supporting cast for a reason, that being they don't get nearly as much screentime as the main cast. The group's spymasters, Control, consists of four members- L, Seven, the Colonel and Dollyshop- and while each of them have their own quirks, very little is revealed about them personally. Of the four, the team's handler L is by far the most developed, having a very black-and-grey view of the world and a belief that just because someone isn't an enemy now doesn't mean they won't become one in the future, a belief that proves to be a bit too cynical for Dorothy's liking. The series also has a pretty nice selection of antagonists, some of which are just generic criminals while others are more complex and tragic. However, their motives left a bit to be desired, as I sometimes couldn't figure out why certain characters were doing certain things, with the explanations for their actions often being quite vague. This isn't too much of an issue overall, but it's still one that's worth noting nonetheless.

Enjoyment (8/10):
"Princess Principal" more than lives up to its status as a spy thriller, with just about every episode being highly thrilling and entertaining in its own way. When there isn't great action scenes, there's some surprisingly good comic relief, which certainly prevents the series from ever getting too dark. The episodes also tend to vary quite a bit in tone, with some episodes having unambiguously happy endings, while others are more bittersweet and a couple are just downright tragic. But while the series is no stranger to sad moments, it never overdoes it and remains a thumpingly enjoyable ride from start to finish.

Overall:
At the time I'm writing this, "Princess Principal" is pretty far from being over, but it has already proven itself to be a very promising series, and definitely one of the best "girls with guns" anime in recent years. The story can be pretty confusing at times and the visuals aren't the best, but the fantastic music, highly authentic voice acting, brilliantly creative set pieces and great group of main characters are more than enough to compensate for those shortcomings. And with the "Crown Handler" film series still ongoing, only time will tell if the show ultimately lands on its feet or falls on its face.

Score:
7.5+8+9+7.5+8=40/50=8.0/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 24, 2026

Rehttea

Mixed Feelings

So I saw a gun in the cover and decided I was going to watch it. I also saw that it was an anime original which means it has potential of being good since most anime original's I watch have ended up being good.
Anyways, the show was pretty rough in the beginning because of how the story was executed. It also doesn't explain a lot of things properly so it makes it harder to watch in the beginning. Aside from the major issues, the show as a whole is pretty decent as of the 1st season.

Art: 8/10
Animation: 7/10
Story: ... 8/10
Theme: 7.5/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Story Execution: 4/10
Overall Rating: 7.4/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 16, 2018

FrozenRoy

Not Recommended

Princess Principal is a show I would have been unlikely to put high priority on watching, but the fact that a bunch of people I knew were planning to watch and review it instantly got it on the table for me. While I was far too slow to join them, I nonetheless made sure to push through later, and here we are. And Princess Principal's concept IS interesting enough. You don't really get a lot of anime spy shows, for example. The recent Joker Game anime, which I still need to watch, was one of the first examples to come to my head. Joker Game, ... from what I saw, looked a bit underwhelming, so I went into Princess Principal hopeful it would be better.

Princess Principal's chief issue lies in the characters, as there is absolutely no character development throughout its twelve episode run time. Each character gets at least one background one shot story to give you an idea of how they joined the team or got to where they are, but they are essentially never relevant to the plot (Beatrice's in particular is barely even seen, let alone matters) and do not end up driving much of anything or even giving us much more of a sense of the characters. Chise's is the closest and it is still mostly tepid, although it at least has a full and complete self contained story...and then she got another generic focus episode that served solely to show off characters you don't care about who will never appear again and stuff you already knew!

I like the idea of how the background stories were structured, starting us with the team on a mission already and then slowly showing us how they got here while mixing in more present episodes, but the fact that these backstory episodes are totally lacking in substance just kills the concept in the crib. The princess was just about the only character I thought was interesting, although she is a pretty unrealistic character, because her episodes were executed somewhat different than normal via the latter episodes. It was more tied into the overall story than the one shots and offered more character insight in the process. Can't go into too much detail here since it'd be a spoiler, although you will most likely figure out what happened by the end of the second episode.

The overall series plot is only barely existent, with the series largely consisting of one shots and an ending 2-parter. The 2-parter would have definitely benefited from some foreshadowing. It wouldn't be hard to tie more of the one shots in to it when almost none do. For example the episode about smuggling nerve gas through could have instead been about smuggling through some materials which are used in the final episode. You know, basic stuff. Granted, the finale isn't good either and has one of the goofier villain exits I've seen as they escape the plot after suffering a minor setback.

The one shots aren't that great either and suffer from an issue that the first episode already kind of tries to spell out (albeit trying to spin it as a good thing) and which is obvious from just watching 1-2 episodes more: Nearly every episode of this show is going to have some kind of plot twist shoehorned into it. Once the viewer understands this, almost every episode becomes painfully predictable as despite the show trying to sell you on "twists" it never really tries to be inventive, do anything new or even execute what it does in a manner that advances the characters. I wouldn't mind the lack of inventiveness if not for the last point, as the execution is pretty much boring and expected without using it to enhance the show. Episode 6 was the height of this to me: Unless you either have somehow not gotten what this show is about at that point or have never seen this style of plot before, you will figure out exactly what is going to happen at least halfway through the episode if not sooner. It was extremely disappointing and going for a different ending which could further Dorothy's character would have made it much more engaging.

This is compounded by the fact that this is one of those series where all of the characters are unbelievably competent and thus makes it difficult to feel tension in scenes. Most of the time, their plots don't even go all that wrong and thus there is not a lot of challenge felt: There are a pair of recurring antagonists so forgettable I don't even remember their names and they always come off as less competent than the show presents them due to repeatedly losing and being foiled in frequently easy ways. When the show tries to end on a stinger of them preparing for future conflicts, it is difficult to take them seriously due to this. For an idea of how unbelievably competent some characters are, the backstory of one says that they cannot read or write, but that they then learned NINE LANGAUGES...without anyone helping them. While also learning about 10 other listed things! It completely destroys any willing suspension of disbelief when it is so outrageous, especially since the setting otherwise plays out as somewhat realistic but with some ill defined magitech.

If there's one thing Princess Principal did solidly enough, it was the art and sound. All of the girls are reasonably cute, the background art is at times fairly pretty, it has a very victorian feel to it mixed with some industrial stuff, so if nothing else that works. The CGI on the other hand is pretty hit or miss. Stuff like the car is usually fine if sometimes a bit jarring, but the last car chase scene for example looks pretty bad (the CGI train made me laugh for a bit, which is not what you want from your dramatic heart pounding scene usually!). The soundtrack was a bit more forgettable, but there were some decent background tracks and the OP and ED are solid. Overall, this was one area where Princess Principal largely felt reasonable.

I was honestly somewhat surprised by how much I disliked this series by the end of it. It started off fairly standard and I thought it would be some general 4-6 star anime fodder. Instead the complete lack of character progression, lackluster one shot plots, lack of an overarching story and absence of tension completely stifled the show for me and left it a pointless slog. I would recommend avoiding this anime unless you are a hardcore spy fan (although you might even be more annoyed by me at how lackluster it is if you're hardcore into the genre), have some character design or part of the concept really jump out or simply want to watch as much anime as possible.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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