Animé and Toons
Corpse Princess Part 1 and 2
By Chris Zimmerman
October 6, 2010 - 20:06

$59.98 US each
Starring: Aaron Dismuke and Luci Christian
Directed by: J. Michael Tatum
Produced by: Gainax
Running Time: 300 minutes each
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Distributors: Funimation Entertainment
Genre: Anime



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Halloween is nearly upon us and the undead are popular as ever and the perfect time to pop in Funimation’s latest dual release, Corpse Princess. Coming out of Studio Gainax back in 2008, Corpse Princess aired for a total of 13 episodes before being given the green light for a second season and another 13 episodes to tie up loose ends.

Set in an alternate world overrun with the dead, referred to as Shikabane, Corpse Princess tells the story of Makina Hoshimura, a young girl who was killed before her time and brought back to life to combat the undead in the hopes of being admitted into heaven. Aided by a Buddhist monk named Keisei, Makina is tasked with stopping the Shikabane and collecting 108 souls on their way to gaining entry to Heaven.

The first episodes are rather episodic early on, tasked with introducing characters and the majority of the world building. It doesn’t help that the early episodes carry a monster of the week feeling, giving the impression that the creators were merely stalling for time before they could think up something better. Fortunately, the story gets rolling around halfway through the first 13 episodes, allowing for more development of the characters and plot exposition.

The second season carries on that trend, picking up where the last set left off. Major cast changes have left one character dead and Makina with a new handler. A new group called the Seven Stars makes themselves known to wreak havoc for our heroes and of course there is plenty of undead in need of killing.

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The second season takes more chances than the first, expanding on characters and relationships only hinted at during the previous set. More focus is also given over to Ouri, a boy who was introduced in the first set but did little but show his affection for the monk Keisei. The second season see’s Ouri growing as he attempts to become a full fledged monk and even grows closer with Makina. Despite the seriousness of the story, the atmosphere is lighter here, with an episode devoted to a trip to the hotsprings, big breasted women, and so on.

Seeing as how Gainax handled the animation, one can almost expect the show to be anything but visually attractive. The production values are exceptional given this isn’t a long running shonen show and the content much more consistent.

Funimation delivers a pair of commentaries, one for each set, and the usual clean opening and closing along with trailers for upcoming releases.

In the end, Corpse Princess is pure fun. While the first season started off on the slow side, it wasn’t so detrimental to the series that it will have viewers turning off the DVD. Once the series hits episode six, everything is taken to another level and remains strong right up to the finale. Those looking for action saturated with the undead will be in heaven with Corpse Princess.

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Related Articles:
Shikabane Hime Corpse Princess: the Complete Series
Corpse Princess Part 1 and 2