Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri – First Episode Review

Episode Summary: Ringo is a normal little girl who helps her mother and father run an apple pie cart in the park.  She would love to go see the show put on by Wish, her favorite idol singer, but the tickets are sold out and she's too young. Instead, she decides to try and bring an apple pie to the concert venue and get to Wish that way, but the guard is too wily.  By chance, Ringo gets caught in a group of girls and sneaks in that way.  Inside, she meets Layla and Haruka, other girls there for the concert. The girls all connect through their love of Wish, before being confronted by a group of talking animals.

The animals were sent to the human world for the Lilpri, princesses who can take up the mantle of the missing princesses of Fairylyand, Snow White, Cinderella and Kaguya-hime.  The animals don't believe that the very young girls are fit to be princesses, but some intervention by the Queen of Fairyland convinces them to bestow the powers of Lilpri on the three girls.  They transform into beautiful idol singers, and steal the show before Wish arrives.  Their song helps the audience to be happy, and thus a bit of light is restored to the ailing Fairyland.  The girls are told afterward that no one much ever seen them transform, or they'll lose the power to become Lilpri.

Thoughts: This show is a prime example of what a recent commenter termed a "Hollow Easter Bunny," a pile of animated goo based around vapid cuteness that lacks a solid skeleton and indulges in sugar-coated antics (and perhaps might aid in the sale of related character goods).  In this case, classic fairytale princesses are robbed of their dignity and transformed into brightly-colored, ridiculously-dressed, robotic dancing nightmares, all for the sake of making people happy.  Barf. I can smell the merchandise tie-ins already.

The reason I think that this show is so unsuccessful is that it, surprisingly, takes itself much too seriously.  The Queen of Fairlyland has some especially important things to say, but the fact is that her ridiculous getup coupled with her deadpan serious delivery of lines revolving around happiness tones or whatever this series' "gotta catch em' all" items are is comical in its absurdity. The mascot characters are their own special brand of annoying, due to their stupidity and their aimless cuteness that lacks charm and balance.  If they were real I would probably kick them, and I like animals!

The animation quality (or lack thereof) adds to the illusion of "cheap knock-off" that this series bares proudly on its chest.  The character animation is frankly pretty dismal, but the badness kicks into high gear once the girls transform into Lilpri and start their song and dance number. It's then that they enter the 3rd dimension and become freakish androids build from computers and third-rate motion capture. The integration of 3D characters isn't something that has to look ridiculous - the end theme to Heartcatch Precure features some high-quality motion capture that's fluid and still properly conveys the look of the characters. The CG in this series makes the three girls look like animatronic non-humans, and the effect is, not surprisingly, pretty off-putting.

The one thing that impressed me about this episode is that the three girls all seem to have realistic-sounding voices. It actually sounds as if they may have used child actors in the roles rather than Japanese women on helium, and while the acting might not be quite as solid, the overall effect just seems much more natural to me.

There's really not much to talk about here.  The show doesn't even really bother to have a positive message about doing one's best or nurturing one's talents; its shallowness is frustrating especially since it takes no opportunity to redeem itself in any way.  Throughout my viewing of the episode, I kept comparing it to Heartcatch Precure, and the difference in the two is  like night and day. Heartcatch focuses on developing its lead characters, has a positive message about being true to ones self and helping those in need, and also features some pretty kickass fighting. Lilpri, on the other hand, is stuck floundering around in its own cuteness and doesn't try to be anything better than that.

Pros:

• The characters seem to have been voiced by younger actresses, providing them with a more natural sound.

Cons:

• The show strives to be nothing, and the result is shallow and sickly-sweet.
• Bad mo-cap character scenes!

Recommended? Nope, not a chance.  I'm all for some shows that are meant as just "dumb fun," but this is all the dumb without the fun.