[The future is not so bright]
This show is of the mecha genre so expect some giant robots/mecha fighting in space. More than that though, the series has a group of young kids trying to defend humanity. They are 'Team Rabbits'. Unfortunately, the future doesn't seem so bright. For whatever reasons, the aliens are threatening humanity. From an subjective point, Majestic Prince takes this idea and makes good usage of it from the beginning. In fact, we can see that humanity itself is in danger. It keeps that tone in check mostly throughout the story as humanity seems to be on the verge of being wiped out. The future is definitely not so bright.
[Team Rabbits]
The main casts of the series is made of this group of kids known as 'Team Rabbits'. No, they don't have long ears or furry fur. Rather, they have the ambition to wipe out the aliens that threatens their future from the rest of face of the universe. The team is composed of five members – 3 guys and 2 girls. Among them is Izuru Hitachi, who declares himself as a hero or rather a wannabee superman in charge of his own mecha suit, the AHSMB" (Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device). Most of the time, he seems to be doing on things on his own and tries his best to help out others. Other times, the kid is stubborn and even puts the team at danger of their lives.
The other casts consists of Toshikazu Asagi (the tough guy), Ataru Suruga (the brains), Kei Kugimiya (the badass chick), and Tamaki Irie (the girl who falls for just about any guy with a pretty face). It's hard to take the cast seriously at some occasions with their conflicting personalities. While the team often succeeds in missions, they fail in terms of real life sense. Tamaki has never gotten a guy to fall in love with him while Izuru is too naïve to be a real hero. Then, there's a lack of confidence from our brains of the team. It's almost hard to believe that they are able to succeed in some of their missions or even picked by the world to pilot those badass mechs in the first place. This is especially true in the beginning where their skills are so fawned upon that they were not worth the time to kill by enemy forces. Is it because the enemies too strong or are is Team Rabbits just too pathetic? I think the latter. Oh and let's not forget the men of the team are often considered perverts while the ladies' love lives are empty as tea cup. The love (tea) for them is missing there. However, their characters progress dramatically as the series accelerates forward. It is the experience that builds up from their various encounters with the enemy, learning from their past mistakes, and shooting for greater heights. I am quite grateful at their progressing elements as they seemingly grow up both mentally and professionally.
With three airing mecha theme shows all at once from the Spring 2013 season, Majestic Prince sure had to set the bar high in order to shine by itself. Perhaps the mechs are part of that solution. In essence, the technology used by Team Rabbits is obviously more advanced than our modern world. Because of that, there's comes the existence of AHSMB that stands for “Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device”. True to its name, these machines serves the purpose of combat against those nasty alien invaders. Their instinctive designs of these machines does pack serious firepower and has the potential to wipe out enemies. However, they require skilled pilots. The key word here is 'skilled' but like mentioned previously before, Team Rabbits isn't exactly big guns that can take on the aliens like a rabbit hunting game. However, the mecha designs does fits within the futuristic themes of the show and gives off a majestic look. Their unique fighting style and teamwork pulls together in various battles to protect the humanity's future.
[Challenges and Direction]:
Well, the series challenges itself many times in order to prove to itself that the majestic princes are what the humanity needs. (or rather maybe the government and humanity) However, the team themselves seems to not be getting what they really want at various occasions. Well, if publicity is one factor, then that counts. But for political purposes, the military and government seems to “sell off” Team Rabbits as a product to the media. The group itself is often put under stress from the social media with challenges posed to them as high expectations from what they are to present to humanity.
On a more technical side, the series sometimes shifts from its main plot to nonsense with its fan service and slice of lifish episodes. In fact, there are several episodes throughout the series that depicts Team Rabbits' daily lives. Rather than exploring their histories that viewers may be keen to know, the series wastes time of showing what they do in their every day lives. And speaking of that, there's not much unique about it. The girls tries to pick up dates with fail and the guys doesn't fare any better. It's a direction the show follows and doesn't work out right to be honest. There's some character development though later on but falls under the too slow of a pacing zone.
However, that's mostly in the first half as the second half of the series gives a much stronger appeal. In fact, the plot itself of Majestic Prince wasn't something I considered a masterpiece in the beginning. On the other hand, its progress later on made it all worthwhile as we see our protagonists demonstrate what they've learned while making surprises on the screen. Oh and if that wasn't enough, there are even new characters that joins the fun that brings out the best of surprising gifts, talents, and surprises.
[Majestic Visuals?]
If I'm counting pure action alone, Majestic Prince wouldn't have a problem scoring above a 7 or 8. But then, the visuals department for whatever reason makes their characters' designs look flat. The way the characters look does not give off a serious outlook of the team. Tamaki has enormous breasts for the role of Ms. Fan service while Izuru looks far from a real hero of justice. However, the mecha designs looks decent and strongly presented. Why can't the characters be the same? It took me quite awhile to get used to the characters' designs (even more so with a trap being introduced). As a fan of some of the other gundam franchaise such as Gundam 00 and SEED, this show lacks a bit of appeal in terms of maturity. On the other hand, the enemies of humanity stays true to their visage as being a prominent threat. Their artwork design gives off both a dangerous outlook as well as being contrasting to what humanity are forced to deal with.
[Sounds of the Universe]
For music, the series nailed it right on the mark with its first opening song, “Watashi wa Souzousuru" by Natsumi Kon. As a talented singer, she brings a serious tone to the series with her thrilling voice. There's also that sense of echoing attractiveness that brings out the series' outlook from the surface. The OST is strong too especially during action scenes when the needs calls for it. Unfortuntately, the series can't put seriousness of the soundtrack into its characters most of the time. This counts for the voices of a few characters such as Tamaki and her childish tone. Then, there's also Surugaya with his voice that seemingly lacks confidence. However, Izuru (voiced by Aiba Hiroki) gives off an impressive tone. Although not well known in the VA industry, Izuru portrays a more mature side of the crew and his voice demonstrates both a sense of confidence and power especially later on. His confidence creates that power of motivation that seemingly even influence his teammates. Kei Kurugaya and Toshikazu Asagi too takes that sense of maturity in their voices and brings them life with responsibility.
[Final Verdict]
If you're a mecha fan, this series might be a hit or miss. If you're looking forward for pure action, then this show might not be for you. However, if you take some time of patience and wait for the story to develop, then Majestic Prince might surprise you. In fact, stories about alien invasions with a kids trying to save the world from obliteration isn't exactly a new idea nowadays. What Majestic Prince brings though is an evolution for its themes and ideas. The combination of its serious mood balanced with comedy makes it worthwhile to invest time into especially for those who wants a change of tone in the typical mecha/space invasion trope. I do have to say that the animation of series might not be suitable for everyone. For me, it seemed a bit childish and took me awhile to get used to. However, my patience ultimately paid off as revelations are unrivaled, characters shined bright with brilliance, and battles takes revolution into the universe. Majestic Prince isn't what exactly I call a majestic masterpiece of the decade but definitely has its own style that is entrancing in that majestic way.
