Customer Reviews

Elf Princess Rane

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

God, where do I begin? Take one over-adventurous, thick-headed treasure hunter named Go Takarada, a cute mini Elf Princess, add a language barrier for maximum comic effect. Plus, a jealous girlfriend, kamikaze elf hunter (after the Princess of course) and three sisters who work for various factions of the town, and mix together on high comic heat! Did I mention the Fire Dept w/ high-grade weapons systems? Go's inability to do anything useful? Anime hair jokes? A bishounen who talks backwards? (Trust me on this. You need the DVD w/ the English subs to get this joke, but it's worth the effort). The only bad thing about Rane is that it's short. Only two eps (as far as I know). Ends too soon as we were having a great time until then. Highly recommended for all anime fans, especially those of you who are tired of the Sturm and Drang aspect of anime. All should be enlivened by the spirit of this anime. Until next time, Gotchabagoose!

Elf Princess Rane is a pretty bizarre anime. It's not really plot-driven, and it relies mainly on slapstick humor to keep things moving. I surfed around a bit prior to watching this and most of the reviews are positive. I'm going against the grain here but I can't really say I liked EPR. Somehow, a full hour of characters scampering around, bickering, and tripping over themselves is not my idea of a good watch. Half of the dialogues are utter nonsense. There's a language barrier between the elves and humans, and sometimes the elves end up saying silly stuff like "A taxi runs in my tummy delivering sheets with that look.". Think of it as when people trying to speak a foreign tongue use the wrong terms or intonations. There's also this guy named Zenshuin who loves talking cryptically, so that unauthorized people won't understand him (or something to that effect). The main chunk of the humor is comprised of the weird dialogues, drastic changes in the characters' facial expressions, and exaggerated actions. The art and animation are okay -- a bit better than average, but nothing really special. I can't comment on the English dubbing because I got the subtitled version. The conclusion is equally strange. After the credits, some character appears and thanks you for buying the video. He also says that how much support (i.e. sales) EPR gets will determine if and when a third episode will be released. Some scenes from what's supposed to be episode 3 are then shown. Judging from the fact that up to now there are only two eps out, I guess sales aren't so good. EPR is not bad, and it does have some entertainment value. It's just that I'd rather blow my budget on something more worthwhile.

Elf Princess Rane is a very slapstick, very random, and very entertaining anime. Most everything else has been said by other reviewers, and it was a series with potential. But there are only two episodes. No more. I believe that these were OAV's that were being released one at a time instead of being a TV show, and it was cancelled for whatever reason after the second episode. Despite that, it's still very funny and a good way to kill an hour or so. Unfortunately, the extras aren't very good, so once you've watched the movie that's about all you can do.

In Elf Princess Rane, the absurd action goes at a breakneck pace. There are all sorts of interesting and likeable characters, except that none of them really seem to know what's going on. There are also a lot of parodies of other anime (one character even breaks into a Child's Toy-esque rap). Highly recommended, if you can handle silliness.

This anime is hilarious. I absolutely love it. Although it's a little disappointing that there are only 2 episodes. I wish they would make the rest of it. This anime also has a great dub; they say the exact same things as they do in the Japanese version. If you like comedic anime, this dvd is a must!

Elf Princess Rane has to be one of the most hilarious (and also crazy) anime I've ever seen. I'd read reviews and done my own research ahead of time before purchasing this DVD, and in some ways I was expecting something similar to Excel Saga as far as the humor. I was pretty off the mark ~ Elf Princess Rane is more fast-paced and comfortably down-to-earth than Excel Saga, managing to be crazy without being outright strange or bizarre. It's an endearing work with some classic and memorable moments, that goes from one bombastic joke to the next. I was literally laughing my guts out all the way through watching this DVD.

Don't let the box cover fool you ~ the blonde-haired elf and pinkish bubbly backdrop might make you think this is a magical shojo series aimed at young girls, which couldn't be any further from the truth. The story actually revolves around Go Takarada, an insanely adventurous but dense young man who's trying to become a great treasure hunter like his parents. If that sounds generic for a 90's anime, never fear ~ Elf Princess Rane is self-aware to the fact, and does a great job of poking fun at and twisting the common tropes of its era to humorous effect. Go lives in a semi-futuristic world that still has plenty of vegetation, which gives off a charming sense of convenience and harmony between technology and the planet. During Go's first treasure-hunting foray at an ancient Japanese shrine, he accidentally summons a small elf named Rane, an otherworldly princess that can help Go find a legendary treasure.

But not without a lot of crazy jokes along the way. The humor is fast and furious, as this series hardly takes itself seriously from any one moment to the next. It's a roller-coaster ride that never lets up, which may turn off people who are more interested in lighter comedy series or who get tired quickly from relentless waves of humor (if you don't stand back every so often to reassess what's going on , you might have a hard time keeping up with the general plot progression). It's a show for fast wits and even faster punchlines. Luckily, the cohesive world sense and charming characters help to keep the story engaging and the progression fun, without letting the constant humor destroy the likability of the characters or the series.

I haven't had a chance yet to check out the dubbed version (which I've heard is a classic in its own right), but the subtitled version is fantastic. There's a character in the show named Takuma who apparently speaks gibberish that no one can understand, and AnimeWorks did a hilarious job translating it into some very tongue-in-cheek jokes and references that longtime anime fans are sure to enjoy.

The only downside to this series is that it ends without wrapping up the story. It's like watching a movie 4/5 of the way through and just stopping. From my understanding, Elf Princess Rane came out at the tail end of the OVA boom during the rise of the Japanese recession, and was the victim of poor sales that prevented the series from ever being completed. Although it's an awful shame that it was never finished, it's still hilarious fun for what it is.

Elf Princess Rane is a classic in its own right, and even though it's incomplete, it's still an enjoyably hilarious addition to any anime fan's library (at an incredibly excellent low price!) I highly recommend this DVD to fans of light-hearted, charming and relentlessly comedic 90's anime. You'll never forget "gatchabagoose!"

This anime is very strange and silly. :) If you like that kind of thing, it is perfect. Everything is very... exaggerated. I wish there were more episodes to develop the plot. There are only two episodes available.

When a friend fired up this anime, i was thinking it'd be a decent, not amazing, but ok fantasy realted anime. However, i was quite surprised, and humored, by its randomness and antics. If you enjoy comedy animes, then you'll probably be at least fairly ammused by this. Like many other have stated there is some frontal nudity of little fairy people(they call them elves, but whatever). The anime is of average quality for its release date, but I've seen few funnier that are this clean content wise.

you may want to get your remote ready to press pause/slow to catch everything.

I watched the sub only, so not sure how the dub is...

This 3 episode series sounds starts great an all that but the third final episode is missing so its pointless to watch this. Sure its great and all that but with no ending,its useless

i have this anime(vhs video). i don't buy ANY vhs-tape, with the exception of "This". the original title is "Myoujyohime Ren". it will catch your mind that if you can name yourself to "japanimation mania,since 1970s". it's contents are radically parody of which various kinds of animation that was saled on decades.. it lead you to world of laugh,but it's not simple comic story. long-hair coolguy(of 1970~80s),sailor-girl, various sets of fantasy, (somtimes)hardboiled action, SFmechanic, advanture for treasure, + gag,gag,gag + and light homosexuality...; (but "light". not,not serios. that is all for moodmaking..nothing anymore..), hispeed storytelling of this animation will invite you to "world of Astral"~!. All of this is covered up perfective PARODY. buy this! if your money is available thing.. BONUS. if you learned 3 language of japanese,english,korean... it'll be more interesting at next series(volume2)!!!