©餅月望・TOブックス/ティアムーン帝国物語製作委員会2023
Every season has a champion of “Girls with the Best Faces Acting Like Adorable Little Gremlins,” and Queen Karen Luna Tearmoon will take the crown this time. I mean, come on, how the heck could someone not root for this silly little princess when she constantly seeks to be a legitimately good person and a tolerable noble? ? Also, did you guys see those sick dance moves? This girl has a bright future ahead of her, I’ll tell you that, and it might even end with her having to keep her head attached to the rest of her body too!
In other words, here’s another fun episode of Tearmoon Empire delivering our weekly helping of comedic shenanigans, sprinkled with a healthy dose of bubbly young love and just… A bit of political tragedy for good measure. Prince Abel is the kind of bumbling goofball that you can’t help but cheer for when he discovers that he too might be worthy of love and affection; it’s not hard to see why Karen likes him. The other supporting characters are successful as Karen tries her best to date the A-belle of the Ball, and Anne earns another Best Maid in the Land trophy for being willing to help when a group of ladies The haughty clan destroys Tiona’s dress in an attempt to bully her out of her social standing once again.
There was also Sion, who stole the show by forcing his nervous rival Abel and setting the dance floor on fire along with Karen, both angry at missing out on the chance to show off Abel and delighted when given the chance to humiliate Sion with her moves (which she of course fails spectacularly). It’s a great scene that’s well-animated and choreographed, for the most part, although a few cuts do contain some very noticeable (and not particularly well-done) CG animation. This is especially strange because most of the dances are traditionally animated, so I’m not sure what would force the producers to throw in a few shots with such inappropriate 3D wording that it’s distracting. .
Still, it wasn’t embarrassing or anything, and the night still ended up as a huge success for our recovering selfish little tyrant. Without an ounce of self-awareness, the princess somehow manages to win Abel’s affections, and that, in addition to punishing the evil children who ruined Tiona’s dress, convinces Sion of his perfect nature. her altruism and making true friends together. Rafina. And to think, this whole thing started with Karen being covered in a gallon of horse snot. If she can keep this up, then Karen will definitely earn a spot on the list of “History’s Most Beloved and Unbeheaded Kings.”
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Tearmoon Empire is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which you can also find on Twitter his blog and his podcast.