Somewhere around the mid-to-late 2000s and very early 2010s, there was this weird, cartoony horror aesthetic that used to be all the rage. It probably has some fancy name nowadays, but to me, it's whatever the hell media like the movie 9, games like American McGee's Alice, Medievil, Lego's 2007 Castle Sets, forgotten tabletop games like Malifaux, webcomics like the Unspeakable Vault of Doom and anime like Soul Eater embodied.

Back then it was just the coolest thing - despite being widespread, there was this odd, almost arcane charm to it, which made you feel like the media you were enjoying was much grittier and darker than it actually was. And yet, it maintained a distinct identity from the bland, over-the-top edginess that thrived as a sort of sister genre to it. I mean, your parents probably wouldn't become as worried about you if you had that iconic 2007 Lego Castle carriage with skeleton horses on your shelf the way they would if you had Saw posters hanging everywhere.

Murder Princess feels like some sort of forgotten cornerstone of this weird, ephemeral genre. To give you a sort of elevator pitch of this anime without reducing it to "hey, it reminds me of the aesthetic of some things I like! If you liked them you'll like this show too!" - this isn't one of those shows that have a kickass OP only to then disappoint you with a largely uneventful slog or something barely related to the opening song's tone. No, this show gives you EXACTLY what you'll expect upon seeing and hearing this gloriously 2000s OP by BACK-ON (yes, those guys! Did you know they did a really cool insert song for Kamen Rider not too long ago? Check it out, they're still around and still kick ass!)

See, a coup is taking place in this relatively cliche fantasy kingdom. We have this princess named Alita who's forced to escape her castle to ensure the royal bloodline's survival and all that jazz. But this is where the show already throws in a surprise - who's behind the coup? Some rival kingdom? Some dark wizard? Bandits, perhaps? No - it's a funny-looking mad scientist with an army of funky mutants that look like Power Rangers Mystic Force villain of the week rejects and a duo of robot dolls aiding him. And one of them has a gatling hidden in her arm. So, not a good situation for the kingdom to be in! But, thankfully, Alita manages to escape. But then she falls off a cliff and ends up bonking Falis, a local bounty hunter, on the head, and the two swap bodies thanks to a phenomenon foretold by local legends.

Thus, the two are forced to come to terms with their new situations, with Falis becoming an edgier, meaner and more badass version of Princess Alita, and Alita herself deciding to pose as her recently deceased maid Milano in order to cover up what happened. Outside of the expected fish-out-of-water hijinks, what ensues is a touching, fairytale-like story of a deep bond between two women from vastly different environments getting to know each other and, through sheer coincidence, finding answers to some mysteries of the world that surrounds them.

See, we do get a fair bit of comedy in this show - we see a number of misadventures that the two have, either together or on their own. Falis has to adjust to her role as Alita, learning all sorts of courtly manners that the public expects from their princess, and Alita has to come to terms with a lifestyle far from what her royal upbringing prepared her for. Simultaneously, the mad scientist that orchestrated the coup that started this whole mess (and ultimately failed thanks to this strange, new, katana-wielding Princess Alita's intervention) isn't calling it quits just yet, and his army of freaks regularly shows up to both cause havoc and do all manner of petty things in an attempt to re-do the coup (except better this time).

While all of this happens, we also get another side plot that seamlessly plays into the story - two shadowy figures, a witch that looks like Naga the Serpent's long lost gyaru sister and a black knight that mixes both eastern and western armor design traits are scheming in the shadows, and as we soon learn, their plans overlap with what goes down throughout the show. All of this manages to get sufficiently explored in just 6 episodes, each roughly 24 minutes - leading to some very satisfying pacing that never leaves a dull moment. A lot of what we're given isn't explained via infodumps, needlessly complex lore or brooding monologues - no, you can just take what the show gives you at face value, and you know what? Given we're in a world where some generic isekai probably named something along the lines of Reincarnated as my Sister's Shoelaces in an Isometric RPG!? is gonna be widely praised as the most revolutionary take on the medium ever and you're gonna get treated like a pleb for not understanding its deep commentary on the shoelace manufacturing industry, a show that you can just enjoy from start to finish on a whim (and actually walk away from with this oddly warm feeing) is truly worthwhile.

I also have to mention one other thing - the bond that our main heroines form is pretty adorable, but it's not all there is to it - it's frankly just straight-up cool thanks to the writer(s?) bothering to get it across that these are both complex, adult women. Folks looking for some LGBT+ undertones will get their fill (and a very respectful one at that, I'd say, despite not being an expert on WLW fiction myself - none of it feels like it was written with one hand by some failed young adult novel author, even though we get a rather amusing scene of Alita-Milano, well, offering herself up to the titular princess), but I'd argue that this relationship's biggest strength is that it's not exactly solely reliant on the fact both of them are women - rather, what we see are two people with vastly different pasts, lives and standards who just so happen to click on a bunch of other worldview-related matters.

Additionally, while I don't want to spoil you on who the main villain is or what their exact deal is, I think there's something hauntingly real about how they justify their evil plans. If you've observed how people, especially online, changed after the mid-to-late 2010s and 2020, how often they resort to all sorts of strange, nihilist or destructive ideologies to cope with the way reality's changing, I think you'll experience a bit of catharsis from watching the main heroines stand up to their schemes. I found it fascinating how transcendental the theme behind their misguided intentions seems to be, even in our current year of 2025. Kinda hard not to see some parallels between this plan and what many young people turn to for some sort of comfort. But I digress. See for yourself.

I also have to give a shoutout to the English dub's VAs - they did an outstanding job here. I especially loved Colleen Clinkenbeard's performance. Her snarky yet badass voices does NOT miss. If you're into dubs, this is certainly one to check out.

If there's one complaint I have, it's that this show kinda felt too short, actually. I would've loved to spend time with the cast and I miss them. sobs

Summarizing - I'm surprised this is just a largely forgotten OVA from 2007 and not the premise of a hyper-popular Tim Burton movie from ~2009 or something. If you're a fan of that vague aesthetic I alluded to at the start of this review, or in the mood for something that feels like a lost fairytale you've never heard of, this is sure to scratch that itch. Come for the cool snarky princess with a katana, stay for the kickass music, memorable character designs (I love one of Falis-Alita's sidekicks, a little skeleton guy with the most edgy 2000s shounen protag haircut EVER and his musclebrained Frankenstein's Monster homage friend so much) and a plot that brought back all sorts of nice, fuzzy memories I had of watching fairytale adaptations on VHS as a kid. Except this time, it's way more badass and coated in that irreplaceable 2000s charm.