This was just an absolute slap from start to finish.
These OVA centered around some kind of odd conceit from back in the day aren't always good but this one and its puppet fighting gimmick are really something else. Obviously there are a lot of really excellent action sequences here, mostly revolving around our protagonist Rangiku's array of fighting puppets and the large box she keeps them in. But it really can't be overstated how absolutely great this thing looks in general, the direction is razor-sharp and in particular the more horror-leaning scenes really pop. (As a side note, basically everyone suddenly gains individually-drawn teeth and bulging eyeballs when they're going through terrible things. The former in particular means this probably has the most teeth-per-minute of any anime I've ever seen. Something to think about.)
Also present is a master ninja / illusionist named Manajiri who serves as a sort of secondary dynamic. They have a solid dynamic---although there's a decidedly uncomfortable and unfortunately very of its time bit where he tries to grope Rangiku while she's cleaning herself in a waterfall, although he does at least back off which is more than can be said about many characters who've been placed in similar situations. It's a little unfortunate since Manajiri is otherwise a pretty great character in his own right.
Rangiku's puppets are easily my favorite thing about the OVA overall though, she cycles through a couple of them over its 40-odd minute runtime and while the best is probably the large red samurai she uses for the first and last battle, they're all great. Naturally, they become the tools of vengeance used to kill the man who murdered her father, although there's some interesting stuff in here about how badly her father treated her in favor of the puppets. There's thus an interesting thematic line to be extracted here about a man in power favoring literal dolls over the human women in his life, but the OVA only has so much time to explore this. My only real complaint, in fact, other than the waterfall scene, is that I actually wouldn't have minded watching a lot more of this. I think you could pretty easily extend this to a full series.
And interestingly....it almost sort of did? Puppet Princess itself never got a TV anime, but one of the mangaka's later projects, Karakuri Circus, did, and has a similar overall premise. I have had Karakuri Circus on my plan-to-watch list for years. It may be time to finally get to it.
A Grindhouse Fairy Tale: 'Puppet Princess' Reviewed
A Grindhouse Fairy Tale: ‘Puppet Princess’ Reviewed
In Puppet Princess a family who builds special karakuri puppets is slain by an evil warlord. When the princess survives, she uses her skill with puppets to go on a quest for vengeance. The 45 minute OVA (original video animation) packs a punch with moments worthy of Kite or Ninja Scroll.
The limited animation is more than compensated for by some superb directing by Hirotoshi Takaya. Blood and…
