Fena: Pirate Princess premiered on Saturday giving fans a breathtaking and adventurous start to what could be one of the better series of Summer 2021. Crunchyroll is pushing this series as much as they can and now we can see why.
The romantic adventure story has already released its first two episodes, a trend we’ve seen with other series this year. One of those being Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, which launched its first two episodes for its premiere back in the spring. Another is Idaten Deities, another summer anime that also released their first two episodes simultaneously.
The original collab-series between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim started off with wonderful action, smooth animations, and beautiful scenery that just pops into any viewers’ eyes.
People shouldn’t judge a series on the first handful of episodes, but it’s safe to say that Production I.G. has another gem on their hands. Who doesn’t love a good pirate-adventure story with a dash of romance? We also have trained samurai involved as well. If that doesn’t interest you then I don’t know what will.
(Warning: This article does contain spoilers.)
Fena’s Story Will Have You Hooked
Releasing the first two episodes was a perfect move for this series. Not only are we introduced to a handful of interesting main and side characters, but we understand what Fena’s journey will focus on straight out of the gate.
Fena washes up on the shore of an island after a ship she was sailing on was attacked. Unfortunately, the island is one giant red-light district society. Present-day takes place 10 years after the incident and Fena wants to do whatever she can to leave the crime-ridden island.
With some help, she manages to escape and sets sail on a brand new life that she’s longed for. This escape is executed flawlessly. It gives viewers a feel for the kind of life she’s lived the past decade. Not only that, it immediately portrays what kind of character Fena is.
But now she must solve the riddle of the mysterious stone her father left her with an extremely vague clue
Fena Is a Phenemonal Main Character
What good is an original anime series without a good main character? Fena may be a little clumsy and an airhead at times, but she’s determined to carry out what she wants to do for her sake only. While that may sound selfish, she’s actually a kind-hearted person with a child-like curiosity for whatever piques her interest. Despite being older, she still acts like a kid at times.
Her personality reminds me a little of Natsume’s from the 2020 series Deca-Dence.
As she is given the tour of Goblin Island upon arrival, she instantly becomes fascinated with the food and weapons that are there, especially bow and arrows. Take this scene below for example. After Shitan helps her shoot an arrow correctly for the first time, Fena can’t help but describe the act in only a way she can.
Her character design is also perfect. While everyone has eyes and hair on the darker side, Fena sticks out like a sore thumb with her pale skin and white hair. There isn’t much background on where she specifically came from. However, she has already been called a “westerner” by a few in the series.
One Journey Ends, Another Starts
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song perfected the act of creating and ending arcs in a single episode. Fena: Pirate Princess has now joined the hit spring series in doing this as well. From the end of episode 1 to sailing off to solve the mystery her father left behind, we can anticipate big events will happen in every episode.
But this is not all we gather from the first two episodes. Fena: Pirate Princess fluidly introduces characters that will be involved as well without feeling like the pacing is disrupted. It all flows together perfectly. We’re introduced to a giant handful of interesting characters that we’ll all grow to know more about as the series progresses.
One of those characters is Yukimaru, an old friend of Fena’s who was separated from her at the very start of the series. Yukimaru ends up being one of the trained samurai who will guard Fena on her dangerous voyage as well.
One story of the series, Yukimaru, and Fena being reunited, has already come full circle in just the first two episodes. The execution was perfect. Everything you could truly ask for was given to us in the Fena: Pirate Princess series premiere.
Next Week
Episode 3 of Fena: Pirate Princess will air next Saturday, August 22, on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.
If you thought the series premiere of episodes 1 and 2 were fantastic, make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll!
So what did you think of the Fena: Pirate Princess series premiere? Is this easily a must-watch of the summer? Let me know in the comments!
All images via Crunchyroll.
©「僕のヒーローアカデミア」製作委員会©堀越耕平／集英社
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