Princess Knight Part One is the first volume containing the first half of this classic cartoon series directed by Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy).  This show is about a prince named Prince Knight but he is no ordinary prince at all, he isn't even a boy but in fact a girl instead.  Yes in reality she is Princess Knight but her gender is kept secret from the public so they can keep her place to be the next ruler secure due to a law stating that women can't rule the throne.  Sad for her that the king's brother smells something fishy about it and sends out his men on missions to try to prove that she is actually a girl so he can have his son take her place in ruling the throne.  They are also just bad people in general and pick on the villagers and try to take over other countries in secret.  So it is up to Princess Knight along with her loyal horse and her friend Choppy (who is an angel) to foil their plans to save the people and protect her identity all at the same time.  Some adventures you can expect to see in this volume include:  Princess Knight fighting the big bad wolf, traveling to the city of Atlantis to defeat an evil group of shark men, stopping the sandman from attacking the castle, helping out a ghost, saving slaves with her friend Prince Frank.  All this and more in the first volume of this classic animated series.  (Click "Read More" to read the full review).



I enjoyed the stories in this series as they felt very magical how they mixed Tezuka's playful writing with fairy tales and they also made for some really fun adventures.  Sadly I wouldn't say that every episode is a winner as you do get a few duds but when an episode is great it is very fabulous viewing.  The action in this show was very exciting although while predictable you can't help but to feel suspenseful anyway.  There are some religious references in this show but they don't force religion on you and actually it seems to be more inspired by Disney's renditions of biblical references.  Characters in this show are your typical heroes and villains you would see in classic superhero cartoons but I wouldn't say they are bad but rather quite charming and do have some unique factors about them.  While I do enjoy this show I wouldn't say that this is one for everybody as the teenagers will just turn their noses at this due to it's age.  This show will appeal to little kids due to the characters and the fantastic adventures they have.  Other people that might get a kick out of this show are people who have nostalgic feelings for this show and Tezuka enthusiasts.

Artwork has aged quite a lot and it is a bit faded with some very simple Disney-esk designs.  I wouldn't say it looks bad by any means as there are some beautiful character and landscape designs.  Animation hasn't aged very well as it can get jittery at times and it is also quite repetitive and sometimes it can be inconsistent.  The English dub is quite charming with some great voices that match up the characters and it can be quite imaginative too.  Soundtrack has a very nice mixture of fairy tail and Japanese styled music that makes me feel magical although the music can sound a bit distorted due how the masters have aged.

There's a small but nice collection of special features as you get text-less opening and closing credits and a promotional trailer for the show.  Overall I enjoyed this one but as I said before it will only appeal to certain age groups.  I best recommend this for the kiddies and for the nostalgic grown-ups.  If you are one of those younger people who can look past on how old an animated series is then you should also check it out.  Pretty fun viewing.

Title: Princess Knight Part One