There is always something that people insist is meant for kids, that sometimes you just can’t go out of. Maybe it’s spending your Saturday mornings playing video games? Maybe it’s putting bacon on your peanut butter and jelly sandwich just like your mom used to do for you? Or maybe it’s the simple nostalgia of watching an animated Disney Princess movie? Across the globe Disney Princess fans gurgle with glee at the sight of an elegant Princess dancing with her Prince, over throwing the evil Step-mother/Queen/Witch/Han Army, or getting into trouble with their animal friends.
And though it might be hard to believe for many people, not all of those DP fans are 6-year-old little girls. It might be easy for some anime fans to look down on DP fans, but they should also remember that DP fans have suffered through the same experiences that most Otaku have had to put up with. Haven’t both groups had to listen to, “Aren’t animated shows and movies just for kids?” or “I can’t believe you still like cartoons, how old are you?”, from just about everyone that isn’t a fan? I say that DP fans and Otaku should unite! DP fans should stop hiding their addiction and maybe even try some anime, there’s a wide variety of Princess themed anime that have more grown up plots and more complex stories that they might like. And Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for some anime fans to try some DP movies, they might find some anime connections.
Mulan
If you like the DP movie Mulan (the animated version) then you might like the series Yona of the Dawn. The Disney movie Mulan features a fearless daughter of a renowned warrior. She goes to war in her injured father’s place, and after a lot of hard training, she becomes a smart and agile warrior. Later she becomes integral in defeating the whole Han Army! Much like in the movie Mulan, Yona grew up in a sheltered home environment (as a Princess)
and knew little of the combat world. Then tragedy struck and Princess Yona is thrown into a world filled with royal unrest. She is forced to flee for her life with her childhood friend, escaping the same army that once protected her. Yona has some harsh lessons to learn about the world, but along the way she makes a lot of trustworthy friends and even collects a small band of warriors, as she develops into a formidable warrior herself.
Sleeping Beauty
If you like Sleeping Beauty you might like the anime Princess Tutu. Sleeping Beauty is filled with the classic folklore, the tragic drama, and the love conquering all of a more traditional fairy tale. And, for those same reasons there is a lot about Princess Tutu that you are going to like. Though the name of this anime is a bit silly, there is a lot of serious story telling in this series. Princess Tutu is centered around the character Duck. Though she struggles to keep up with the other students in the ballet academy she attends, she actually has an amazing magical power, she can turn into a Prima ballerina that can break curses. Unfortunately she also randomly turns into a duck, which makes for plenty of hilarious and awkward scenes.
Duck and the rest of the cast live in a world in which all classic ballet stories and folktales are real. Much like in Sleeping Beauty, PT also has a mysterious villain (Drosselmeyer) that just seems to take pleasure in making the main characters’ (particularly Duck’s) life more difficult. Though the villain in PT might be easy to pick out, that doesn’t mean that the anime series is simplistic. The plot of PT has a surprising amount of depth as each of the ballet stories and folktales are discovered. More over, not every character is a clearly good or evil person in this series. So if a DP movie like SB gets you feeling all nostalgic not to worry, in PT there are plenty of strange curses, gentle Princes, damsels in distress, monsters, and in the end, yes love does conquer all!
Tangled
If you like the DP movie Tangle (the Repunzel movie) then you might like Fena: Pirate Princess. Tangled (Disney’s version of Rapunzel) is about a Princess that is kidnapped as a baby and locked up in a remote tower by an evil and manipulative witch. Rapunzel doesn’t have a bad childhood, you could even call it pretty good. She is treated kindly by her “Mother” and given whatever she wanted. There’s just one little catch, she can never leave the tower. Well, Repunzel gets older, and she really wants to explore the big shiny world out there. And then her tower gets burglarized by the thief Flynn. She easily subdues the thief, but he manages to talk her into leaving the tower and going on an amazing adventure with him.
And that is kind of the story of Fena: Pirate Princess. As a very young child Fena was on a sailing ship that was attacked. She managed to escape on a small row boat, but she loses some of her memories. She ends up growing up in a seaside town on a remote island where she is highly controlled as to where she can go and who she can talk to. Then one night things go a little haywire. She is almost rescued by two bumbling old gentlemen.
Unfortunately, they kind of fail at saving her completely, but luckily they have back up in the form of a sword wielding ninja. Fena ends up on the island of the ninjas, where she and her new ninja friends are sent out on a mission to bring back Fena’s missing memories and find the greatest treasure of the world!
Honorable mention goes to Amagi Brilliant Park’s Princess Latifa Fleuranza. Though she isn’t featured much in the series and the anime isn’t really about her, she is one of the most Disney of all anime Princesses.
Do you have any favorite Disney Princess worthy anime? Leave a comment below!
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This week’s anime exclamation is: Onegai! meaning Please!
I’m currently watching:
- Banished from the Heroes Party
- Sailor Moon Crystal
- Click Link
- Visual Prison
- Taisho Otome Fairy Tale
- Mars Red
- Inari Kon Kon
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- The Great Jahy will Not Be Defeated!
- Detective Conan
- The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window
- Revolutionary Girl Utena
- Neo Angelique Abyss
- Hanasakeru Seishonen
- Takt Op. Destiny
- Zombie Loan
- Hells
- Sakugan
- Over Lord
- Backflip
- Bung Stray Dogs
- Cardfight Vanguard Overdress
Anime Hanabi 
I think I would like to see Jasmin as an anime character or Judy from Zootopia (as humans).
Wow! You watch Sailor Moon Crystal? I think it’s really amazing, even though there are are some «little disasters». For example I liked Sailor Moon OP much better than Crystal’s one. Also the story doesn’t have characters’ development and it focuses only on Usagi.
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I would like to watch Jasmin (from Aladdin) and Elsa (from Frozen) as anime characters.
I really like Yona of the Dawn!
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Oh,you watch Sailor Moon Crystal! I have already finished it and I loved it. Though, it has less characters’ development than the original. Also you ought to listen to Sailor Moon OP. It’s really catchy!
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