A couple months ago the tiniest little whispers started stirring. There was a subtle hint on the wind that a very unexpected anime was coming soon. It was unexpected not because anime needs to stay in any one genre or even style, but because it was based on a fantasy shojo that I had only seen as a web comic. Those don’t tend to get an anime adaptation. Even more surprising is that this manga didn’t seem to be a hugely successful series. It wasn’t a complete flop, but it didn’t have a giant international fan base either. Usually when a fantasy shojo manga is adapted to an anime, the manga is already pretty popular in a lot of countries. Like the series Fruits Basket or Fushigi Yuugi: Mysterious Play. And for all the reasons I pointed out of why it shouldn’t get an anime version, there are so many more reasons why I’m glad it did get an anime! Because this is a really good story. This manga series has drama, and humor, and adventure, and mystery, and some very sweet romance, and friendship building, and character development, and a FL and ML that learn to value themselves more! So it makes me wonder, why doesn’t anyone seem to be watching this anime? From the seasonal anime blog posts I’ve read, it doesn’t look like many have tried it out. I understand that this anime didn’t get a lot of fan fair and the release was pretty low key, but still. . . Why all the silence about this anime?
The Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
The anime The Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is a fantasy shojo that takes a lot of themes from the European fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, and is about a teen girl named Sariphi who was raised in a small human village to be only one thing. A sacrifice to the King of Beasts. In this world the humans and the beast people have been at war for centuries. The former King of Beasts managed to finally bring an end to the war, but part of the negotiations for peace was that the humans owed the beast people a human sacrifice for the King of Beasts to eat once a year. The new King of Beasts is now in power, and he’s following in the previous King’s foot steps to try to get the beast people and humans to get along, or at least not to fight all the time. He’s also following in the tradition of accepting a human sacrifice (or is he?). And that’s when the King of Beasts meets Sariphi. She willingly is guided to the King’s throne room and doesn’t seem to fear the strange creatures all around her. Even more surprising, she doesn’t fear the King of Beasts looming over her at all. And he is a really big, scary looking, saber toothed lion/bear man. The reason why she’s not afraid? Because she was born and raised to be the King’s food. Even if the beast people let her go, she has no home to go back to. She can never return to her village, her own people would banish her if she ever tried to go back home.
But being a walking Happy Meal didn’t bring Sariphi down or make her dislike the people that raised her. After all they did treat her kindly, or at least as gently as a farmer might treat highly valuable produce. And she’s glad her life could be of some use to someone, so she’s okay if the King of Beasts wants to eat her. But even after the King assures her that he is totally, absolutely, and most definitely going to eat her, he doesn’t gobble her up right on the spot. Because she is a special religious meal, they have to wait for the right day, so fearless Sariphi is allowed to explore the castle a little bit ( with two adorable little monster escorts) until her untimely meal time demise. In the few days before Sariphi’s final course, the King and precocious girl have a chance to understand each other a little bit and Sariphi learns that there is more to the King than being a big scary beast.
At last the day comes for Sariphi to get munched, so she is guided down to the dungeon into a completely dark room where the sacrificial ceremony is supposed to take place. But instead of Sariphi getting turned into the King’s Lunchable, she learns about the true fates of the sacrifices that came before her and some very important secrets that the King has been keeping!
With cranky, old, human hating, royal advisors giving Sariphi grief, the King dealing with his insecurities and hiding his secrets, smitten princesses around every corner, and royal intrigue a plenty, there is so much more to this story than a simple fairy tale! So it’s left me wondering, why isn’t anyone talking about this anime?
Anime Hanabi 