| Average |
4.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| If one suggests the existence of double standards existing in the realm of romantic comedy-love simulation games with respect to popular harem series, then I invite you to watch this rather brief, yet overlooked reverse harem title from 2006 to refute the claim, because mediocre harem series can easily go both ways.
It bears some viable support that pretty faces and great plotlines with proper characterization don't always mix and that...well...fanservice can actually go both ways - and mar a series from what it could potentially be.
Marginal Prince is based on a love-simulation game for girls and revolves from the perspective of Yuuta, a clumsy boy who travels to an elite boarding school. At least, that's the bare thread of the setting that it provides you. The series is different than most I've seen considering Yuuta's perspective is often introduced when he corresponds with his sister via cell phone, and introduces the scenario of the forthcoming episode (sometimes in lightly humorous context). Yet, one could say it bears the similarity because it is based from a game, and having not played this game, I didn't really know what to expect from it coming in. I found the series by accident when looking up reverse harem titles.
What I walked into was a series that takes virtually every harem stereotype (including your regular beach and hot spring episodes XD ) and places them into one series with an all male cast without a set story to tell. There are times when its genuinely funny and you can tell it's not taking itself seriously, but there are more "what the devil" moments in this series than a little bit when it comes to elements that actually take away and make you laugh for the wrong reasons.
Random singing in just about every episode? Really? It's forgivable on some notes because there are actually some singers that can sing the songs noted, but this isn't a music series...or is it? I couldn't tell and that's part of the problem, you're thrown elements left and right and it has no kind of cohesion. It made the series seem like a tacky musical. There are other songs that are just outright horrible and unfortunately my finger went for the mute button because I couldn't stomach it. I felt like I was re-living Lovely Idol with a bishounen cast. XD
Of course, the characters here looked a lot prettier than any of the characters from Lovely Idol.
Animation values actually are worth noting (on some levels) throughout the series, though clarity varies through the middle episodes. The character designs are fine, as are the backdrop settings, but they're standard to say the least.
Voice acting varied considerably in quality: Oiyaku Ryoutarou (FMA, Marmalade Boy, DNAngel, CLANNAD, among a myriad of other roles) was probably one of the better actors here, and I actually liked his character, Joshua, and singing voice the most. While that might be a bias considering I usually love his roles and respective characters, I'll also name Nojima Kenji (Henri) and Morita Masakazu (Alfred Visconti) as standouts, because their characters and roles were respectable. Kobayashi's VA was respectable as well. Yet, Yuuta, Stanislav and Mihael's VAs were very much overblown, and it made it hard to get used to, let alone like, their characters.
Speaking of characterization - all stereotypical, you could tell the character types from a mile away:
Alfred - hot headed personality
Henri- quiet, cold personality
Joshua - the nice guy
Mihael - the sentimental personality
Kobayashi -the smart, rational personality
Stanislav - the OTT, otaku personality
Oddly enough, I actually didn't hate the characters, because some of their interactions were funny, and the personalities were there, but there was little to no flesh to pinch from them. Very shallow characters, and I was very disappointed. Now some might argue that this is a common element in reverse harem anime...not really. Not if you've seen this series and you can compare accordingly. Ouran, L Corda d'Oro, Saikonoku Monogatari, Fruits Basket, Fushigi Yuugi, Haruka 8, or practically any reverse harem you could ever see is better than this series, by miles, with characters with legitimate backstories, development and progression. Not here. No character growth, no backstory intrigue. Just situational interactions, and some in that progression are indubitably forced.
In short, I would recommend avoiding this series. Watched it twice, and likely a series I wouldn't come back to, though I didn't loathe it. I'd highly recommend Ouran or one of the other reverse harem series in the aforementioned context for better, comparable measure, but I think I could understand why some might like this series. I think if it were my first reverse harem series, I'd be more apt to it, even with a lack of a definitive story. Yet once you see the others mentioned, this takes considerably less priority.
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