I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons Anime Has an Awkward Beginning

I’m not sure how to feel about the Winter 2025 anime I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons. When I first started seeing the trailers shared by Crunchyroll and studio EMT Squared, I was thinking this could be a fun comedy about a young woman working toward freedom, then hopefully finding a solution that benefitted her. (Maybe with a bit of romance to it too!) But now that I’ve watched two episodes, the nature of the adaptation and situation feels awkward and not at all what I expected. Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first two episodes of the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime below. Leticia is a Duke Dorman’s daughter who will become a princess through marriage. She’s engaged to Prince Clarke. Since, as the introduction shows, she’s known about this from childhood, it means we get a better idea of what this entails. Granted, it’s going on rather swiftly, so we don’t get the best sense of the gravity of the situation. However, EMT Squared does take as much time as possible to show how this isn’t exactly ideal! Which I understand, but it is a weird choice for the first episode given how comedic the source is. To start, the very opening moments involve Lettie at night in the palatial home. She’s running to an exit, finds she’s trapped, and collapses to the floor crying. Prince Clarke comes in, and we see him witness how upset she is. From there, the show backtracks a bit to show how she ended up at that moment. A letter arrives at her family’s home. Her parents announce she’s going to marry the prince. The mother frames this as “wonderful” news, while her father holds her as she cries. Her and her brother Nadir head to the palace and, as they do, her mother even suggests how drastic the parting is saying by noting her and Lettie’s father will see her when they have an audience with the royal family. Adults are gossiping about her as she’s escorted to her room in her new home, and her brother drops her off in her room and disappears. She’s suddenly left with a strict teacher who immediately gets into lessons with Laila Mayer. That sucks for a seven-year-old child! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i1CkseqtxQ&ab_channel=Crunchyroll I completely understand the importance of showing the background the shapes who Lettie is in the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime. But the nature of the first episode and the extent of events shown take away subtle nuances that could have helped establish some sort of support for her. Her parents could have been less glib and a longer appearance. The same goes for her brother, even though Nadir is rather curt and old by nature. It establishes the trauma, isolation, and spirit-breaking experiences she endured. However, I felt like it also left me with the side effect of seeing everyone around her as a villain. It also means that at the halfway mark of the first episode, at which Prince Clarke attended the ball with Lady Brianna Lariquel and breaks off the engagement, it feels really weird for the show to suddenly embrace its comedic side. Granted, the show is so much better when it does hit that point! Once Lettie is able to be herself again, it’s much more fun to watch! Nadir’s a much better character at this point, as well as much more fun, and EMT Squared is better able to showcase the siblings’ great dynamic. And the second episode is much stronger, as it doesn’t feature the weird tonal shift and odd disparity. Instead, it’s full-on comedy, starting with people lamenting the end of Clarke and Lettie’s engagement and Brianna now dealing with the same excruciating Princess Lessons. We also have improved character development for Lily, the personal attendant introduced in the first episode who’s shown as an actual friend and support to Lettie from the end of that episode to this one. Even Clarke seems to come across as more of a person and less of a villain. The second episode of the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime is much stronger than the first, which is a relief, but I’m still worried about how the rest of the season will go. The original series is a strong one! Just much of the first episode feels a bit awkward, and like the tone is a bit odd and rushed, until it finally gets to a point at which Lettie is free and herself again. I hope that the rest of the show ends up being as consistent as the second episode, as the initial part of the first episode is such that the vibes feel off until the “reveal.” The I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime is airing in Japan and streaming on Crunchyroll. The light novel was handled by J-Novel Club, while Seven Seas Entertainment will handle the manga starting on February 11, 2025. The post I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons Anime Has an Awkward Beginning appeared first on Siliconera.

Jan 19, 2025 - 20:04

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons Anime Has an Awkward Beginning

I’m not sure how to feel about the Winter 2025 anime I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons. When I first started seeing the trailers shared by Crunchyroll and studio EMT Squared, I was thinking this could be a fun comedy about a young woman working toward freedom, then hopefully finding a solution that benefitted her. (Maybe with a bit of romance to it too!) But now that I’ve watched two episodes, the nature of the adaptation and situation feels awkward and not at all what I expected.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first two episodes of the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime below.

Leticia is a Duke Dorman’s daughter who will become a princess through marriage. She’s engaged to Prince Clarke. Since, as the introduction shows, she’s known about this from childhood, it means we get a better idea of what this entails. Granted, it’s going on rather swiftly, so we don’t get the best sense of the gravity of the situation. However, EMT Squared does take as much time as possible to show how this isn’t exactly ideal! Which I understand, but it is a weird choice for the first episode given how comedic the source is.

To start, the very opening moments involve Lettie at night in the palatial home. She’s running to an exit, finds she’s trapped, and collapses to the floor crying. Prince Clarke comes in, and we see him witness how upset she is. From there, the show backtracks a bit to show how she ended up at that moment. A letter arrives at her family’s home. Her parents announce she’s going to marry the prince. The mother frames this as “wonderful” news, while her father holds her as she cries. Her and her brother Nadir head to the palace and, as they do, her mother even suggests how drastic the parting is saying by noting her and Lettie’s father will see her when they have an audience with the royal family. Adults are gossiping about her as she’s escorted to her room in her new home, and her brother drops her off in her room and disappears. She’s suddenly left with a strict teacher who immediately gets into lessons with Laila Mayer. That sucks for a seven-year-old child!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i1CkseqtxQ&ab_channel=Crunchyroll

I completely understand the importance of showing the background the shapes who Lettie is in the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime. But the nature of the first episode and the extent of events shown take away subtle nuances that could have helped establish some sort of support for her. Her parents could have been less glib and a longer appearance. The same goes for her brother, even though Nadir is rather curt and old by nature. It establishes the trauma, isolation, and spirit-breaking experiences she endured. However, I felt like it also left me with the side effect of seeing everyone around her as a villain.

It also means that at the halfway mark of the first episode, at which Prince Clarke attended the ball with Lady Brianna Lariquel and breaks off the engagement, it feels really weird for the show to suddenly embrace its comedic side.

Granted, the show is so much better when it does hit that point! Once Lettie is able to be herself again, it’s much more fun to watch! Nadir’s a much better character at this point, as well as much more fun, and EMT Squared is better able to showcase the siblings’ great dynamic. And the second episode is much stronger, as it doesn’t feature the weird tonal shift and odd disparity. Instead, it’s full-on comedy, starting with people lamenting the end of Clarke and Lettie’s engagement and Brianna now dealing with the same excruciating Princess Lessons. We also have improved character development for Lily, the personal attendant introduced in the first episode who’s shown as an actual friend and support to Lettie from the end of that episode to this one. Even Clarke seems to come across as more of a person and less of a villain.

The second episode of the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime is much stronger than the first, which is a relief, but I’m still worried about how the rest of the season will go. The original series is a strong one! Just much of the first episode feels a bit awkward, and like the tone is a bit odd and rushed, until it finally gets to a point at which Lettie is free and herself again. I hope that the rest of the show ends up being as consistent as the second episode, as the initial part of the first episode is such that the vibes feel off until the “reveal.”

The I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime is airing in Japan and streaming on Crunchyroll. The light novel was handled by J-Novel Club, while Seven Seas Entertainment will handle the manga starting on February 11, 2025.

The post I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons Anime Has an Awkward Beginning appeared first on Siliconera.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons Anime Has an Awkward Beginning

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first two episodes of the I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons anime below.

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