Princess Nine: Vol-1 (1998)
Animation Production: Phoenix Entertainment, NHK Enterprises 21
Released by: ADV Films
Official Website: Princess Nine Vol-1
Episodes: 1-4
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

The sports anime hero series is a long celebrated genre in the Japanese animation industry that has also been well received in other parts of the world like Europe, South America, and Central America, where series like Attack No.1, Ashita no Joe, and Aim for the Ace! Have gone on to become fan favorites.

Strangely in a country where sports generally enjoy a great deal of popularity these programs never received the attention or distribution they enjoyed elsewhere. Outside of Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer), the sports anime hero has been almost non-existent on our shores.

Thankfully U.S. Anime companies are slowly, but surely realizing that fans are not only interested in these programs, but in some cases demand that they get picked up and released to our market so that they can enjoy shows like the very popular "Prince of Tennis" on high quality DVD’s. One company that has taken initiative (and risk) in this area is ADV Films, whose release of Princess Nine needs to be applauded and taken note of by other anime importers.

Story

"Led by a hot-shot young “natural”, nine young women defy the male-dominated tradition of Japanese sports… not to create a League of their own, but to take on the boys on their own artificial turf and prove there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t do just as well! The hallowed stadiums of Japanese baseball become a battlefield as the bats crack, the sweat flies and every hard-earned run becomes another step in the long road-trip to victory! Sizzling sports action and gripping drama intertwine as nine young women come together in the heat of athletic competition to become the Princess Nine!"-- ADV's Princess Nine Page

Review

As the opening begins we see a little girl pitching a baseball to her dad in a sepia toned scene with some inspired music playing in the background. The minute I saw this I knew I was in for something special and different from the usual fare we cover here at Japan Hero.

What follows is the tale of young Ryo Hayakawa, the daughter of famous baseball player who passed away when she was only 5 years old. Ryo, who lives with her mother, has inherited her father’s amazing pitching abilities and is currently playing as a relief pitcher with a local team known as the Wildcats.

During a match she is scouted by the Chairman of the prestigious Kisaragi Schools, who after putting our young heroine to the test decides to offer her a scholarship to the exclusive school, but only under one condition, that she becomes the star pitcher of a new baseball team being formedl. The goal, we learn, is to reach Koshien and play for the championship in three years despite the fact that women are not yet allowed to play in it. It will be a long and challenging road for this team to reach such a high summit, but this is the Chairman’s dream. Now the race is on to recruit the other members who will comprise the baseball team.

Wow! Princess Nine, without doubt is one of the best domestic releases in the past couple of years and another great example of why I love anime!

At it’s heart Princess Nine is a story about how we can all achieve our dreams if we do our best. There are no evil robots, no alien invasions, or evil witches, only a cast of characters, each driven by a hopeful dream or desire to do her/his best. This is why it works so well, because its something we can all relate to and do in the real world.

In this volume of ADV’s release, the story is mostly focused on the initial formation of the team and the new challenges that Ryo must face on her road towards winning the championship, such as the Chairman’s daughter, Izumi, a star tennis player who becomes a personal opponent to Ryo from the get go or Hiroki, the young baseball superstar, who seems to have fallen for our heroine.

Each episode poses a different challenge and by the time we reach episode five, Ryo has started becoming more confident, seeming more at ease with the amazing and unexpected circumstances she finds herself in. By the end of volume one our protagonist is joined by four other players, a manager, and the team’s coach, each adding a new and unique element to the cast, which makes the overall mix that much better and interesting.

The animation in these first five episodes is bright, colorful, and features smooth character animation. The baseball scenes in particular are fun to watch, as they are rich in energy, detail, and design. When a pitch is thrown you can almost feel its power and speed as it glides through the screen, it really is that good!

If the visuals are great, the music is amazing and really enhances an already great show. Featuring a mix of subtle instrumental numbers during character moments and louder, more pronounced orchestral pieces during baseball scenes, the music really captures the spirit of the story and its characters. It’s so good in fact that after watching volume one of Princess Nine I went out to my local video/audio shop and purchased Anime Trax’s domestic release of the series’ soundtrack (which alongside the DVD I highly recommend).

Volume one includes the following episodes:

Episode 1 - Hayakawa Ryo, Age 15
Episode 2 - A Baseball Team at a Prestigious Girl's School?
Episode 3 - In My Father's Footsteps
Episode 4 - Welcome Seira!
Episode 5 - Wave Motion Swing!

Extras on the disc include clean copies of the opening and closing , player statistics, and previews for other ADV products.

Conclusion

I'm so glad I decided to give this series a try. After watching so many good mecha and hero oriented programs it's quite refreshing to see such a solid show that doesn't rely on magical or sci-fi oriented elements to tell a fun and exciting story.

Princess Nine is in my opinion an amazing series and I think anyone who checks it out will too. Very highly and extremely recommended!

I think I'll go and watch volume two now!

Jeffrey Couto