Haoliners Animation’s “PSYCHIC PRINCESS” (animated series)
Review by Dennis D. McDonald
I really enjoyed this weird Chinese animated series, much more so than the CGI-heavy Chinese fantasy series available these days on various streaming platforms. Parts of it are just downright charming and sometimes laugh out loud funny.
PSYCHIC PRINCESS’ animation style is somewhat reminiscent of older Japanese high school and harem anime but it does incorporate classic Chinese architecture, nature, and character designs. It’s hard to mistake this for a Japanese production. (Haoliners did co-produce FLAVORS OF YOUTH with the Japanese company CoMix Wave Films.) Character movement and facial expression are not always realistic but are still quite serviceable in the interest of storytelling and it’s the story that accounts for the entertainment value of this series.
The 16-episode series begins with an encounter between a rural official and his wife with their teenage daughter. They tell her she is to wed the Prince of Ye. It’s obviously a politically arranged marriage designed to further the father’s ambitions. The daughter tearfully resists. The parents relent and agree instead to substitute their other daughter, Qian Yunxi, who had been sent away when a child to live in “Spirit Cloud Mountain” due to her weird and sometimes embarrassing magical abilities.
And so, Qian Yunxi is sent to wed the Prince of Ye. While pretending all the while to be her sister, she and the Prince do not hit it off, which is, to put it mildly, an understatement. Over the series’ episodes their troubled relationship evolves but painfully. She is immature, self-centered, and stubborn. He is arrogant, distant, and proud. Naturally—this is after all a romance—their relationship evolves through a series of events that are weird, unusual, magical, and funny.
As the series progresses an increasing number of magical and supernatural elements are introduced including ghosts, demons, Taoist priests with magical powers, tree spirits, and cute “flower fairies.”
I enjoyed hearing the spoken Chinese even though I had to rely on the subtitles to tell what was going on. The actors portraying the Prince and Princess have very expressive voices that communicate emotion regardless of language. Qian Yunxi’s voice actor is especially effective at communicating the Princess’ stubborn and at times immature personality.
For non-chinese speakers the English subtitles are essential to understanding what’s going on. Objectively, though, it’s obvious that English is not the native language of whoever created the subtitles. The English subtitle text inexplicably mixes modern slang with a dictionary based almost random word selection. Besides, some of the word choices in the English subtitles are amusing—but they get the job done and along with the voice work and animation do propel the story along in a fun and entertaining way. (This is not meant as a criticism! I speak only one language (American English) and have an utmost respect for anyone who speaks more than one language!)
All is not perfect with PSYCHIC PRINCESS. The plot has loose ends, there are several places where it appears that cuts have been made by or for Amazon prime, and the series ends very abruptly.
But overall this fantasy provides a decent respite from that nasty political goings on here in the US.
Recommended, especially for animation fans interested in a light take on fantasy, court intrigue, and very traditional (and almost retro) romantic themes.
Review text copyright © 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald
