The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady First Impressions

“She’s royalty, and yet she’s a high-ranking adventurer. Some crazy kinda princess, huh?”

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady has an assortment of things going for it, but a succinct title is not on that list. I’m wondering what dark gods I bargained with to get this back to back with Tomo-chan Is a Girl!. I could envision one of these shows being good, but both of them!?! This show is literally a light-novel adaptation from Diomedea with a title that is almost long enough to be a haiku (in Japanese, in English it’s more than long enough) that is also a fantasy isekai with yuri overtones. If there was a formula for mediocrity, you’d think this show would be observing the chemical instructions step by step. However it’s, to my shock, quite charming, and even well produced. Seriously, someone at Diomedea must have found a monkey’s paw that had watched Sky Witch Academy and took pity on them. There is still plenty to be revealed about the show’s trajectory, but Magical Revolution takes a bundle of familiar elements, but combines them in novel and intriguing ways.

The story of this first episode mainly follows the “Reincarnated Princess” half of the title. She is Princess Anis, an eccentric noble who spends much of her time researching magical devices and tools. Anis was born without magical abilities, which is rare among nobles and significantly stigmatized. Despite her inability to wield magic, she is fascinated by it and dreams of using its power to fly. To those ends, she has studied methods of utilizing science to manipulate magical forces. Also, she’s from Earth. Because of course she is. The episode only briefly brings up her isekaied status in a short flashback to when she first remembered her previous life, but I’m interested in seeing how the show uses those elements. The second half of the title references Euphyllia Magenta, a talented noblewoman who’s engaged via political agreement to Anis’ younger brother Algard, the crown prince. Algard’s a bit of an unknown element in this first episode. It’s clear that he is a manipulative bastard, but it’s hard to pin down what his goals or even outlook are. On paper, it seems like his machinations in this first episode actually weaken him politically, but there’s likely more to it.

I’ll be totally honest. I didn’t remember the name Diomedea. I was about 95% certain that this was some new studio I’d never heard of. Imagine my surprise when I realized I’d reviewed 3 different shows the studio had produced, Slurred Wake: Aired Out Hearse for a Lonely Doorman (or something like that), Sky Wizards Academy, and 2020’s Ahiru no Sora. I even remember that last one! Honestly, this first episode puts every other premiere I’ve seen from this studio to shame. It’s not best-of-the-season level or anything, but it’s solid B-tier animation that is capable of presenting some flashy spectacle when it needs to. The one issue I’d highlight is that some of the computer generated magical effects don’t integrate that well with the traditional animation. I’ve certainly seen worse, but it does catch the eye. Hell, I’ve seen worse from this studio. I know I’m ragging on them a lot for past performance, but much of it is because seeing the studio release something that looks good just highlights how bad those past productions were. Even Ahiru no Sora only aspired to middling quality animation. Still, while I may be wary of the talent which served me this dish, because it also cooked up Domestic Girlfriend, the first bite was good enough that I’m definitely going to finish it.

Before I wrap up a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• I was all ready to complain about the strong color filters used during afternoon and night scenes, only to realize that I needed to adjust the color levels on my monitor again. That being said, it doesn’t take much for the color to become a little abrasive at points, so be mindful of that if you suspect your TV or monitor may not be set correctly.
• I wonder how much I’m tempering my expectations, given that The Executioner and Her Way of Life couldn’t match the promise of its first episode. Mind you, I still enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been something truly spectacular.
• Algard is an interesting character. He definitely resents his position as the crown prince, and he appears to have complicated feelings towards his sister. It’s not apparent what those feelings are, though. Does he hate her? Is it a sense of jealousy, because she’s free in all the ways he feels confined? Color me curious.
• I’m going to set aside the whole World Break gag for a moment to point out that the entire basis for the joke was that it was an ridiculously bland AND try-hard title for a thoroughly forgettable bad anime. True to form, that gag is literally the only thing I remember about the show.