The TV anime Princess Principal is built around the idea of the Prince and the Pauper gone horribly wrong. As a child, Princess Charlotte befriended a street girl named Ange. The two would play together and often swap roles so that Ange could enjoy the noble life while Charlotte explored outside the palace walls. Unfortunately, during one such swap, the revolution occurred—splitting the country in two and leaving the girls trapped in each others’ lives.
For Ange, she had no choice but to learn to be a princess—fearing each day that she would be discovered for the fake she is. Meanwhile, Charlotte devoted her all to saving Ange from her situation—no matter what devils she had to make deals with. Charlotte eventually became a spy for the Commonwealth—a job that would let her sneak back into the Kingdom where she was born and make contact with Ange.
Now, after 10 years apart the two are officially part of a Commonwealth spy cell. However, neither are loyal to the commonwealth. With her unique viewpoint of crowing up both commoner and noble, Ange wishes to become queen. And Charlotte is willing to do anything to keep her friend safe.
Basically, the pair are surrounded by enemies on all sides—even their team members can’t be trusted with their secret. If either the Kingdom or the Commonwealth ever found out about their true identities, their deaths would be all but certain. And this is the danger at the core of the first of the six Princess Principal: Crown Handler films.
The film follows our team of spies as they go about contacting an agent hidden within the Queen’s personal household. For this mission, Ange and Charlotte switch roles so that Charlotte, as the princess, can contact the spy. Unfortunately, the spy turns out to be the Queen’s longtime butler—who immediately recognizes Charlotte as the child he knew 10 years back, figuring out Charlotte and Ange’s secret in the process. From there the film is a spy game with all the different sides going after one another.
Charlotte and Ange are desperate to defend their secret. This means getting the butler out of the picture somehow. However, he is a key member of the Commonwealth spy network so they have to figure out how to remove him without showing their hand to the Kingdom, Commonwealth, or their own teammates.
Beyond that, there is the personal nature of the whole situation. The Queen’s butler was kind to both Charlotte and Ange when they were children—neither want to see him dead. However, keeping him alive is yet another risk in their increasingly dangerous situation. They can’t be sure how far to trust the old man, even if their hearts dearly want to.
Image source: BANDAI NAMCO Arts Channel on YouTube
The other interesting aspect of the film is that it forms the perfect framework needed to force Charlotte into the role of the Princess for a prolonged period of time. She attends parties, has clandestine meetings, and even spends time with her grandmother, the Queen. This gives her ample opportunity to interact with not only the butler but with the Duke of Normandy—her uncle and the head of the Kingdom’s spy network—as well. This makes for great cat and mouse spy games where even a simple game of chess has more tension than a steampunk firefight.
In the end, Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 is a bit short for a film—clocking in at just 54 minutes. However, it makes the best of that time, delivering a daring spy-thriller with personal stakes and emotional moments. It’s just a shame we have to wait till fall 2021 for the next chapter.
Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 was released in Japanese theaters on February 11, 2021. There is currently no word on a Western release.
Top image source: 『プリンセス・プリンシパル』公式 on Twitter.
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