Ahiru is the Japanese word for duck, and it also happens to be the name of a young girl at a ballet academy. But this is no ordinary girl, nor is the town she lives in a simple little place. For starters, Ahiru has a cat for a ballet instructor, who threatens the students with marriage (to him!) if they step out of line. The entire town is littered with those who seem to be under some kind of enchantment--or curse. Ahiru herself first seems to be a normal girl--she's an awkward, gangly student, but she has two supportive best friends, Pike and Ririe, and a crush on the handsome but silent Mute, who is also one of the best dancers in the school. But neither Mute nor Ahiru are exactly who they appear to be.
The anime is a mixture of many things. It uses the music of Tchaikovsky (as well as of other classical composers) according to its ballet theme (a different one each episode), as well as story elements from folk tales and ballets. However, its plot is based on a story within a story. It begins by telling the story of a storyteller who died, leaving his tale of a prince and an evil crow unfinished. As a result, the prince and the crow flew out of the story, where the prince sealed the crow away with his heart using a forbidden power. But the story didn't end there. What happened to the prince without a heart, the crow who was sealed away, and the storyteller who died before finishing his story? Each one of them has a part in the town and story of Princess Tutu.
Ahiru lives in an enchanted town, and the story of the prince and the crow is not a mere story, but reality. Due to the storyteller's desire to see a great story, Ahiru has been brought in--changed from a duck to the girl named Ahiru with the ability to transform into Princess Tutu, who can gracefully dance like Ahiru never could but with the same desire to help the prince without a heart.
Sick of episodic shoujo shows? Tired of plots that...don't really exist? Want a show where you don't want to smack all the characters? This show is for you. ^_- From its very first episode, the series moves smoothly along--there are no fillers, and in each episode something important is revealed about the plot and/or its characters. Nothing is quite as it seems--this is the rule that underlies this engaging anime. As soon as you think you have certain characters pegged down--for example, Ahiru has rivals in Mute's cold friend Fakia and the lovely but aloof rival, Ruu--something occurs that causes you to reverse that assumption. Ahiru does not always save the day, nor does she easily embrace the role that the storyteller has given her. Awkward and rather quirky, Ahiru is a likable character because she tries to do what is best for Mute, as well as for others, even though she has her own misgivings and challenges to overcome.
Combining elements of folk tales, ballets (in particular, themes from The Nutcracker are used everywhere), in addition to its own unique story and diverse, interesting characters, this show is a delightful, sweet and endearing series for everyone to enjoy.
