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Summary & Screenshot Gallery (for high resolutions only)
[Note: Princess Tutu centers around ballet. Episodes of the show use elements of a classic ballet as part of its theme, borrowing and altering characters and plot elements for its own story. Each episode features a ballet and uses parts of its music and themes. Hence, since episode one features The Nutcracker, throughout the episode themes from the ballet music composed by Tchaikovsky are used. In addition the overall story and show in general use a great deal of elements, musically and otherwise, from The Nutcracker. ]
A voice begins to narrate, as the scene opens with aging "storybook-illustration" style art: "Once upon a time, a man died." He was a storyteller...but in "defiance of death," in his last story there was a brave and beautiful prince who was supposed to defeat a monstrous crow...but now their story is endless, with no conclusion. The crow screamed, "I hate this." The prince screamed the same, and when the crow flew out of the story, the prince flew out after it. Then the prince took out his heart, using a forbidden power, and sealed away the crow with the pieces. [The image of the crow being sealed away overlaps that of a town. { Screen Shot }] And then, the word "Dark," was muttered somewhere...by the man who was supposed to have died. The letter "D" is shown, inscribed on something like a pocketwatch. { Screen Shot }
[OP]
A little yellow duck "quacks" as she floats in a pond. Nearby, a pointed toe touches the surface of the water, as the duck quacks again, longingly. A voice says, "Me too..." She wants to dance with 'him' too. Who is she referring to? The prince, who is dancing (apparently naked) on the surface of the pond, as the duck watches. { Screen Shot }
The speaker concedes, however, that she is just "ahiru," [meaning a duck], in both voice and body, and can't dance with him or hold his hand. But she notes that the prince's eyes look so sad...she mentally asks him to smile; she wants to see the prince smile. { Screen Shot } But all that comes out is a quack, and she's sad again.
Suddenly the voice of an old man speaks out, calling, asking if she's worried about him--her, a little duck. The duck is surprised, and then everything darkens while a pair of "evil eyes" zoom in towards the little duck. The duck is stunned. A face, hair, and body is then revealed to match the eyes (but the man is upside down). { Screen Shot } The duck quacks in fright, and then turns around and flaps off wildly.
All of a sudden, the scene changes and it's a girl who is hanging off the edge of the top bunk by her toes and is desperately flapping her arms. { Screen Shot } She's screaming about a ghost, but then opens her eyes and realizes her situation, which of course means that she falls down with a thud.
[Title Screen: Act 1 - Ahiru and the Prince | The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers]
A voice (same as the girl in the last scene) sings as the town is pictured, and then a dorm: "Ding dong, in the girls' dorm at the academy, today it's come again...morning has come. The dream I saw, a strange, strange dream--" The singing cuts off as a window opens and she shouts, "Good morning!" A flock of birds fly directly into her room, and she emits some strange sounds before protesting for them not to rush in.
Inside her room, the girl is completely submerged underneath a pile of birds. [Kind of like a twisted version of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty with the birds. :)] She says, somewhat disgruntled, that she said for them to hold on, and an arm reaches out and places a dish on a table. The crowd of birds moves off of the girl.
The girl is now lying on the floor, and is seen dressed in a gray and white uniform and wearing a shiny red pendant at her throat. She's still somewhat in shock, with feathers scattered all over her. { Screen Shot } Then she smiles and gets up, and starts talking to the birds, calling them by name. { Screen Shot } It seems pretty innocent as she asks the health of one, chides another for their gluttony, and then asks a canary to bring her kids later on here. Howver, she then asks the canary in a sly manner, "What has Mute-senpai been doing?" { Screen Shot } The canary tilts her head to one side, puzzled, and then goes to eat.
The girl stretches, looking out the window, while the birds gorge themselves. She says that she had a good dream today, since she got to see Mute-senpai again, even though it's always horrible when she's been turned into a duck. She says this happily, saying, "Him being a prince...I'm just overdoing it!" She looks out to the opposite dorm, and says a good morning to Mute-senpai.
As the bell tolls, the girl realizes what it means and suddenly freaks out; she grabs her books and races out. She wonders out loud why no one woke her up, and that's so cruel of Pike and Ririe. She runs off down the hallway, while a door is opened by a girl still dressed in her nightgown with pink hair. She says, "I'm Pike, but..." The door next to her is opened by a girl also dressed in her nightgown with blond pigtails, who similarly says, "I'm Ririe, but..." Pike is annoyed, and comments that it's still 6 o'clock. Ririe is amused, saying that she's as clueless as usual, and gets starry-eyed at how adorable it is. Pike yawns. { Screen Shot }
The girl racing through the streets finally introduces herself as "Ahiru!" [Which, as stated before, also means duck.] She thinks that may be why she has these dreams, and then goes into dreamy mode as she thinks about Mute, and how she would love to dance a pas de deux [ballet term for a dance with a partner] with him. { Screen Shot } She has an image of them dancing together in costume, complete with dream-sequence flower petals floating about. { Screen Shot } If only! Then she could die happy.
The creepy pair of eyes from the pond scene flash by briefly.
Ahiru laughs and blushes at her own dream. { Screen Shot } Then she stops again and rushes off again to school. She is momentarly stopped by a spill down the steps, but picks herself up and rushes off once more, panting and freaking out all the way.
Dressed in her practice ballet uniform, Ahiru opens a door and bows down, apologizing for her lateness. However, she soon realizes there's no one there, and wonders why (it apparently hasn't clicked in yet).
Then music from the Nutcracker [Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies] begins to play and Ahiru notices that someone is there, dancing. { Screen Shot } She's awed...it's Mute-senpai, and he's dancing so beautifully. She's so in awe as she leans over to watch that she is tilting at an angle very close to the floor. { Screen Shot } As Mute does a ballet leap through the air, she gasps out loud in awe, and he stops to look at her. { Screen Shot } She starts to apologize, and stuttering asks if she's bothering him.
Turning a bright red and making odd gestures from her embarassment, Ahiru answers her own question that of course she is. She begins to make motions to leave, apologizing, but doesn't actually get anywhere. Continuing to stutter, she notes that her body is falling, falling falling! Suddenly, she does slip and begins to fall.
Mute rushes forward, with a *whoosh*. High above the room is a stained glass window of a shield with a swan and a crown, surrounded by flowers.
Ahiru's embarassment seems to have multiplied, as she spits out "M-M-M-Mute-senpai!" (many times). She's being held by Mute, who is now kneeling on the floor. { Screen Shot } As Mute's eyes turn to meet hers, Ahiru's stutter dies out. She thinks what pretty eyes he has...she feels like she's going to be sucked in. Yet, she realizes, they look so sad, like the prince in her dream.
At the memory of her dream, Ahiru lets out a sound that almost sounds like the beginning of a "quack," but she cuts it off and tries to disguise it with a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. She regains her senses and begins apologizing self-deprecatingly, and slithers out of his arms. She babbles on, noting that Pike and Ririe are always telling her that she sounds like a duck, and says, "I'm really strange! I'm strange, aren't I?" Then almost to herself, quite seriously, she says even she thinks she's strange. { Screen Shot }
Mute answers, "Not really." She's surprised, and looking for reassurance asks, she's not strange? He gives the same answer, speaking in a monotone.
Ahiru is relieved, and gives off steam as she turns red again. She falls over onto the floor, saying that's the first time anyone has said that to her.
The door opens. A young man with black hair is there. He's frowning, and doesn't look happy at what he sees. { Screen Shot } He walks over to Mute, saying "Oy," and Mute says his name, "Fakia." Ahiru is still on the floor, red with embarassment, but she sits up straight immediately, saying "Fakia-senpai?"
Fakia is displeased, saying, he told Mute to tell him before he went out, did he not? { Screen Shot } Mute answers in the affirmative. Fakia tells him to get up, they're leaving, but Mute can't get up, as he's twisted his leg. Fakia calls him an idiot.
Ahiru is surprised, then suddenly makes a strange noise of realization. Fakia looks at her, "Mmm?" Ahiru says it was her fault, that Mute saved her when she was falling---
Fakia cuts her off, asking Mute again what he was doing: "Such a meaningless thing." Ahiru tries to continue, saying again that he was trying to save her. Fakia replies that was why he said it was meaningless.
Fakia grabs Mute's hand and says that they're going back to the dorms. Ahiru is disgruntled, saying that he doesn't have to be "so violent" about it. Fakia tells her to be quiet before he leaves and shuts the door. Ahiru repeats, "Meaningless...that may be true, but he didn't have to come out and say it." { Screen Shot }
The bell begins to ring, and Ahiru is puzzled. She scratches her head, thinking "Wha...?" Next we see her friends, Ririe and Pike, scratching their heads similarly, and then saying that that shouldn't be her response.
The girls are in ballet class together now, and Ririe and Pike continue to chide Ahiru, who tries to excuse herself by saying she was in a hurry. { Screen Shot } Ririe coos over how cute that makes Ahiru, and that she should always stay clueless and clumsy. Ahiru is not exactly thrilled. Pike leans against Ahiru as Ahiru does a stretching exercise against the bar, putting Ahiru in massive pain, but Pike doesn't seem to notice this as she tells her that it's okay since she got to talk with Fakia-sama. Ahiru, screeching, says that he seemed like a bad person. Pike doesn't take this well, and leans ever harder against Ahiru, saying that he's the best. Ahiru responds by saying Mute-senpai is really the best. Ririe marvels at how silly Ahiru is, since Mute-senpair already has Ruu.
Ahiru stops her screeching. Pike and Ririe comment on Ahiru's unrequited feelings. Ririe comments on how cute Ahiru is. [Think Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura. ¬¬]
Suddenly, in the dark hallway a yellow eye is open and upon them. A...cat, fully dressed, walks into the room. All of the students stand at attention, though Ahiru is a little slow to turn around. However, once she gets a good look at him, she spits out in surprise, "Neko?!" [Neko meaning cat.] { Screen Shot }
All the students turn to look at her, gasping, since she addressed "Neko-sensei" only as "Neko," implying rudeness on her part. Pike corrects her, and Ahiru seems to be confused.
Neko-sensei says for the class to be quiet, and then says, "If you're not quiet...you will have to marry me!" For some reason he has a dark look about his face and is sweating all over. The wedding theme begins to play, then dies out as all of the girls are seen to be absolutely quiet. Neko-sensei makes some odd cat-like sounds as he rubs his face with his paw.
The girls are all lined up against the bar as they are given instructions in ballet. Ahiru follows the directions, but begins to think of her dream where she saw Mute dancing on the pond. Back in the present, she wonders why his eyes look so sad...
But she is surprised by Neko-sensei, who points out that a certain part of her body (her butt) is not in the correct position. Ahiru begins to get nervous as Neko-sensei says, "You were thinking about something...? If you don't take this seriously...you will have to marry me!" A look of horror crosses Ahiru's face as the wedding theme begins to play again. { Screen Shot }
Ahiru apologizes immediately and the music dies out. Neko-sensei rubs his face many, many times.
Later on, the girls all sit on the floor as a presentation from the special class is announced. The doors open, and five girls are standing there. Four girls are in identical blue ballet outfits, with the one in the center is wearing a unique red one. { Screen Shot } Ahiru and her friends marvel. The one in the red dress is the aforementioned Ruu.
Another piece of classical music begins to play, while Ruu and the other girls perform. Ruu is obviously the star, and Ahiru is in awe. Ririe comments on how she's the opposite of Ahiru, which doesn't make Ahiru happy. Pike comments on that, and Ririe says that's so cute! Ahiru turns even more blue while Pike rolls her eyes.
Ahiru sighs, thinking that after all, Ruu-chan is the only one for Mute-senpai. The earlier image that Ahiru had of her and Mute is replaced now by one of Mute and Ruu. { Screen Shot } Ahiru sighs again, and then stands up with a screech, wondering what she should do.
Neko-sensei is upset, saying that he cannot tolerate this any longer! As the wedding music begins to play (again!), he says, "You will be married to me here and now!" Pike and Ririe pull Ahiru back down to the ground, making apologies and excuses for her. Neko-sensei is not pleased.
Ahiru realizes that she hasn't properly apologized to Mute about his injury. She thinks that she has to do that. Neko-sensei is rubbing his face in the corner.
[Eyecatch]
Later in the locker room, the girls are finishing getting dressed and Pike chides Ahiru on her behavior. { Screen Shot } Ahiru though, is thinking about her apology and begins to talk about it out loud. However, Pike doesn't know what she's talking about, and Ririe just thinks it's cute. This disjointed conversation is followed by Ahiru rushing out to apologize.
At the boys' dorm, Ahiru has a hard time making herself go through the gate, and then an even harder problem opening the door. Above the door, there is a shield with a swan (different from the one before) with a crown surrounded by baby swans. Ahiru thinks that she shouldn't go see Mute at the boys' dorm, but she has to apologize! She has to apologize! She has to apologize! [She still can't make herself grab the door handle.] She calls herself a dummy, a coward, and is in the middle of pounding herself when someone says curtly that she's in the way. Ahiru turns with a look of annoyance. Of course, it's Fakia.
Ahiru says nervously "Mute"...but is cut off as Fakia says that he's not here, walking past her. This ticks Ahiru off, and she asks where is he--but Fakia says, not here, and tells her to go away as he walks in and closes the door.
Or rather, closes the door on Ahiru, who is wedged in the doorway. { Screen Shot } She asks about Mute's injury, to which Fakia says that it was nothing big. She wants to apologize but Fakia says there's no need. Ahiru slides to the ground, then picks herself up.
She asks him if he's always like this when talking to people. Fakia shuts the door on her. She marches off, saying what an annoying person! From the second floor, Mute is watching at a windowsill.
Fakia enters the room and calls Mute's name. Mute turns, responds, and Fakia says that he told him to go to sleep. Mute apologizes. Fakia asks if his foot hurts, and Mute says he doesn't know. Fakia says with some contempt, "What a bothersome person. Stupid and not helpful in any way." Fakia tells Mute not to think of worthless things, like saving someone like that. { Screen Shot } Mute answers in the affirmative. There's a close-up of Fakia now as he says that Mute should just listen and do what he says. Mute replies similarly as before [his name certainly is fitting].
It's nighttime, and water is flowing in the fountain where there's a statue of man holding a woman (ballet poses). Ahiru is staring out her bedroom window, thinking about how she couldn't apologize to Mute, wondering about his injury and also about his sad eyes, the reason behind them. She says she can't do anything for him...but if there's anything someone as lowly as her could do... [The evil eyes flash by.] If she could do something for him...[eyes flash by again!] She wouldn't care if she died. [Eyes now widen, and whoever they belong to begins to laugh "evilly." A pocketwatch with the letter "D" inscribed on the front swings in front of them. { Screen Shot } The letter "D" is the same as the one that appeared in the episode's introduction.]
Outside a bright light appears, and Ahiru notices a strange, shadowy figure standing...and yet it continues to disappear and reappear all over. Ahiru runs outside (awfully quickly), in her nightgown, but she doesn't find anyone there. Then the eyes appear in the shadowy side of the fountain, and the voice says, "I'm here." { Screen Shot } The screen is split now as Ahiru can't see the person, but a body appears to match the person...he looks like a deformed old nutcracker. He continues to say things at random that Ahiru can't hear, such as asking if she's forgotten about him, if she really wants to know...[Something is ticking in the background.]
Ahiru is now seen within a frame; outside of the frame are gears which are not turning at the moment. Ahiru is seen turning her back and walking away within the frame, but the old man calls out to her, "Ahiru-chan!" { Screen Shot } She hears him and turns, and the gears begin to turn.
Back in Ahiru's view, all of a sudden the brightly lit area turns back into night and the fountain begins flowing with a rush. The voice narrates, "As the water flows, time has begun to move. Now, listen to my story!"
It's a sunny day, but Mute is still in bed. Fakia is going out, and says before he leaves that he'll bring a book back from the library for him. He adds, with a cold look, not to read any books other than the ones he brings for him. Mute, having no spine whatsoever, thanks him quietly. Fakia tells him not to make him worry about him, calling him stupid at the end.
As soon as Fakia leaves, Mute's eyes turn to the window. He gets up and briefly looks out. Students are walking about outside.
Behind a bush, Ahiru's head rises and says, "Yosh!" ("All right!") However, Pike and Ririe pop up behind her and question her on what she's about to do. They quickly figure out, to Ahiru's discomfort, that she's going to go see Mute. They encourage her and say they'll cover for her if she's late for class, and bounce off in unison saying "Fight! Fight!" { Screen Shot }
Around the corner they speculate on how it'll go. Ririe says that if she fails they can comfort her anyway.
Ahiru thinks she has to do it this time properly (apologize, that is). Looking up, she catches sight of some birds flying from their nest on top of the boys' dorm roof. She realizes that canary-mama's children are grown up today. However, there's one little bird that hasn't begun to fly, and is teetering on the edge. Ahiru expresses concern for that one.
Near the birds' nest, Mute opens his bedroom window and actually gets up into the frame. { Screen Shot } It is not apparent that he is wearing anything other than a shirt. -_-
Ahiru says that's dangerous! { Screen Shot } [The Nutcracker's "Waltz of the Flowers" begins to play.] Mute is looking towards the young bird, shirt flapping and hair flowing in the wind. { Screen Shot } Then suddenly, a black bird (crow or raven...) comes flying out, in the direction of the little bird still on the edge. { Screen Shot } Ahiru notices and cries out. The mother bird deflects the black bird once, but then the black bird manages to circle again and heads straight for the young bird, who jumps off the roof immediately before the claws can grab it.
Mute reaches for the bird and ends up jumping out the window...but catches the bird in his hands. { Screen Shot } Ahiru cries out again. Mute cradles the bird as he falls, gracefully in slow motion, down to the earth. Ahiru leaps over the bushes, screaming that he can't.
The creepy nutcracker man and his world of gears interrupt, and one of the gears frame the continuing scene. He comments that the prince is falling. Ahiru responds, "Prince?" He says, "Your friend will die." She repeats, "Die?" He asks, "What will happen to this story? Let us watch it continue..." [Ahiru is seen running.] { Screen Shot } "Who are you saving? Why will you save him?" Ahiru calls out, "Who are you?" The old man responds, "Just who am I"? [Ahiru's pendant begins to glow. { Screen Shot }] Ahiru says, "I..."
The scene inside the gear switches from Ahiru running to the old man at the pond from the beginning of the episode. The old man laughs, saying, "You're worried about him, aren't you?" [Ahiru quacks.] The old man continues, "Do you wish to help the prince?" ["Quack!"] The old man sticks his head outside the gear in which he's framed, saying, "If you let me listen to your story, that's fine." [Quack!] The man holds up a glowing pendant necklace (the same one Ahiru has been wearing), saying, "Good, good!" and places it around the person he's facing...
Ahiru now seems to remember: she says, "That's right--I'll save the prince!" The old man rolls by in the background in a gear: "Have you remembered who you are?" Ahiru answers, "I am...Princess Tutu!" The pendant glows even more.
A transformation sequence follows, where Ahiru is wrapped up within a golden egg...and appears as Princess Tutu, striking a ballet pose. { Screen Shot } { Screen Shot }
At the end of her sequence, she looks up, eyes wide open, and then runs and leaps (ballet style, of course) over the hedge. { Screen Shot } She dashes towards the falling Mute, and calls out "Hana no Waltz," or "Waltz of the Flowers" (appropriate since that's the theme from the Nutcracker that is being played). Twirling, she causes a huge cloud of flowers to form, and Mute opens his eyes briefly to see it as he falls lightly onto this bed. { Screen Shot } Princess Tutu, using ballet steps and movements all the way, moves over to where he fell through and grabs his hand, lifting him back to the surface. The two strike a pretty pose as the music comes to a close, and the little bird that Mute saved flies off. { Screen Shot }
Princess Tutu says, "For me to be able to save Mute...it's like a dream." { Screen Shot } Mute notes that she knows his name, and asks who she is. She replies, "I'm..."
It's back to the gear dude, and he asks, "Who are you?" Princess Tutu is uncomfortable with this, and repeats, "I am..." The old man says, "Have you remembered, Ahiru-chan? Yes, you are a duck. Just a plain little duck."
Princess Tutu blurts out a "quack," and then tries to cover her mouth. She withdraws her hand from Mute's, who is a little surprised (the guy shows very little emotion...). { Screen Shot } She backs away, hands over her mouth, and then runs off.
On a path, the shadow of Princess Tutu shortens and turns into that of a duck. She says confusedly, "I am..." A little duck wearing a glowing pendant stumbles, and falls flat on the ground, and the necklace falls off. "I...was just a duck." { Screen Shot }
The old man narrates: "My, my, Princess Tutu has turned back into a duck. Now then, where will our story go from here?"
[ED]
