D4 Princess
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series created by . The story was adapted into an anime
series. The anime is composed of 24 thirteen-minute episodes and is part of the anime program Anime Complex II
; it ran from April 6 to September 28, 1999.
Despite its light-hearted nature and its humanistic climax, it is chided by some Internet anime critics for its slow pacing and its even slower story development, which is partly the reason it has yet to be licensed in North America
despite its age. http://carnage.fanfic.org/d4princess.html http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=244
http://amr.nextstudio.net/html/d4_princess.html
, a hand tool
, or a household appliance) as a weapon. Anybody who wants to be a panzer can easily buy a kit that is currently mass produced
. As a result, one in ten people is a panzer. Doris Rurido is one of those panzers.
Thirteen-year-old Doris comes from a family that owns an advertising firm and has lived a very utopic
lifestyle, even regarding herself as a princess
. But when she attends the all-girls which is known for its Panzer League, she not only faces very new things as a typical rich girl such as junk food
, the lack of servants, and studying in school, but also faces challenges as a panzer, especially her inexperience and small stature.
To help Doris advance as a panzer, her sister Doria came over and gave her training sessions that to Doris were "very mean." During a break in training, Doris was challenged by a panzer known as "Raging Beetle," who uses a pair of large hedge trimmers as weapons.
A panzer fight consists of two thirty minute rounds, each with a field giving an advantage to one of the two contending panzers. The panzer that knocks out the other wins. A panzer can also win on points.
Their first encounter was a disaster as Doris, billed as "Drill Princess," was overwhelmingly routed by Raging Beetle. Due to her loss, Doris was being leered by other students. Not taking the stares any longer, she demanded a "revenge match" against Raging Beetle. The rematch was set and Doris won on that return match.
Doris then faced a fighter dubbed "Tornado Motor," who uses a vacuum cleaner
as a weapon of choice. Despite an injured hand from trying to open and close a hard-to-turn faucet, Doris not only managed to drive her drill through solid steel
, but also managed to transform into a sexier and more powerful fighter without her awareness, winning the fight in the process.
Thinking that she was strong enough to face her dream opponent, Nejiru Gaou, Doris confronted her and verbally gave her challenge to fight her—one that Nejiru accepted. Despite Doria's best efforts to stop it (knowing that Doris was not yet worthy to face Nejiru), the match was set anyway. Doris's progress as a panzer and Nejiru's rustiness after a long absence figured in that bout, which ended on a draw based on points.
Nejiru was fatally injured while she and Doris were rescuing some construction workers from a collapsing structure using their powers as panzers. Knowing she failed to rescue Nejiru from a slow death, Doris was overridden with both guilt and concern as she is the only person outside the Gaou family to remember Nejiru. But she found enough courage and some solace from Nejiru's little sister Nejiri to continue her quest to be a good panzer.
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Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series created by . The story was adapted into an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series. The anime is composed of 24 thirteen-minute episodes and is part of the anime program Anime Complex II
Anime Complex
Anime Complex was a series of omnibus anime shows broadcast on WOWOW and KIDS STATION. It featured two unrelated series from various producers of 15 minutes each per airing, and cycled as one series ended. It had three runs from 1998 to 2001.The first, Anime Complex, was broadcast on WOWOW from...
; it ran from April 6 to September 28, 1999.
Despite its light-hearted nature and its humanistic climax, it is chided by some Internet anime critics for its slow pacing and its even slower story development, which is partly the reason it has yet to be licensed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
despite its age. http://carnage.fanfic.org/d4princess.html http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=244
http://amr.nextstudio.net/html/d4_princess.html
Basic Synopsis
A panzer is a powerful costumed fighter who uses a "tool" (ツール, it can be a power toolPower tool
A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labour used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air are also commonly used...
, a hand tool
Hand tool
A hand tool is a device for performing work on a material or a physical system using only hands. The hand tools can be manually used employing force, or electrically powered, using electrical current...
, or a household appliance) as a weapon. Anybody who wants to be a panzer can easily buy a kit that is currently mass produced
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
. As a result, one in ten people is a panzer. Doris Rurido is one of those panzers.
Thirteen-year-old Doris comes from a family that owns an advertising firm and has lived a very utopic
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
lifestyle, even regarding herself as a princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
. But when she attends the all-girls which is known for its Panzer League, she not only faces very new things as a typical rich girl such as junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
, the lack of servants, and studying in school, but also faces challenges as a panzer, especially her inexperience and small stature.
To help Doris advance as a panzer, her sister Doria came over and gave her training sessions that to Doris were "very mean." During a break in training, Doris was challenged by a panzer known as "Raging Beetle," who uses a pair of large hedge trimmers as weapons.
A panzer fight consists of two thirty minute rounds, each with a field giving an advantage to one of the two contending panzers. The panzer that knocks out the other wins. A panzer can also win on points.
Their first encounter was a disaster as Doris, billed as "Drill Princess," was overwhelmingly routed by Raging Beetle. Due to her loss, Doris was being leered by other students. Not taking the stares any longer, she demanded a "revenge match" against Raging Beetle. The rematch was set and Doris won on that return match.
Doris then faced a fighter dubbed "Tornado Motor," who uses a vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
as a weapon of choice. Despite an injured hand from trying to open and close a hard-to-turn faucet, Doris not only managed to drive her drill through solid steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, but also managed to transform into a sexier and more powerful fighter without her awareness, winning the fight in the process.
Thinking that she was strong enough to face her dream opponent, Nejiru Gaou, Doris confronted her and verbally gave her challenge to fight her—one that Nejiru accepted. Despite Doria's best efforts to stop it (knowing that Doris was not yet worthy to face Nejiru), the match was set anyway. Doris's progress as a panzer and Nejiru's rustiness after a long absence figured in that bout, which ended on a draw based on points.
Nejiru was fatally injured while she and Doris were rescuing some construction workers from a collapsing structure using their powers as panzers. Knowing she failed to rescue Nejiru from a slow death, Doris was overridden with both guilt and concern as she is the only person outside the Gaou family to remember Nejiru. But she found enough courage and some solace from Nejiru's little sister Nejiri to continue her quest to be a good panzer.
Characters
:- The main character of the anime. Being the third daughter of the family who owns Rasen Advertising, she has yet to adjust to life outside her home. She always clutches a little star which turns into a hand drillDrillA drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of...
once she puts on her hand as a weapon whenever she turns into a panzer. She is billed as "Drill Princess" (which explains the title — the "D" in "D4" stands for drill as well as the fact that she as well as her mother and sisters start their names with a "D," while the "4" signifies that she is the fourth member of the family to do so). Furthermore, her surname "Rurido" is doriru (ドリル) or drill pronounced backwards. Also, even though her name is written in hiraganaHiraganais a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
, fansubbers prefer to call her Doris because of its Western nature.
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- Doris's very nice and doting yet "very mean" older sister. She comes to Doris's aid to help her by giving training sessions that to Doris are brutal. But the training is actually from experience; Doria is a panzer, too, but her panzer name is never mentioned in the anime.
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- Doris's friend, seatmate, and roommate. An ordinary girl who looks out on Doris, both on her school life and well as her life as a panzer. Doris refers to her as Gin-chan (銀ちゃん).
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- Tsubasa's best friend. An ordinary girl who became friends with Doris through Tsubasa and also looks out for Doris. Doris refers to her as Ai-chan (愛ちゃん).
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- The second-year student whom Doris regards as her dream opponent, as she is the first panzer Doris encountered in Doris' first day in Teito. Nejiru is feared by other panzers not because of her skill, but because of her destructive power. Her last bout six months before ended with the death of her opponent; since then, she is labeled as a satsuriku (殺戮) or murderer, and therefore an outcast. Her name literally means "to twist" which explains why she, like Doris, uses a drill as a weapon. She is billed as "Bloody Drill."
External links
- Lapiz Lazuli Corporation: Shotaro Harada's official website.
- D4プリンセス: Official anime page at the M. O. E. website.