Scrapped Princess

Scrapped Princess is a very entertaining, if somewhat flawed fantasy show with a dose of science fiction. The premise is that a girl was born into royalty, but there was a prophecy stating she would bring about the end of the world on her sixteenth birthday, and so the King ordered her death. She managed to avoid infanticide though, and fifteen years later, she is on the run with her two adoptive siblings after rumors of her continued existence surfaced. The show is heavily plot-based, with almost no filler whatsoever. Even episodes that seem to be unimportant introduce characters or ideas that will come back later. It's really tightly put together, and although I wasn't a big fan of all the twists and conveniences, I can't complain about it too much. Some of the characters are a bit obnoxious, but the important ones are likable or interesting enough that you don't mind their faults.

The story was interesting, but a big part of why I enjoyed the show is that it's simply nice to look at, with appealing character designs and smooth animation when it's important. There's also some nice effects in more elaborate action sequences and fanservice that does its job without being insulting. The studio that did it has done other popular shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, and their ability to pump out a weekly program with a quality that can rival longer-term projects is impressive. It's really a pretty consistent, good show, and only one contrived subplot really bothered me, but it was enough to lower my overall opinion a bit. Still, it's a good example of what can be done with the medium.