English Dub Review: Fena – Pirate Princess “Vice Versa”

Overview

In what seems to be the “obligatory flashback” episode. We learn that Abel is the youngest in the royal family and grows up in silence from being treated coldly by everyone, but one day he meets a mysterious girl named Helena in the garden, and deep love blossoms between them…


Our Take

Thanks to this episode, it seems that Fena and Yukimaru aren’t the only ones who’ve suffered the same trauma, even Abel himself had memories of Fena’s mother for better or worse… At first, Able went from a very extreme, kinda creepy character (In a Severus Snape sort of way), to one with very solid and understandable motivations. Up until he shot Yukimaru, whom he probably saw as an invading force and threat to his plans, I found him to be sympathetic and I honestly see how he developed a possessive nature. To think that Abel’s obsession with Fena’s mother goes THIS deep, it’s truly painful and knows how to really sell the drama.

And where do I even begin with the 2nd half? It felt a bit rushed with how Fena’s “Secret Song” became a major plot point to what their next destination will supposedly be. It’s also weirdly convenient how both Fena and Yukimaru easily figured out all that shit on the spot without writing anything down on a piece of paper. I also like that Shitan seems to have finally grown to accept her. The look Yukimaru and Shitan exchanged was really quite intense. Yukimaru silently challenging Shitan and seeming satisfied with what he saw. But it’s still nice to see him finally acknowledging Fena as both a member of the crew and leader of their expedition.

Overall this was quite a top-notch episode. Even if it felt like “information overload” for me, it’s done in such a way that it might reward upon repeated viewings. I thought there might be a family relationship regarding Abel’s ties to Fena, and I’m kinda happy to see I was right, though not in a way I expected. The art is colorful and genuinely pops out in place within Abel’s flashback with its use of watercolor in the background with Helena’s dancing scene as one of the standout moments. Right now I’ve got so many questions that this show has left me to wonder, but for now, I’ll wait to see if they’ll actually answer them as we are near the end of this journey…