English Dub Review: Fena – Pirate Princess “The Burning Sea”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
Abel reveals he loved Fena’s mother Helena and is confused why she sent Fena away. Imbittered by Abel’s betrayal, O’Malley turns her ship on the Blue Giant, only to have it easily destroy her along with her ship and crew. This triggers a flashback for Fena, as she realizes it was Abel and his forces that attacked the ship Yukimaru sent her away from when they were kids. Yukimaru also witnesses O’Malley’s ship’s destruction and realizes that Fena is no longer on their ship, so he goes to the Blue Giant to save her. He fends off some guards but is mortally wounded by Abel, only to be rescued himself by the rest of the crew of the Bonito, who have all decided to help rescue Fena.


OUR TAKE
Well, so much for O’Malley being a wild card. I didn’t exactly expect her to survive in the long run but I figured she and her crew would hang around until the climax. They weren’t all that memorable aside from their unique designs, but it seemed like they were looking for Eden for their own ends which we would learn more about in the second half. Apparently that won’t be happening now, but I also wouldn’t put it past this show to reveal a bit later that O’Malley got off the ship just in time, allowing her to follow sneakily behind and confront Abel in the last episode. I don’t know, something about this makes her involvement feel unfinished. I was also not expecting the rest of the crew to follow behind Yukimaru this quickly, since going after Fena seemed like quite the point of contention last week, but it looks like their found family bonds won out in the end. Plus it looks like this won’t be without consequence as the Goblin Knights head back to the island next time, and there will be some words to be had with their boss. Although the much hyped higher member Kei still doesn’t seem to have much described about him so far, other than he seems to be some sort of enforcer who trained Yukimaru.

Also, I think I’ve learned how to articulate something that has been bugging me about this show for at least a few episodes now. For as much as it involves sailing on the deepest oceans, the series itself is, ironically, pretty dang shallow on a lot of aspects. Characterization is, for the most part, very surface level, the main plot is a very simple treasure hunt, the villain’s motives are pretty stock for one that has a personal connection to the hero’s family, and the main romance seems just based on the fact that the two main leads knew each other as kids. Not to mention the two sides seemed like they would be getting some nuance but now that appears to not be the case. The production values are pretty high so I’m glad it’s pretty to look at, but once you look past that, there really isn’t a whole lot that sticks out or leaves much of an impression about Fena: Pirate Princess. She’s not even a princess of pirates! Maybe we’ll get some more nuance next time, but I doubt it.