I already covered this show in a Yuri Quickie back when the first season aired but after watching the second one I was convinced to give this show the full G-View treatment. Find out why as we take a look at the Princess Connect! Re:Dive anime as a whole.
Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Yuri
Number of Episodes: 25
G-Rating: 9/10
Plot Summary: Yuuki has been summoned to a beautiful land where a lovely young elf woman by the name of Kokkoro has been told to wait for him. She says that he has been sent by Lady Ameth and that it is her job to guide him and protect him but Yuuki can’t seem to remember anything besides his name. Then there’s Pecorine who shows up and eats all of the food. At least Yuuki’s powers seem to be as advertised and he’s able to boost Pecorine and Kokkoro’s skills so that they can defeat the flesh-eating mushroom monsters that attack them, but other than that, nothing about this adventure seems to be going as planned.
Left to right: Kokkoro, Karyl, Yuuki and Pecorine
Let us first discuss the main quartet who would form the Gourmet Guild of adventurers. Although one would think Yuuki is the main protagonist he is more a mascot and world building character whose character arc serves more to expand the lore behind the setting, or try to. More on that later. Initially viewers may think he is a het harem protagonist and while some of the girls hit on him only one is taken seriously, meaning he is not a “threat”. As for his personality he is a pure but capable amnesiac who is always happy to help people and comrades in need. At some points his memory is triggered and small pieces of them return. Though he becomes more serious in battle, especially against larger threats, he remains a likable mascot till the end. He is like the Paladin of the team.
On to Pecorine. Her story is the main focus of the show. She is an optimistic and cheerful princess knight willing to help most in need and hopefully get to eat something tasty along the way, hence the main goal of the Gourmet Guild. “Princess Knight” is something of a title but Pecorine literally is one. As mentioned her story is the main focus of the plot as she is on a quest to reclaim what was taken away. What that is I will leave viewers to discover. She is of course the Warrior.
Kokkoro is precious from start to finish. She is like the wise sister figure of the group. While her character arc is less deep than the other three it is tied to Yuuki’s so is of equal importance. Her signature facial reaction shown above is “Kyun”/”Meep”. This happens whenever she is scared, nervous, surprised etc. Bless her. She is the Cleric or White Mage.
Lastly but certainly not least is Karyl the tsundere cat girl. Her arc is the second most important and tied to Pecorine’s. Being a tsundere outsider she is initially hostile toward our heroes but warms up to them over time. More on this in a bit. She is on her own personal mission. She is kind of the Black Mage. That or a Weapons Mage.
So what kind of show is Princess Connect? Think of it akin to something like Batman Brave and the Bold. Here Batman meets and teams up with various heroes in most episodes though sometimes focuses on his own story. While Batman is the main protagonist most episodes make sure his teammates get the spotlight as it is their problem and villain to stop. The focus is on informing viewers of the other heroes in their respective episodes. Some of them make recurring appearances later on.
Princess Connect follows a similar formula. The Gourmet Club meet various girls (and some anime original NPCs) from the mobile game, befriends and helps them with their problems. Viewers learn about the girls and their relationships. Both seasons feature their own set of girls. Viewers with a favorite girl from S1 worried they do not return in S2 need not fret. Though not all S1 girls get to shine for long they do return and play a role at some point.
The presentation goes from pretty good in S1 to most excellent in S2. this is most noticeable in the action packed battles. Trust me when I say the quality went way up the second time. I think only one episode made me go “Blu-Ray fix”. The rest of top notch visual anime flashy goodness. Fans of that kind of combat will get their fill on this show, especially S2. The soundtrack is pretty good too. Expect orchestral awesomeness during the intense series climax.
In short think of the basic content as something akin to fantasy action comedies like ENDRO!~ and KonoSuba.
Before we get to the main event I alluded to this early in the review. Depending on the viewer the following will either be not much of an issue or annoying. Basically the world building is the weakest part of the show. Not that it is bad but expect some questions to not be answered about how the world works along with specific side-character traits and goals. Some terminology is not fully explained either. Even the main antagonist’s goal is vaguely explained but think of it like most Marvel movies where the focus is primarily on the heroes. In short “Wanna learn more? Play the mobile game”. Having said that, there are enough hints and clues throughout the story to get the gist of what is going on behind the scenes. That or pay very close attention in both seasons. Just do not expect to understand everything in a single viewing. Fortunately understanding everything about the setting is not required for overall enjoyment. It is just something to keep in mind while watching.
At last we come to the main reason I went all G-View with this show. In the Quickie I mentioned the highlight that was Pecorine X Karyl’s blossoming relationship. It ended on a high note. Once the second season was announced my biggest hope was the writers kept their relationship going strong and not suddenly go het-harem.
Not only was my request granted but PekoKaryl become one of my favorite “Genki X Tsundere” yuri couples alongside the likes of Howan X Himeko, Lion X Nina and Mai X Rottie. When it comes to GxT couples I will not go crazy for every single one. Their development must be special. Nothing unique, just take familiar development and present it wonderfully. That is PekoKaryl. Of all the relationships, past and present, friends, family, team and yuri (There are several yuri side-pairings) PecoKaryl’s got the most time to shine and importance to the story. Think of them as equal to the best of Pretty Cure, Aikatsu (specifically Aikatsu Friends) and even Manaria Friends. They are THAT good. While I cannot guarantee everyone will share my love for this couple they will always be special to me as part of an elite group of TsunGeki lovebirds.
Overall Princess Connect Re:Dive is a fun fantasy show with good humor, great cast and especially a wonderful main yuri couple. The presentation is pretty good in S1 but ramped up big time in S2. The world building feels like some puzzle pieces are missing that needs knowledge of the mobile game to fill them in but ultimate not necessary to enjoy this character driven show. I do not know who to recommend this one to but readers who like series such as ENDRO!~ KonoSuba may enjoy this one.
The Yuri Empire 
The first season was delightful and full of laughs till nearly the end, and not as much really happened. But you got attached to the main cast. Then, the plot hits hard in the end. I was worried that the comedy might go away and it follow the mobage’s way of doing things (way way more serious, but has some comedy too, still wouldn’t compare to what even S2 put out, imo). And, then season 2 happened. It did indeed lower the comedy and pile on the plot, but I actually didn’t care. It was just such an enjoyable ride from start to finish. The characters that I had grown so attached to were now facing immense struggles, and I really felt the pain they were going through.
In the mobage, you don’t really get much of this, and it just assumes you know who everyone is (am told they even expect you to have played/watched the dead original), so when things happened, I didn’t feel much. But when things happened on this? I cried a lot ;_; The struggles that Pecorine went through were felt. The inner turmoil that Karyl was dealing with tore at my heart probably close to what it was tearing at her heart with.The other characters had similar impacts on me, but as you said, Pecorinne and Karyl were moreso the protagonists on this.
And I was much like you, hoping against hope that they didn’t start pandering to how things went in the mobage, and that PecoKaryl weren’t going to turn into just another piece of yuki’s harem. Somehow, their relationship basically completely took front and center, and the idea of a ‘yuuki harem’ actually became weaker than it was even in Season 1. Their story was such an amazing one, especially considering their respective roles in the plot. And Yuuki was not some third wheel, he was more than happy to help them find happiness. Though he really should realize how much Kokkoro treasures him someday…….This season had so many moments between them, and real moments at that. Not silly “we just want to give a tease” moments. Sadly, we never got a confession, but that’s a miracle of miracles in a show that doesn’t advertise itself explicitly as yuri.
and then outside the yuri, as you already stated, the show just delivered on the action scenes. The comments I saw that said it felt like they were watching a movie, described exactly how i felt. The quality of the show just jumped so very high, and the battles were really exciting to watch~
I’ll admit I was super worried after the 11th episode. Mostly because a mobage player planted some heavy seeds of doubt in me that it was going to end in a way that leads straight to the mobage, resulting in it being another failed loop and a complete and total “NOW GO PLAY THE MOBAGE” ending. But then the finale completely erased those seeds and left me feeling so elated and emotionally spent~
To avoid rambling further, I’ll end with: Karyl is ā¤
Going to miss Priconne Mondays….
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There is a confession of Pecorine to Karyl in the last scene in the last episode of S1.
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Oh yes. That daisuki was why I hoped they didn’t mess them up in S2. Thankfully they went harder with them.
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the parts of this show i like most are the gourmet guild activities, like cooking, eating, adventuring to get more food and spice, etc.
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You knew after seeing S1 the show had to have serious moments in S2 also, especially with the story wrapping up.
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I played the game for a while and I come to like all the characters. But I gotta admit I didn’t want to watch the 1st season because I thought it was going to be the usual het harem show. But it turned out to be one of the best. The guy is there to support the girls and that’s what he did all 2 seasons. In the first season we get to see all the characters and in the second season some of the side characters got a dedicated episode and it built up to the ultimate boss fight. Every episode is worth watching.
The yuri part in season 2 is off the chart. Watch the first episode and you know these two belong to each other. Even though there are obstacles, of course. I feel this is a good anime to introduce to newly yuri fans.
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Well said Luze-chan. Nothing to add you haven’t already.
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