Princess Knight Part Two is the final collection of this series containing the final twenty-six episodes.  This show is about a princess named "Princess Knight" who must live her life pretending to be a boy instead of a girl as they need to keep her identity a secret due to a law stating that a woman can't rule the throne.  There are some very nasty people who are after the throne and are trying to find proof that she is a girl so they can expose her for what she is.  Late one night we see the king writing out a new law to where a woman can rule the throne but right as he is done he gets attacked and the document with the new law on it gets destroyed.  The King gets declared deceased and Prince Knight (Princess Knight's name for when she is in public) must take over the role as king.  While at the crowning ceremony the evil Duke (The King's brother) finds proof and exposes her.  Due to the old law still being around they must send Princess Knight and The Queen to a terrible tower where they must stay for the rest of their lives.  Back at the castle Duke continues the crowning ceremony and gives the crown to the next person in line which just happens to be his son "Prince Plastic".  Shortly after the Duke uses his evil ways to cause nothing but bad to the people like taking away all their money and locking up people who mentions Princess Knight.  Back at the tower we have Princess Knight getting very frustrated that her people are being treated like dirt and manages to find a way out of her cell.  She goes under a disguise and changes her name to the "Phantom Knight" so the tower guards won't think that she had escaped and take it out on her mother.  Now the Princess fights to protect her people and find a way to get the evil Duke away from the throne so that her people can live in peace.  (Click "Read More" to read the full review).

The story in this volume has been beefed up a little bit which is good as I was beginning to wonder how they would keep the "bad guys trying to prove that the prince is really a princess" storyline going without it feeling tired.  What I didn't mention in the opening is that after that we also have another storyline that involves an evil group lead by an mysterious man named "Mr. X".  It was really enjoyable and a nice change of pace from the more relaxing stories that we normally get as it adds a really nice intense layer to the show.  For a children's show you will find some dark moments like character death and war but not done to where it's too dark that the children won't be able to handle it.  The action in this show is very fun with some exciting sword fights that got me out of my seat cheering for Princess Knight.  Characters are really charming with some really heroic main characters and some really intimidating villans that will really make you want to support the heroes even more and boo the baddies.
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My complaint about this volume is that after building up the "Mister-X" arc they jump to a bunch of episodes that feel like they should've been in the first volume.  These episodes are ones that introduce characters and elements that have already been used plenty of times in the previous episodes to which that they need no introduction.  These episodes are all on disc four and they really do feel like that the show is released with episodes out of order and really feel out of place.  Much like volume one of this show it will only appeal to certain people like little kids, Tezuka collectors, and those who have nostalgic feelings towards this show that they wish to revisit.  Not saying that the show is bad by any means but it's not for everybody.

Artwork in this show is quite old and you will see some aging like faded artwork, some film grain, and you will even see some scenes where the tape has been teared a little.  The characters themselves are very basic although very well done.  Background artwork does vary as some episodes it looks very basic but in some episodes you will be greeted by some very beautiful and detailed background art.  Animation has aged the worst as it can get pretty choppy which is sure to turn off some people (mainly the young adults).  English dub is very cute and charming like watching old Disney cartoons and I did enjoy it quite a bit.  Soundtrack does sound pretty nice and does go along with the show really well but like everything else it has aged and will sound distorted in some episodes.


This collection has two really neat special features which include an art-gallery full of pencil sketches of the characters and the original Japanese edition of the first episode which differs quite a bit from the English version we got in the first volume.  The episode is about a tricky little angel named Choppy (the same Choppy from the English version) playing some jokes up on Mount Olympus.  One of his jokes ends up getting his father (The Creator) mad as he was messing around with soon to be born babies.  Choppy had given a soon to be born girl a boy's attitude.  Choppy ends up being sent to Earth to fix the problem he had made by giving the girl her proper attitude.  Turns out the girl he is after is none other than Princess Sapphire (Princess Knight in the English version) and he finds her after thirteen years of searching. 


In the English version this episode was spread across two episodes and there are even scenes from this original episode that wasn't used to the very last episodes.  Another difference between the English and Japanese versions is that the show is hosted by a puppet who is reading books based on Princess Knight's adventures.  I can understand why some of the episodes have choppy animation (no pun intended) and very sudden scene changes as those episodes are re-edits made up from several of the Japanese episodes Frankensteined (AKA stitched up together) into an all-new episode with a different story.  I recommend checking this episode out after watching the show as it was really good.  Downside is that the quality of the master that they took it from is quite old so you will see some tearing in the video and some yellowing of the characters.  Overall I enjoyed this volume a lot more over the first one and I do recommend that you check it out despite how old it is.  Fun viewing.

Title: Princess Knight Part Two