REVIEW: ‘Fena: Pirate Princess,’ Episode 6 – “Mutiny on the Blue Giant”

Fena: The Pirate Princess is a joint Crunchyroll/Adult Swim exclusive adventure anime from Production I.G. With Fena taken prisoner and her crew left trapped underground, things looked bad at the end of the last episode. But now, both Fena and her crew will make discoveries that will challenge what they know, what they believe, and where they will choose to go next in Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6.

Over the past several episodes, the series’ narrative had begun to leave breadcrumbs implying that hidden things were going on behind the scenes of the show. These hints culminated with last week’s mysterious scene back on the island with the Goblin Knights’ leader and a previously unknown member of their clan. With Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6 much that was hidden has been brought into the cold light of day. And while the full fallout of these revelations has yet to come to pass, one thing is certain: Fena’s story has been irrevocably altered.

Given the revelatory nature of this episode, I can’t give many specifics about what happened. But I will say that that virtually every element of the story is changing and while I hope I know where it will lead, this series narrative has been unpredictable enough that I can’t bring myself to assume too much, lest my heart is broken. And since I’m still recovering from the many anime-induced heartbreaks To Your Eternity already inflicted on me, I will try not to jump to conclusions.

As with previous installments in this series, Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6 delivers these moments with all the wonderful personality I have come to expect from the show’s delightful cast. Every character’s response to the changing circumstances of the show feels natural and appropriate for how they have been presented in the past.

Yet despite the episode leaving so much for our main cast to adapt to, perhaps the piece of the puzzle that has me the most curious is where the show takes the pirate brigands that have been Fena and company’s frequent advisories. I feel like the story may have something unique coming for them and I honestly hope it does. They feel like they could have potential as serious antagonists, as long as they aren’t allowed to be simply reduced to comic-relief punching bags.

The visuals in Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6 take full advantage of the story’s most dramatic moments, capturing them with a special deftness that preserves the moments in the mind’s eye long after they have left the screen. Production I.G. continues to flex its muscles when it comes to capturing the true weight of certain scenes. There is no other aspect of the show that benefits from the phenomenal artistic feeling the visuals impart to the story’s various elements than the stoic Yukimaru. I am convinced that, animated any other way, Yukimaru would be a shadow of what he is in this series.

When all is said and done, Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6 continues to pull back the curtain surrounding Fena, the stone, and her family. Despite the complete absence of the action I had hoped for going into this episode, I cannot find any fault with this episode’s delivery of its evolving narrative and the characters who occupy it.

Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 6 is streaming on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.