OK, this is another standard entry into the Wonderful World of Romanic Comedy anime. Now, this started out as a fan-service heavy eroge game, to become a fan-service heavy manga to arrive at a fan-service heavy anime. “Princess Lover” tells the story of Arima Teppei (Mr. Akimbo in the center). He is just your typical high school student with two standard parents. Or so you think. Sadly, Mom and Dad are killed in a car-jacking and the real truth comes out.

Mother Kanae is actually the daughter of Isshin Arima, president, CEO, COO, LSMFT of the Arima Group, potentially the most powerful corporation in Japan. Mom was slated to take over when Isshin became worm food. Well, that got knocked into a cocked hat, so gramps adopts Teppei and sends him off to Shuuhou Gakuen, a high school only for wealthy students, so he can learn to take control off the company when the time comes for him to take control of the company.

However, on his way to the presentation dinner in his honor, he has to stop bandits from trying to hijack a….horse and carriage? Really? What does the calendar say it is? The person he saves is Charlotte Hazelrink (the one grasping his arm), a princess from the principality of Hazelrink, who just happens to attend Shuuhou. At the party, Teppei meets the girl that he is betrothed to….much to the shock of both parties. That is Charlotte van Hossen (off his left arm) who is very skilled with a sword (short blondie next to her is her little sister, Maria).

Anyone who is anyone is in the Society Club, which is ruled over (not presided over; this one rules with a steel will) by Seika Hōjōin (the brunette at Teppei’s far right side) and she is not going to allow a monkey like Teppei to join the club, no matter who he thinks he is. (I need to talk about the two in the far back, Erika Takezono and Ayano Kaneko. These are Seika’s main minions and follow her around like remoras).

The final female hurled into this mix is Yū Fujikura (short hair as Teppei’s far left). She is Teppei’s personal maid, but also goes to school with him to help guide him through these confusing and troubling times. I also want to mention the guy at the far right, Haruhiko Nezu. He is a major suck-up artist and since the Arima Group is that strong and powerful and overwhelming, he feels that if he can make Teppei his friend, he has got an in, as the dude has nothing going for him. Even his suck-up skills suck.

The series looks at Teppei’s sudden shift in his life, the four women who have varying degrees of affection for him, his sycophantic friend and external forces that not only want him (and grandpa) dead, but also want to manipulate events that best serve their evil purposes.

So, let’s talk about the fan service: it is unrelenting. All the ladies are equipped with nice portfolios and Claire wears outfits that can’t help but drawn attention to her considerable assets. Although not seen too well here, Charlotte also has some nice “ladies-in-waiting” and also wears outfits that present them constantly. This does get tiresome after a while, as we have the middle portion of the show taken over by Teppei’s efforts to do what is best for him, but also having to understand that Claire is his fiancée, even though he appears to have stronger feeling for Charlotte.

This is a middle-of-the-road show. I have seen it before, and this runs right down the formulaic line with events. The initial four episodes set up the events, the next four episodes show how he tries to fit in, the last four have the plot show up. It’s not bad, but I’m not seeing anything new, not even in regards with the fan service, which sometimes get out of control. I suggest that you DO stay around for the ending credits, OK? Really. And it doesn’t really end. We get to a coupler point, but there is still too much unresolved. However, since so much time has passed for this show (it’s been almost five years since it concluded), I doubt there is going to be anything new.

I would only recommend this show if you are between shows and aren’t certain what you want to see next, so it is on your “B” List. I can’t go any higher than that.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork 7 (Even the boobs weren’t compelling)
Plot 7 (Standard story)
Pacing 7 (Good action sequences)
Effectiveness 6 (Not seeing anything new or different)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service 5 (A similar show would be “Maburaho”)

Overall 6 (Fell apart at the end)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Draw your sword.