Review of The Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses
Zero no Tsukaima is back for a third season with the so-called Princess no Rondo (translates to Rondo of the Princesses, for the curious ones) and I have to say that things haven’t changed too much. The first season was pretty good, the second one didn’t disappoint either (although season one was much better) and I’m somewhat happy to say that season three is pretty good too. “Pretty good” meaning that it won’t disappoint those who know what to expect – the fans of the series. Yes, Louise’s tsundere charm is still there and yes, Saito continues to get into seemingly perverse situations with othergirls, which makes Louise go gaga and punish him with her infamous whip.
The joke may be old, but it’s still as funny as it was the first day. Hell, maybe even funnier! How is that possible, you may ask yourself? Well, it seems that the writers really raised the bar and improved overall writing quality of the anime, especially the funny, more lighthearted situations. The jokes seem funnier than ever and there are tons of situations and scene that will make you laugh uncontrollably throughout the season. The main storyline isn’t as good as it used to be, but that really doesn’t matter too much anymore. Most of us who continue to watch this anime don’t watch it for its awesome plot, but rather for the interactions between characters.
Not many new stuff are introduced in Princess no Rondo, but we do get some new characters and a continuation of the previous story (even if it develops rather slowly). The most important new character this season offers is Tifania, also known as the forest fairy which saved Saito’s life back in season two. There isn’t much to say about her without mentioning her enormous breasts (which are even bigger than Siesta’s – imagine that). Obviously she’ll somehow get attached to Saito, which will lead to Louise catching them during inappropriate and this-is-not-what-it-looks-like situations, and before you know it Saito will be punished by yet another creative and painful way by Louise. There are some other minor characters introduced as well, but they really aren’t worth mentioning. I’ll just add that we’ll get to meet a new villain, who seems to be the mastermind behind all these ‘evil’ operations. Not a very impressive character, but he gets the job done.
That’s about all I need to say about this season. It may not be the best in the series, but I consider it to be a fine improvement over the last season (Futatsuki no Kishi), which I consider to be more of a mess and totally out of balance (still good, though!). You’re definitely gonna enjoy this one if you’ve liked the other two seasons and even though there isn’t anything new to attract attention, it’s good enough to keep the story going and the entertainment pumping. Have fun watching Louise unleash her rage on Saito (and some of it on the enemies as well)!