As (evidently) one of the very few people who actually watched this instead of reading the description and fobbing it off as an ecchi with a niche theme, I feel the need to clear up what exactly this is and what it does in portraying pole dancing. As Pole Princess (PolPri for short) implicitly states in episode 2, the art is not inherently sexual, but is often demonised or seen as degenerate due to its association with clubs and adult venues. As a result, it’s often treated as simply just a form of fanservice, which completely undermines the hard work and physical ability pole dancers arerequired to build up in order to actually perform it. This anime aims to show the non-suggestive aspects of it, and the different ways the characters fit their styles into it.

As the pole dance music videos demonstrate, every character has a unique style or trait that’s evident in their dancing and how they express themselves. From cute twirls and poses to powerful kicks, spins and jumps- these animations do a great job of displaying the range of the art. These are all supervised by a real pole dance instructor- Kaori from Studio Transform- and to be blunt I think they look fantastic. Even if you don’t like the main story’s animation (which I understand, it’s not the best) I really recommend watching some of the pole dance videos. And listening to the songs themselves! They’re all great, and available on music streaming platforms.

But anyway, looking past the public’s perception of it- here’s my opinions.

First off, the animation. Yes, it’s a little rough. But it doesn’t take very long to get used to, and I didn’t really mind it at all. The models all look good, and at most, my biggest complaint was that the hair physics are a bit floaty. These issues are barely noticeable at all in the pole dances.
The story and writing is, in a word, cute. Like, it’s nothing to write home about, but I like all the characters and seeing them all interact as friends- and their voice actors do a great job showing their personalities (Seriously, have you SEEN the cast on this thing?). Subaru’s introduction and recruitment in particular are pretty goofy and I love it.
The songs are great. Like I said before, the voice actors know what they’re doing and all sing really well, and the songs themselves are catchy and immediately tell you what aesthetic and style the characters have. My personal favourite is the last performance in the final episode- the instrumental, environment and vocals mix so well together.

Overall, PolPri isn’t anywhere near a masterpiece, but I think its message on not writing things off and instead understanding the work behind it is important and I think it’s really disheartening that so many people online have a twisted view on what this project- and by extension, the dance it represents- truly is. At the very least, it taught me, and from just watching the dances and reading about the pole dancers involved, I’ve come to really appreciate how much strength and practice goes into learning it. With the recent announcement of an upcoming movie, my biggest hope is they have more scenes of the characters learning and practicing, and explaining different terminology and techniques.

I think this is a good start to a franchise that will hopefully tackle the stigma surrounding the art. Looking forward to the future of the project!