While the intro for Dame x Prince Anime Caravan I took a chance to guess at who would be the main love interest at the end of the day. I saw the love interests who would take up the slots in the harem. From the intro song I guessed that the red-haired character would be the one to be the main love interest at the end of the day. Then I started to question the legitimacy of this being a reverse harem…

• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Reverse Harem
• Type: Series
• Episodes: 12
• Duration to watch: +/- 4 hours, 30 minutes
• Age restriction: PG-13 – Teens 13 or older
• Release date: 2018
• Animation Studio:  Studio Flad
• Does it have a manga: No, it is based on a visual novel
• Kanji:ダメプリ ANIME CARAVAN

About Dame x Prince Anime Caravan:

Militaristic Milidonia seeks to conquer as much land as possible, while monotheistic Selenfalen worships Saint Philia. Inako is a little kingdom sandwiched between these two powerful nations. Ani Inako, the country’s only princess, is brought to Selenfalen to sign a peace treaty in order to end hostilities between the three kingdoms. Ani has high hopes for a trouble-free signing ceremony until she meets the odd princes from her neighbouring kingdoms. As a result of the deal, Ani and the princes will have to work together to overcome their differences. They work together to find points of agreement on which to improve the relationships between the three kingdoms.

My Thoughts:

As mentioned, I made a guess over who would win Ani’s heart in the intro, before the anime had even properly started. Then the character introductions started and I instantly hoped I was wrong. Not a single one of the princes should be a viable love interest. The animation in this is really pretty and I feel so bad for her childhood friend and knight, Teo.

My thoughts on the princes:

• Narek, narcissistic, full of hubris and has had no consequences in his life. 
• Ruze, looks like a child and I don’t trust him although he is portrayed to be innocent and saintly (red flags for manipulation)
• Vino, a pretty playboy who calls our female lead, Little Miss Flower ugh – obviously not a real option. 
• Mare, a recluse shut-in who is actually pretty intelligent. 

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This anime does not feel like a reverse harem. It is almost a parody of the genre with the characters being almost over the top with their main identifying character traits. It is only around episode 7, the princes start to show more interest in Ani. Although, in an earlier episode we do briefly see that Narek feels bad for making Ani cross. I actually like our female lead in this one. She has a realistic response to most of the antics going on around her. 

While the overall anime is light-hearted with seemingly random events and shenanigans you know that there is an actual plot with each episode building on the other. The characters do get actual growth that is realistic. Their personalities do not have a sudden change, you can see them learn and change over time. However, saying that, they never leave their trope behind.

Instead of objectifying Ani, the princes treat her as an actual person with feelings. It feels so good to watch them develop a genuine friendship without intense feelings coming out of nowhere. In episode 9 the guys realise that Ani will one day get married which awakens something up inside each of them.

I looked forward to the reveal of the scheme that had been hinted at and had brewing since episode one. With the reveal of the scheme, most of it was as expected, such as the uncle and the coup. I knew there was something about Rem and that it was going to be a reveal of multiple layers.

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A lot happens in the last 4 episodes. Once the schemes started to properly reveal themselves, the pacing picked up quite a bit. There were quite ambitious schemes going on in the background and it was impressive that the anime pulled it off without it seeming like they were randomly included.

Favourite Characters: Teo Colton, Riot Volte and Chrom Rem

Teo, I had been somewhat routing for him from episode one but also knew how that would end. When he said his heart belongs to someone already, my heart kind of broke for him. He has been a favourite of mine from the moment he stopped Ani’s head from hitting the carriage.

Riot, is a safe choice. He is sincere, serious and responsible. I adore his astute nature and am genuinely upset that he is not a possible ‘capture target’. 

Somehow, I have a knack for choosing questionable characters to be my favourites before they have even said a word. This is true for Chrom and as the anime progressed it became clearer and clearer that Chrom fits the questionable character role perfectly. 

Would I recommend Damepri Anime Caravan? Yes I would and I am. It is fun, it is quirky and it wraps up nicely. For a reverse harem there is basically no romance but you can see how the relationships develop. Some of the guys do confess that their feelings are romantic while others do not comment on it at all. The characters antics are fun to watch, the anime does not take itself seriously and just rolls with it.

What do you think of anime, Dame x Prince Anime Caravan?