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Princess Principal: Crown Handler
Japanese animated film series by Masaki Tachibana From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Princess Principal: Crown Handler (Japanese: プリンセス・プリンシパル Crown Handler, Hepburn: Purinsesu Purinshiparu: Kuraun Handorā) is a six-part Japanese animated spy action film series and a sequel to the 2017 anime television series Princess Principal. Produced by Actas and distributed by Showgate, the film series is directed by Masaki Tachibana from a script written by Noboru Kimura and stars Aoi Koga, Akira Sekine, Yō Taichi, Akari Kageyama, and Nozomi Furuki.
The film series follows Ange, Princess, Dorothy, Beatrice, and Chise, members of Team White Pigeon, as they are assigned to investigate Bishop, the Commonwealth spy within the Kingdom's royal family, for his loyalty. Following his death from an assailant and an assassination attempt on Prince Richard, the team is tasked to find the Cavorite bombs that are stolen from the Commonwealth. After the incident of missing bombs, Richard, the mastermind behind it and the assassination of Prince Edward, invites Princess to join him for his plan to reform the Kingdom. The death of Prince Edward, who is first in line to succeed the Queen of the Kingdom, has caused a power struggle between Richard and Princess Mary, who is second in the line of succession.
A sequel to the anime series was announced in April 2018. The staff and cast for the first film in the series were revealed in September 2019, with Koga replacing Ayaka Imamura as the voice actress for Ange due to the latter's health condition. Its production was completed in March 2020. The staff and cast for the second film in the series were revealed in July 2021, while its production was completed in August. The staff and cast for the third film in the series were revealed in November 2022. The staff and cast for the fourth film were revealed in February 2025.
Four films in the Princess Principal: Crown Handler series have been released in Japan since 2021: Chapter 1 on February 11, Chapter 2 on September 23, Chapter 3 on April 7, 2023, and Chapter 4 on May 23, 2025. The film series has grossed over ¥349 million in Japan.
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Films
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Chapter 1
In response to the assassination attempt on the Queen, the Duke of Normandy begins cracking down on suspected Commonwealth of Albion spies. Concerned that their mole within the royal family may be a double agent, Control tasks the Team White Pigeon with making contact with the mole and investigating him. Ange disguises herself as Princess and meets the mole in the royal palace, and is surprised to discover that the mole is Winston, the grand chamberlain and the man that used to take care of her when she was a child. Winston recognizes Ange and lets her know that he is aware she is the real Princess and the other is an impostor. Ange and Princess explain to the rest of the team that he knows they are investigating him. Despite knowing the risk of Winston exposing them, the team continues to investigate him and discovers that Winston has been secretly communicating with an unknown third party through coded messages he has hidden in the Queen's speeches. The team manages to expose him by feeding him false information and tricking him into sending out a message they can intercept. Control orders the team to detain Winston for interrogation, but Ange secretly arranges for his escape in return for keeping her and Princess' secret. Winston parts amicably with Ange but is shot by an assassin. With his dying words, Winston warns Ange that if she continues living a life of lies, she will end up like him. In the aftermath, both the Duke of Normandy and Control become aware of the unknown third party's involvement as the team feels defeated in failing to save Winston.
Chapter 2
The Commonwealth tests a new and destructive Cavorite bomb which they intend to use against the Kingdom of Albion. Meanwhile, Prince Richard returns to the Kingdom but is injured in an assassination attempt. Control gives Team White Pigeon a new mission to search for three Cavorite bombs that were stolen from the Commonwealth and smuggled into the Kingdom, with the concern that those bombs may be used to instigate a war between both nations. Following a lead, the team investigates the Vegas Steam Theater and finds the bombs hidden there. They then put the theater under surveillance while they wait for Control to organize a retrieval team. However, when the surveillance teams are killed by the assassin, Ange, Dorothy, and Chise have no choice but to raid the theater. They manage to capture the smuggler and recover two of the bombs, but they find out the third one has been smuggled onto a yacht where a royal ceremony is being held with Princess, Beatrice, and Princess Mary present. With Ange's quick thinking, they manage to stop the bomb from detonating and prevent it from falling into the Kingdom's hands. Princess returns to the royal palace, only to discover Prince Edward has been assassinated. She comes across Richard, who admits he was behind the bomb plot and Edward's death as he wants to seize power and reform the Kingdom. He then asks Princess whether she will join him or not.
Chapter 3
Richard says he will wait for Princess' decision to his ultimatum. After Princess revealed Richard's ambition and role in the assassination of Edward, Team White Pigeon decides to not make any decisions for the moment and informs Control. Control orders the team to infiltrate the royal household—Princess and Beatrice staying in the palace, while Ange and Dorothy pose as maids—to investigate the power struggles in the royal family. As the current one who is in line for the throne, Mary is given more strict lessons and training to prepare her for her future duties. Princess speaks with Richard again and learns that he wants to fix inequality not just in Albion but also on the world stage. Richard covertly provokes nobles to demand that the Duke of Normandy be removed from his post as the Home Secretary for failing to protect Edward while in public. The Duke of Normandy tells Richard that he is aware of his machinations. Meanwhile, Richard also arranges for Mary's education to be even more strict along with a grueling schedule, much to the consternation of Olivia, Mary's lady-in-waiting. Overcome by the stress, Mary tries to escape through the window and endangers herself, but she is saved by Dorothy. After discussing it with the others, Princess arranges a tea time with the rest of Team White Pigeon to provide Mary a break from her studies. Hearing of this, Richard plots to depose Mary more directly and arranges a plot on her life while Princess is not with her, but the result is unsuccessful. Distraught by this news, Princess decides that she wants to help Mary flee the country as her life is in danger, which is approved by Control. The operation goes smoothly at first but before Mary and Olivia can escape over the wall into the Commonwealth, they are intercepted by the Kingdom's forces. Team White Pigeon is arrested with their identities exposed. The Duke of Normandy reveals to Princess that he has also arrested Richard on suspicion of his role in assassinating Edward and gives Princess an ultimatum to become a double agent for the Kingdom.
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Cast and staff
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Voice cast
This section includes characters who have appeared in more than two films in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
Staff
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Production
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A sequel to the 2017 anime television series Princess Principal was announced in April 2018, which would comprise six films.[7] Masaki Tachibana, who directed the series, and chief producer Atsushi Yukawa agreed on the sequel being in film format because doing it as another television series would be "physically demanding".[8] Ayaka Imamura, who voiced Ange in the series, announced her retirement in June 2018 due to declining health.[9] The production staff and committee collaborated with her talent agency With Line to begin auditions for the role.[10] The film series received its full title in September 2019.[10]
The staff for the first film in the series, Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1, were revealed in September 2019. Tachibana would be directing the film, and Noboru Kimura was revealed to be supervising and writing the script instead of Ichirō Ōkouchi who have worked on the series.[10] Actas would solely animate the film; the studio previously collaborated with Studio 3Hz in the series.[10] Additionally, Aoi Koga was revealed as the new voice actress for Ange, with Akira Sekine, Yō Taichi, Akari Kageyama, and Nozomi Furuki reprising their roles as Princess, Dorothy, Beatrice, and Chise, respectively.[10] In February 2020, Nobuo Tobita joined the cast as Bishop, a spy within the Albion royal family who knows the Princess' true identity.[11] Shunpei Maruyama, president of Actas, announced that the film was completed in March 2020 despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The films James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and Charlie's Angels influenced Chapter 1, but Tachibana used Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) to accomplish "a realistic spy story". While working on the script, Kimura was inspired by the American television series The Blacklist since he was interested on how "the drama and the development [of the series] mesh well".[13] Tachibana likened the action scene at the double-deck bus to Jackie Chan's 1985 film Police Story.[14] Sentai Filmworks revealed the English dub cast in February 2022.[15]
The returning staff and cast for the second film in the series, Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2, were revealed in July 2021. Additionally, new characters were introduced, namely Edward, Mary, and Richard, the members of Albion royal family who are all in line of succession.[16] Maruyama announced that the film was completed in August 2021.[17] The dragon Smerg from Michael Ende's 1979 novel The Neverending Story influenced the Steam Dragon animatronics scene.[18] In August 2022, Sentai Filmworks revealed the film would receive an English dub.[19]
The production on the third film in the series, Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 3, were announced in September 2021. That month, Teruyuki Tanzawa, Rina Endō, and Kazuyuki Okitsu were revealed to be voicing Edward, Mary, and Richard, respectively.[20] The returning staff and cast were announced in November 2022.[21] Tachibana stated the film would help the viewers to "finally begin to understand the meaning of the title Crown Handler".[18] An English dub by Sentai Filmworks for the film is available.[22]
The returning staff and cast for the fourth film in the series, Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 4, were confirmed in February 2025. That month, Isao Sasaki joined the cast as Turner.[23]
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Music
Yuki Kajiura was confirmed to be composing Princess Principal: Crown Handler in September 2019, after previously working on Princess Principal.[10] In October 2019, Void_Chords and Yui Mugino were revealed to be performing the opening theme song "Lies & Ties".[24] Masami Shimoda directed the opening theme video; Shimoda was first offered to direct the eleventh episode of the series but declined due to conflicting schedule.[25] In January 2020, the ending theme song was revealed as "Nowhere Land", which was performed by Ange (Koga), Princess (Sekine), Dorothy (Taichi), Beatrice (Kageyama), and Chise (Furuki).[26] Lantis released their singles in Japan on April 8, 2020.[27][28] In August 2021, FictionJunction and Shuri were revealed to be performing the insert song "Fairy Game" in Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2.[29]
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Marketing
A key visual and trailer announcing the sequel project were released in April 2018.[7] In preparation for the release of Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1, Misato Fukuen narrated a one-minute summary of each episodes of Princess Principal. The episodes were released on the official YouTube channel of Bandai Namco Arts on January 31, 2021.[30] A collaboration between Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2 and the mobile game Girls und Panzer: Senshado Daisakusen! was held from September to October 2021;[31] the game and the film series had another collaboration in August 2022 until September.[32] In November 2021, collaboration goods, such as T-shirt, acrylic stand, pin badge, clear file, tapestry, and pouch, featuring Ange and Princess in their designs began selling in Don Quijote stores.[33] Merchandises for the film series became available in GraffArt Shop stores in Ikebukuro, Namba, and Nagoya in February 2022.[34]
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Release
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Theatrical
Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 was released in Japan on February 11, 2021.[35] The film was previously scheduled to be released in 2019,[7] before it was shifted to April 10, 2020,[10] and then to the February 2021 premiere due to COVID-19 pandemic.[35] Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2 was released in Japan on September 23, 2021.[36] Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 3 was released in Japan on April 7, 2023.[37] Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 4 was released in Japan on May 23, 2025;[38] it had an early screening a day before.[39]
Home media
The Blu-rays of Princess Principal: Crown Handler films were distributed by Bandai Namco Filmworks, under their label Emotion, in Japan, Sentai Filmworks in the United States and Canada, and MVM Entertainment in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The first two films were streamed on Hidive: Chapter 1 on May 26, 2021,[47] and Chapter 2 on February 21, 2023.[48]
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Reception
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Box office
As of June 3, 2025[update], the four Princess Principal: Crown Handler films have collectively grossed ¥349 million in Japan.
Critical response
The Japanese review and survey firm Filmarks placed Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2 third in their first-day satisfaction ranking, with an average rating of 4.05/5 based on 129 reviews.[53] Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 3 was placed third in the firm's first-day satisfaction ranking, with an average rating of 4.03/5 based on 79 reviews.[54] Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 4 was placed second in the firm's first-day satisfaction ranking, with an average rating of 4.05/5 based on 130 reviews.[55]
Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 a grade of "B", feeling that the film was a "high-stakes spy story and a personally emotional tale all in one. It's a fun little self-contained mystery—but one with revelations and repercussions that will no doubt have a major effect on the Crown Handler films going forward." Eisenbeis praised the film for the story setup that gave Ange a character development, introducing a mysterious third party that upset the status quo between the major players (Commonwealth and the Duke of Normandy), its major action sequence, and the opening theme song. However, he noted that the majority of the cast were "largely ignored."[56]
Eisenbeis gave Chapter 2 a grade of "B", feeling that the film "delivers some solid character development for Charlotte and gives us a healthy helping of spy action that is simply fun to watch. And best of all, it ends on a cliffhanger that makes you want to rewatch both this film and the previous one to absorb every little hint about what is actually going on." He lauded the "good" setting and character design, and the insert song ("Fairy Game"), but he noted that Beatrice had nothing to do despite the other main characters had "much more to do in this film than in the previous one."[57]
Eisenbeis gave Chapter 3 a grade of "B+", feeling that it was "easily the best of the Crown Handler films so far. It's full of high-stakes tension as our heroes play their spy game while fighting an internal battle between pragmatism and idealism—with a young girl's life hanging in the balance. To top it off, the film ends with a climax that completely upsets the status quo and promises a completely new direction for things going forward." However, he criticized the "least impressive" visuals, and lack of action sequences and Beatrice's presence.[58]
Accolades
In December 2021, the first two Princess Principal: Crown Handler films were among the Top 100 Favorites nominated by fans to win Anime of the Year and Anime Fan Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2022.[59]
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Original video animations
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Each of the Blu-rays of Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 was bundled with an original video animation.[40][43][45]
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Works cited
- C1 indicates the producer only worked on Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1.
- C2 indicates the producer only worked on Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 2.
- C3 indicates the producer only worked on Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 3.
- C4 indicates the producer only worked on Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 4.
References
External links
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