Plot
Once upon a time, there was a story. The story was about a fight between a Great Crow and a Noble Prince. And when the man who wrote the story died, the good-hearted Prince of Fairy Tales and the evil Great Crow escaped from its pages to continue their fight. Then, The Prince, with his own sword tore out his own heart and shattered ito into pieces, in order to vanquish and seal away his titanic corvid foe.
In the present, at an Arts Academy best known for its ballet program, a girl named Duck admires this Prince. But, as a result of his missing heart, The Prince is utterly unable to return her feelings, much less act for himself. Furthermore, Duck is well… actually a Duck. She’s been transformed into a girl by the power of a magical pendant given to her by some mysterious figure. That same pendant also allows her to transform into Princess Tutu, tasked with recovering the shards of the Prince's heart, wherever they are, and helping others with the power of her dance. However, Duck’s pendant and Princess Tutu’s powers come with a price: For if she were to ever actually confess her love for the Prince, she would become a speck of light, and disappear.
…Also, she tranforms back into a duck when she says “quack!”, and can only change back to a human girl when she’s hit with water.
Themes
It should be obvious to the viewer that the show in general draws rather heavily from fairy-tales and ballet or classical theater. There are animal-people, a Prince charming and his knight, a soundtrack that tends to sample in classical music and several related references, and Princess Tutu herself is a double reference to “The Ugly Duckling” and Swan Lake.
Throughout the show, Princess Tutu also displays themes around the beauty in artistic self-expression, being and accepting oneself, fighting fate in order to do ones best with what one has, and what love for someone or something should look like. These things tend to tie in with each other, especially towards the end of the show as Princess Tutu fights to save others from themselves and the manipulations of the series’ abstract and personal antagonists.
TL;DR: Magical Girl helps others, beats the bad guys, and tries to find love through the power of ballet dance. Complications arise.
Post-Scripts:
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy their fate be granted glory."
This is a catchphrase within the show, and I just adore this line.
Btw, I was kinda worried that it was a Yaoi kind of story in beginning, due to the way Mytho and Fakir behaved with each other.
Also, Lilie is a hilariously awful person. How did her and Duck ever *become* “friends”?