Kuragehime

Tsukimi, an extremely shy and self-deprecating 18 year old illustrator, has been fascinated by jellyfish ever since her mother took her to an aquarium. To her, they're everything she isn't - beautiful and graceful. While jellyfish-watching at a pet shop, she sees a spotted jellyfish next to a moon jellyfish in the same tank, a certain death for the spotted jellyfish. Overcoming her fear of stylish people (and men), she tries to talk the clerk into moving the spotted jellyfish out of the tank. Apathetic to the plight of this nerdy girl, the clerk just ignores her and Tsukimi gets into a fight with him over it. Things are looking bleak for Clara (the spotted jellyfish) when a fashionable girl intervenes and talks the clerk into giving them the jellyfish.

The mysterious "princess" follows Tsukimi to the "Nunnery", the boarding house she shares with a bunch of fellow nerdy Otaku girls, and ends up sleeping in Tsukimi's room. This dreamy girl, however, is not all what she looks...

Kuragehime, or Princess Jellyfish in English, is an award-winning Josei Manga by Akiko Higashimura, adapted to Anime by Brain Base, as part of Fall 2010's NoitaminA block. Funimation simulcasted the series on their video portal and later released it as a box set.

A Character Page is now in the works!

Tropes used in Kuragehime include:
  • Agent Peacock: Kuranosuke is this, albiet a slightly more realistic than usual version.
  • Almost Kiss: Episode 7.
  • A Man Is Not a Virgin: Subverted. Although he's naive when it comes to women and relationships, Shū is intelligent and politically savvy.
    • Kuranosuke, on the other hand, is this trope played straight.
  • Anger Born of Worry - The one time we see Shuu get well and truly angry is when Inari pretended she was going to commit suicide as a joke. He actually hits her for it. When she sees that he was genuinely worried about her, she starts to develop real feelings for him.
  • Astronomic Zoom: When Kuranosuke says something inconceivable to our heroine: "Because I wanted to see you, Tsukimi." After a while you wonder how much farther it's gonna zoom out.
  • Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: The Nuns when confronted with objects of their nerdy desires. Especially Mayaya and Banba. Kuranosuke and Shuu's uncle, the Prime Minister of Japan, would rather be a hyperactive teenage girl than the leader of the country.
  • Author Appeal: In an omake the author says she used to be obsessed with jellyfish.
  • Batman in My Basement: Tsukimi's initial problem after Kuranosuke stays the night is making sure no-one discovers he's in her room.
  • Beautiful All Along: Tsukimi, though Kuranosuke believes that everyone falls under this trope.
    • Mayaya is extremely self-conscious about her height, lack of curves, and evil-looking eyes. Kuranosuke points out that many fashion models are tall and boyish with fierce eyes, and Chieko adds that "if all the chubby people in the country heard you talk they'd beat you to death".
  • Berserk Button: Several. It's better not to add noodles to the meat in Banba's presence, and there are also more than a few things that will seriously annoy the hyperactive Mayaya. But the most prominent example would be Inari going apeshit on her assistant just because the poor guy suggested she-Kuranosuke's a 'real knocker'...
  • Betty and Veronica: In a straightforward example, Shū is the Archie to Tsukimi's Betty and Inari's Veronica.
    • In a less straightforward example, Tsukimi is the Archie for Kuranosuke and Shū, though it is less immediately clear who the Betty and who the Veronica is.
  • Big Fancy House: The Koibuchi residence is this.
  • Big No: When Kuranosuke realizes he's getting jealous and Tsukimi might be more to him than a fashion project.
  • Blank White Eyes: Probably the most common reaction in the show.
  • Blinding Bangs: Banba, Jiji, and Mayaya. Mayaya grew hers out after her "fierce eyes" got her the nickname "Contract Killer".
  • Blind Idiot Translation: When MC Hanamori tries to say "jellyfish" in English it comes out "jelly ear mushroom"
  • Blue with Shock
  • But Not Too Foreign: Kuranosuke in all probability.
    • Nisha is Indian but speaks fluent Japanese (with an Osaka accent, I believe) since her ex-husband was Japanese.
  • Camp Straight: Kuranosuke is this.
  • Cat Fight: Quite a few have occurred between women fighting for Kuranosuke, according to his flashbacks.
  • Catch Phrase: Nisha: Are you stupid?! (of course, when you're trying to break into the already struggling fashion industry and you don't even know how to sew...)
  • Christmas Cake: Do NOT ask how old the Nuns are.
  • Clark Kenting: Tsukimi towards Shu, in combination with Beautiful All Along.
  • Comedic Sociopathy: Hanamori has absolutely no morals when you use the Benz argument for manipulation.
  • Cooldown Hug: Shu gives one to Tsukimi when she cries at the aquarium.
  • Corner of Woe: First episode.
    • The Nuns go into this whenever someone violates some rule or asks some question on the 'Top 5 Things You Shouldn't Do in the Presence of/Ask the Nuns' (As helpfully pointed out by Clara, usually.)
  • Damned By Faint Praise: "I almost kissed a girl who is practically a Shigeru Mizuki character!".
  • Delayed Reaction: Shu and Tsukimi are so innocent that their Accidental Hug and Accidental Pervert moments take a while to set in.
  • Demoted to Extra: Nomu and Nisha do not appear in the anime.
  • Does Not Like Men: All the Nuns are quite fearful of men and have banned them from entering the Nunnery.
  • Dropped A Bridget On Her
  • Dropped Glasses: Tsukimi gets bolder without her glasses on. See Rule of Symbolism below.
  • Eleven Episode Anime
  • Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Clara's cutesy way of talking. Okay, she only speaks in Tsukimi's Imagine Spots.
  • Fairy Tale Motifs: Specifically princesses, and there are various references to Cinderella.
  • Fairytale Wedding Dress
  • Fashion Hurts: The high-heels-are-torture version. Kuranosuke assures the Sisterhood that the heels are weapon, so they just have to get used to the pain.
  • First Episode Spoiler: The "princess" is a dude.
  • Furo Scene: We get to see Kuranosuke jump out of the bath and run around the house for a while wearing only a towel around his waist.
  • Gecko Ending
  • Gender Vocabulary Slip: Kuranosuke slips into the ore pronoun, but since he's so good at cross-dressing, he still passes as a Bokukko (with a bit of help from Tsukimi, see below).
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Kana Hanazawa playing an Adorkable girl again, Mamiko Noto as Jiji, Mitsuki Saiga as Kuranosuke.
  • Hikikomori: The unseen BL author, who never comes out of her room, is nocturnal, and communicates with the other Nuns via handwritten notes slipped under the door. The other Nuns also display milder hiki tendencies.
  • Hot Consort/The Mistress: Kuranosuke's mom.
  • I Just Want to Be Beautiful: According to Kuranosuke, everyone, even the otakus of the nunnery, desire beauty.
  • Imagine Spot
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: Tsukimi has trouble sleeping restfully after a photo of Inari and Shu in bed together broke her heart. She asks Mejiro for advice on how to shut the painful thoughts from her mind. The answer? BOOZE! Tsukimi complies.
  • Japanese Ranguage: Tsukimi uses it to cover Kuranosuke's ore slips by pretending them to be the Spanish olé.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nisha. She constantly tells Kuranosuke and Tsukimi that they're idiots and her idea of encouragement is to tell them that she basically wants to watch them fail, but she's really trying to help since neither of them knows anything about the fashion industry (Nisha: You can't just sell couture clothes, you need things average girls can buy. Kuranosuke: That doesn't interest me.). The most obvious sign she's on their side is the fact that she didn't trick them into buying loads of expensive fabric.
  • Jiangshi: Mayaya thinks Tsukimi is cosplaying one after her clumsy attempts at removing her make-up. And then the Nuns start goofing around playing too...
  • Kansai Regional Accent: Nisha has this, apparently because her ex-husband is from there.
  • Landlady: Chieko, also a Team Mom and a bit more socially capable one than the others.
  • Limited Wardrobe: For virtually everyone except Kuranosuke.
  • Lipstick and Load Montage
  • Lonely Doll Girl: Nomu, but only to "worthless little worms" who don't love her "children" like she does.
  • Love Bubbles: Played for laughs.
  • Loves My Alter Ego: Shuu thinks dolled-up Tsukimi is very attractive. He thinks normal Tsukimi is not. Once he figures out they're the same person he thinks normal Tsukimi's cute too.
  • The Love Slap of Epiphany: Shu slaps Inari for pretending to commit suicide as a joke. This is the point where she starts to develop real feelings for him.
  • Luminescent Blush: Kuranosuke gets one in Episode 11 that flirts with High-Pressure Emotion, but doesn't quite get there.
  • Makeover Montage: Kuranosuke started one in Episode 3 with Tsukimi. He did a good job.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Guy: Kuranosuke is a rare male example of the manic pixie dream girl.
  • Matchmaker Crush: Kuranosuke does his best to get Shu and Tsukimi together, only to realize a bit too late that he's falling for Tsukimi.
  • May-December Romance: Kuranosuke points out the rather significant age difference between Tsukimi (18) and Shuu (30)
  • Meaningful Name: The kanji for Inari's name is shared with a Shinto deity who is closely associated with Kitsune. What do the Nuns call her? "The Vixen."
    • More immediately, the kanji for Tsukimi (月海) reversed can be read as "kurage" (海月), or "jellyfish".
  • Meet Cute: How Tsukimi and Shuu met. Subverted in that the second meeting didn't go so well.
  • Mistaken for Gay: Kuranosuke and Tsukimi, by primary school children.
  • Nerd Glasses: Tsukimi goes on full opaque mode when talking about jellyfish.
  • Nerd Nanny: Gender Flipped.
  • Nerds Are Virgins: The number one thing that shouldn't be mentioned in the Nunnery.
  • No Romantic Resolution: The anime doesn't resolve the love triangle.
  • Nosebleed: Tsukimi and Shu each have one, which occur several minutes after they experience something arousing.
  • Not Good with People: All the characters have issues interacting with others, but Chieko's friend and fellow doll-enthusiast Nomu takes the cake: she considers her dolls as her daughters and people as "worthless little worms".
  • Otaku: The girls of the Nunnery call themselves fujoshis, but only one of them (the mysterious Hikikomori BL author) fits the Yaoi Fangirl stereotype; the others are into less commonly depicted interests, like trains, Japanese dolls, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, jellyfish, old men...
    • Even the "normal" people have strange obsessions: Shuu's driver is obsessed with cars to the point where he drove off a girlfriend, Kuranosuke is obsessed with fashion (but not in any practical way -- he wants to start a fashion line without knowing how to sew or even knowing anyone who knows how to sew), Kuranosuke and Shuu's dad loves women of all ages and demeanors except disgusting cross-dressers like his idiot son, the freaking prime minister of Japan seems to wish he was a teenage girl, and Inari appears to have based her life around business women mangas from the Eighties.
    • An omake reveals the author's assistants are all hardcore fans of one thing or another; the 'Ota-combat level' of one of them is, yes, Over 9000.
  • Playing Against Type: Junichi Suwabe, who has a long list of Large Ham / Smug Snake characters under his belt, plays the quiet, serious, 30-year-old virgin Shu.
  • Please Put Some Clothes On: Tsukimi says this to Kuranosuke when he's hanging around her apartment in his boxers.
  • Primal Scene: Subverted with poor Shuu and Lampshaded by Kuranosuke.

Kuranosuke: Hey, bro, are you still a virgin at 30 because you got traumatized seeing your dad and my mom getting it on in some walk-in-closet-type deal in some backstage-type room at some theater-type place?

    • Turns out to not so subverted as Kuranosuke's lampshading is revealed to be almost prescient in what happened: Walk-in closet? Check. Backstage room? Check. Theater? Check. He was only off in that they were making out, and that by his dad's own admission, "Only made it to second base!"
  • Punny Name: Clara's transliterated spelling (Kurara) is one character off from Kurage (Jellyfish, but you should know that by now).
  • Pygmalion Plot
  • Rape Is Ok When It Is Female On Male: Wonderfully averted, no one was laughing except for the perpetrator (who has instantly won her place as the most hated character in the show).
    • Kuranosuke even lampshades it: "You look like a soap-opera heroine who just got molested."
  • Recursive Crossdressing: What the amars think "Kurako" is doing although they quickly get confused when "she" is outed as a cross-dresser ("But if she's a girl forced to be a man in public why is she dressing like a girl to proclaim she's a man in front of the TV cameras...?").
  • Repeat Cut: Tsukimi is really shocked by a very bold question.
  • Romance-Inducing Smudge: Briefly, a tea leaf.
  • Rule of Symbolism: Lots of mirror-gazing and watching behind glasses and glass windows going on.
    • In episode 1, when Tsukimi is walking home with Kuranosuke, she looks at the beautiful "princess" in admiration. Then Tsukimi sees their reflections side by side in a store window, and sighs at how plain she is by comparison. Later in the same episode, Tsukimi looks in her mirror when she tries on the "princess's" wig, and proceeds to muse on the subject of beauty and princesses.
  • Running Gag: Generally, Kuranosuke saying something shocking and Tsukimi "mishearing" as three other words.
    • Also, the Nuns turning to stone as a defensive mechanism.
    • Kuranosuke accidentally using 'ore' (calling himself 'boy' in the dub) in front of the other Nuns, and Tsukimi trying to distract them from it by singing.
    • Chieko being the only Nun not to get any kind of makeover. Even when the 'makeover' is just throwing shawls and Nice Hats on the others.
  • Saving the Orphanage: Okay, the Nuns aren't really orphans and the Nunnery isn't an orphanage, but it's pretty close.
  • Secret Keeper: Tsukimi has a perfectly good reason for not letting the others know about Kuranosuke's secret: the punishment is death.
    • Kuranosuke's mom calls Shuu to ask him to get Tsukimi's original jellyfish dress after seeing her son on TV. Naturally, Shuu can't tell Kuranosuke.
  • Security Blanket: Jellyfish are this to Tsukimi; when confronted by stylish people (whether they're being aggressive or not) the girls freeze and think happy otaku thoughts.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Tsukimi, after Kuranosuke's extreme makeover.
    • Later the rest of the Nuns, save Chieko, too. Kuranosuke actually has a good reason for not making over Chieko. In a roundabout way, he says she's the only one who doesn't really need his help.
    • I always knew Mayaya just needed to ditch those bangs.
  • Shirtless Scene: Never mind the make-up...
  • Shout-Out: The OP is Shout Out central, with nods to Sex and the City, Star Wars, Singin in The Rain, Mary Poppins, Emperor of the North, God of Gamblers, James Bond, Game of Death (or Kill Bill, your choice), The Graduate (ELAINE!!!!!), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
    • Tsukimi sees herself as Heidi helping Clara in one Imagine Spot.
    • Barbie, used straight as a symbol of unattainable beauty.
    • And somehow, strangely Vic's Vapor Rub.
      • Vapor rubs, particularly Vic's, are pretty popular in Japan.
    • Back to movie references: Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp in the last episode.
    • In episode 9, Inari goes Pegasus when told Shu is a virgin.
    • Kuranosuke manages to trick Chieko and Jiji into thinking he's a girl raised as a boy (even he can't believe it worked) when he refers to Rose of Versailles and starts dressing as Oscar.
    • Kuranosuke wearing a long blonde wing with hair in the shape of a bow.
    • A plane shown at an airport at some point or another had what appeared to be Yoichi on it.
  • Shower of Angst: When Shu returns home after getting date-raped by Inari (or so he thinks), the first thing he does is take a shower.
  • Shrinking Violet: Tsukimi.
  • Sibling Triangle
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Kuranosuke and Shu, obviously.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Inari ends up falling for pure-pure Shu.
  • Slapstick Knows No Gender
      • Although Inari also hits this trope when she gets comically elbowed in the face by Kuranosuke.
  • Spit Take
  • Step Three: Profit: Kuranosuke's initial plan to save the Nunnery, which is basically summarised as follows:
    • Step 1: Makeovers!
    • Step 2: ???
    • Step 3: The Nunnery is saved!
      • Actually, this really makes sense since their low self-esteem makes it extremely hard for the Nuns to stand up for themselves and therefore they are very reluctant to go along with any plans. As to why start with makeovers: Kuranosuke is a big fan of Beautiful All Along.
      • Kuranosuke also makes the point that most people judge based on appearance, so if the Nuns get dressed up, then people will be more likely to take them seriously.
      • This would be compounded by being, well, otaku in Japan: the view is not a positive one. If the Nuns present themselves as being even relatively normal people, they're going to get a lot farther in Japan than if they're a touch too noticeably fujoshi.[1]
    • Nisha later takes great pains to point out that Kuranosuke's very short-sighted idea to start a fashion line by selling couture clothes is not sustainable, especially in this economy:

Nisha: I want to see you guys of the pressure-free generation do things that don't suit you, get in huge debt, be burdened with huge loans, and not know what to do.

    • By the way, this is her being encouraging.
  • Super Window Jump: Parodied. Tsukimi tries this once in the anime, and twice in the manga; Kuranosuke pulls her back inside the first time, the second time she succeeds but it's a very short drop.
    • Mayaya eventually tries this in the manga, too, but is also pulled back.
    • Mr. Koibuchi, of all people, jumps through a window to get into Kuranosuke's room!
  • Taken for Granite: As an extreme form of Blue with Shock. Also a self-defense mechanism for the Nunnery's inhabitants in case of contact with stylish people.
  • Take That: Mayaya is appalled by the Moe Moe version of a Romance of the Three Kingdoms character she finds at the local convenience store. I wonder which loose anime adaptation of that story this could be referring to...
  • Talking to the Dead: Tsukimi addresses her inner monologues to her mother.
  • Tastes Like Friendship: Kuranosuke really wins the girls over with that expensive meat.
  • This Is for Emphasis, Bitch: "Them boobs is fake, bitches!"
  • Too Much Information: When Hanamori is surrounded by the "24 Ophelias" he blurts out that he's so obsessed with cars that his girlfriend left him because he loves cars more than her. Later, he lets it slip that if he's bribed with cars he'll reveal anything to anyone and at the fashion show goes into great detail that Kuranosuke is just a cross-dresser, not transsexual.
  • Top Ten List: Hosted by Clara.
  • Trying Not to Cry
  • Two-Person Love Triangle: Between Shuu and Tsukimi, though it's quickly becoming a humorous Sibling Triangle Love Dodecahedron.
  • Verbal Tic: A few of the characters have odd exclamations, IE Mayaya's "Nuwo!" or Inari's use of outdated sayings.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Kuranosuke goes all super dramatic action mode when he gives Tsukimi her first make-over, complete with superspeed blurring hands, battle-cries, and dramatic hand motions.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Jellyfish are squishy, brainless creatures and some species can be outright dangerous. But they're so pretty...
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Kuranosuke, though he denies it and says he's just "interested in female fashion".
    • That's one of his reasons for cross dressing, the other being ruining his image to avoid being railroaded into a political career by his family.
    • And the third, revealed late in the series, being a desire to connect with his absent mother, who often gave him pretty things and showed off her dresses to him; not to mention a half-subconscious belief that, if he had been born a girl instead of a potential heir, his mother might not have left/been separated from him (the series leaves the exact nature of her departure unexplained).
  • Wingding Eyes
  • Woman Child: Tsukimi and Chieko are the only Nuns who seem capable of acting their age most of the time.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Shuu proved that if you push him too far, he will retaliate. Though, admittedly, the victim completely deserved it. He later apologizes, which throws Inari and ruins her blackmail scheme speech.
  • Write Who You Know: Tsukimi is almost exactly how the author was as a young girl, jellyfish obsession and all, but aged up for extra pathos.
  • X Meets Y: It's Mahoraba meets Welcome to The NHK
  • Xtreme Kool Letterz: "Amars" uses the kanji for nun, pluralized (unlike English, Japanese doesn't have separate plural forms for words) with a hiragana "zu." The English subtitles use "Nunz."
  • Your Makeup Is Running
  1. ↑ Which means 'rotten women,' and should say a lot about how female otaku are perceived.
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