TW // This review mentions sexual assault. It also contains spoilers. There is a lot to like about Princess Jellyfish a staple of the josei genre. The premise character development and art style are all very unique for an anime with such a short run. The OP and ED slap LOVE IS COMING BAAAAAACK. But most importantly Princess Jellyfish addresses a number of topics that have been deemed taboo for anime. The characters deal with their problems and newfound discoveries in awkward ways but I believe this awkwardness is part of its merit. If I had to use one word to describe this series it would be human. Princess Jellyfish follows Kurashita Tsukimi an 18yearold girl who has moved to Tokyo to become an illustrator. Ever since she was little she has had a special interest in jellyfish and connects them to her fond memories of her deceased mother. Tsukimi lives in a boarding house with four other otaku girls whose interests range from traditional Japanese fashion and dolls to attractive old men no joke. Due to their experiences as outsiders in society the women rely on each other and vow to keep men out of their domicile. One night Tsukimi has a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman who helps her adopt a pet jellyfish. However the next day she finds out that this woman is not a woman at all but a crossdressing young man named Kuranosuke. How can she keep up this friendship without the other otaku girls finding out she has let a man in? And will this friendship possibly develop into something more? These are the questions explored by the series. I am an anime viewer who thrives on good character development. And despite only having 11 episodes Princess Jellyfish does a fantastic job. I related heavily to Tsukimi and her experiences as a social outcast with hopes of being more outgoing. As her relationship with Kuranosuke develops she has an internal dialogue with her deceased mother saying Mom why do you think he goes to so much trouble for us?...For some reason a moment ago my heart felt so heavy and painful and now its suddenly lighterSomehow Im starting to feel so lighthearted. As Tsukimi and Kuranosuke become closer and open up to each other we see them both start to heal from what they fear most in the world. Their story is a triumph for everyone who feels like they will never find their person or their place in the world. The other major aspect I loved about this anime was its way of addressing taboo subjects. For example Kuranosuke is a crossdresser who identifies as male. He crossdresses because he loves fashion and feeling pretty. While some of the terms used may be outdated the treatment of the issue of gender expression is very honest and pleasing to me as a trans viewer. Other issues explored in the story include age gaps and sexual assault. Shu Kuranosukes older brother is a 30yearold man who works in the local government. He has sexual trauma that arose out of him seeing his father cheating on his mother when he was a child. When he meets Tsukimi through Kuranosuke he feels a connection to her and wants to comfort her when the world gets her down. Shu never does anything inappropriate with Tsukimi but the series does deal delicately with how he traverses a relationship with a person he feels strongly towards in a nonromantic and nonsexual way. Additionally a woman in the series who is working to push a remodeling project in the city blackmails Shu to make him do what she wants. She drugs him and takes him home taking a picture to make it look like they had sex even though they did not. When Shu realizes what has happened he is dazed and shocked. As he arrives home Kuranosuke says unknowingly You look like a soap opera heroine who just got molested. As Kuranosuke races off Shu quietly says to himself So thats itI guess I was molested. This moment broke my heart. This is another example of how the series deals with a difficult topic in a very honest and sincere way. I think this shows main flaw is its length. The manga has 93 chapters while the anime has only 11 episodes. This leaves a lot of the main conflicts unresolved. Tsukimi and Kuranosukes will they wont they relationship is left on a cliffhanger. However the loose ends not being tied up is a good way to advertise the manga since these characters are so addictive. Overall Princess Jellyfish is just like its main character: imperfect but incredibly engaging and heartwarming. Love really IS coming back REVIEWERS NOTE: I am not fluent in Japanese so I cannot attest to how current or appropriate the terms used for crossdressers are in the original audio. However the captions I read had some words such as transvestite which may be outdated to some.