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With her enormous eyes, Barbie-doll figure, skimpy costumes, and masses of auburn hair, Tiara is almost a caricature of the clichéd anime heroine. The theft of the mysterious and powerful Throne of Yord sends her from the magical Guardian World to Earth to recover it, accompanied by her weasel-like partner, Japolo. Tiara sometimes battles her old friend Lena and sometimes allies with her; both women seem more interested in their friend Sara and in winning Kagetsu's affection than in the fate of entire worlds. Director Mitsuru Hongo, who also wrote the original story, shows more of a flair for choreographing midair battles than presenting a coherent story. Numerous dreams and flashbacks interrupt the flow of the narrative, and much of the plot doesn't begin to make sense until the final episodes. Even fans of the series concede that Tiara's adventures are easier to follow if the viewer begins with episodes 9 to 12, then goes back to "The Throne of Yord." Shamanic Princess embodies the visual style of the Clamp studio at its most flamboyant, with lots of full moons, figures reflected in vast eyes, blizzards of flower petals, and so much hair blowing in sinuous curves, the screen resembles an Alphonse Mucha poster gone berserk. Rated 13 and up for nudity and violence. --Charles Solomon
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