Puppet Princess (2000): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2000, Puppet Princess is an action, drama and animation film directed by Hirotoshi Takaya, running about 40 minutes. “When the Princess makes her puppets dance, bodies will fly like broken toys.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Set in 16th century Japan, a time of great civil upheaval and copious bloodshed by rival warlords, PUPPET PRINCESS follows Yasaburo, a wandering ninja who is the only survivor of his clan. He meets up with a strange princess named Rangiku, whose family was slaughtered by the brutal General Karimata, who possess the mysterious fighting puppets for which Karimata killed her family. Joining forces, Yasaburo and Rangiku use their collective skills to exact revenge on those responsible for the deaths of their families. AKA - Karakuri no Kimi , La Princesse Marionnettiste , The Clockwork Ones

Who’s in it. Puppet Princess stars Akiko Yajima as Rangiku Fumiwatari, Norio Wakamoto as Yasaburo Manajiri, Kôji Nakata as Sadayoshi Karimata and Minoru Inaba as Subaltern Ninja, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, Puppet Princess sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Night Flight Plus and Retrocrush and rent or buy it from Fandango At Home. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Puppet Princess page.

If you liked it. Fans of Puppet Princess tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.