Hero

All you who love stories, gather round...

Song: "Hero" by Skillet
Lyrics: azlyrics
Theme: Autor/Duck, Fakir/Rue
Spoilers: No

Review: This is a very interesting video, mostly for me because I'd never heard of the Autor & Duck pairing before finding this video. Now I will have to say that, even with the video, it's not really something I can see very easily. Nor is Fakir & Rue for me, but it's at least more plausible. Although that's mostly because of a personal headcannon of mine that they're actually related... But that doesn't talk for the quality of the video.
I love this song. And it's actually rather good for the series, too. For the topic of pairings, I think it fits with Fakir & Rue fairly well - both of them are desperately trying to be their own heroes, superhumans (and sometimes partially succeeding), but never are quite enough. The need another person, they need help. I really love the overlays with Fakir and the knight symbolism, how he tries to be that but he's not. The parts with the oak tree are aptly placed, too. And then Rue, who just tries everything within her power... and it's still not enough.
With Autor and Duck, I can see the saving on Duck's side a little bit, but it's not as nicely fitted. There is a bit of a nice piece near the middle where it seems Fakir's about to get onto Autor regarding Duck, but then she (or Autor?) convinces him otherwise... It took me a few times to catch it, though.
I also kind-of like the ending. I have to say kind-of, because it also confuses me. I don't really know what's happening, or being conveyed. But it's put together well enough that I still like it.
That brings me to the overall video compilation. Tis very well put together! Despite my hesitancy regarding the theme, I still enjoy this video. The timing is great, and the effects are generally used very well. There does seem to be an abundance of effects, though, like the creator was almost having too much fun with them, but it still works pretty well overall.
I enjoy this video. It puts forth some different pairings pretty well, and it makes the clips work for the song/vise versa.
Sorry, but I'm running short on time so that' all I can say!

Overall Rating: 6/10

Still Doll

All you who love stories, gather round...

Song: "Still Doll" (Vampire Knight ending theme) by Wakeshima Kanon & Mana
Lyrics: animelyrics  (also in Youtube description)
Theme: Kraehe/Rue and Duck and their love of Mytho (mainly how it causes problems)
Spoilers: No

Review: This is a really pretty video, and the song has just enough elegance and off-kilter-ness/creepiness to fit both Rue's and Duck's situations.
I love the opening with the fairytale pieces, monocromicity with the pointed cello and violin accents... Really fits well. And then the chimes come in with the girls~ Fantastic alignment!
I really like that the creator interspersed both girls throughout, but there were times when I thought maybe there could have been more focus on just one of them, like for an entire verse or something. It would have felt more composed/coherent, I believe. Still flows nice as is, though.
The lyrics go rather nicely, "my heart is torn and bleeding/ I mend it but/ the memories pierce the openings." But while this fits both girls, Rue and her memories of Kraehe (or Tutu), Tutu/Duck and her memories of the curse and her being a duck, the lack of focus on a single point kind-of detracts from the awesomeness.
I will say that I really like the violin going all crazy when Rue's accepting herself as Kraehe. Also, as it gets into the last verse, the song talks about how "I can't sing songs of love anymore," which coincides with Kraehe crying and Tutu falling. Then the poignant "Still you do not answer..." while they both cry out. The ending with Rue doing her Macabre Dance is beautiful, as well.
I feel I have to say that this piece as a whole lacks coherency, though. Even if you're not watching it for the lyrics, or don't care how those match, it seems to not quite hold together. It's beautiful, and very nice to watch, but I feel like it could've been more.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Speck of Hope

All you who love stories, gather round...

Song: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield
Lyrics: azlyrics
Theme: Duck tribute
Spoilers: Yes

Review: This is a nice video, and the song chosen is really a great song for Duck.
There are some parts that are paired up with the lyrics quite nicely. One such place is when Duck is dancing Sleeping Beauty: "Sometimes my tries, are outside the lines." Immediately follows her dance with Rue, talking about not making mistakes, which Rue is quite adamant about for herself. (interestingly enough, she tells Duck not to worry about making mistakes in context...) But Duck is not like that, as the next clip exemplifies as she falls out of her bed (again). There are also some really nice flowing sequences when the chorus comes up. I like the use of Mytho with the lines "Reaching for something in the distance," as Duck reaches for the ideal of the Prince.
That said, I feel like the clips could have been used more effectively overall. For example, I really would have liked to see some incorporation of Princess Tutu dancing with the different heart shards/individuals needing help. I feel like that would have been a nice way to show Duck sharing the advice the song is giving her/using to describe her. Also, sometimes I felt like some clips were allowed to continue on for a while simply because they happened to be going already. Not 'exactly' filler, but close enough.
This video did not use very many 'effects.' That isn't necessarily a bad thing, and with the flow of the clips it still went rather smoothly. But I feel like there were more opportunities to make statements that weren't taken advantage of. Perhaps with more variety/better use of clips, as mentioned earlier, it would have been better with the few effects used.
I still rather like this video, and it has a nice connection with Duck. So while it's not amazingtastical, it's a nice thing to watch.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Erutan Sally's Song

All you who love stories, gather round...

Song: "Sally's Song" by Danny Elfman; sung/arranged by Erutan (katethegreat19) (originally from the movie 'The Nightmare Before Christmas')
Lyrics: stlyrics
Theme: Duck/Tutu and Mytho (mostly Tutu)
Spoilers: No

Discovery: I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Princess Tutu. It was only a matter of time before I found a version of this I liked a lot.

Review: Sally's Song is the perfect one-sided ballad for a character like Princess Tutu/Duck, in terms of forlorn fatalism as well as a moderate waltz-like tempo. However, the while I love the original song, it doesn't quite fit with the atmosphere of Princess Tutu. But this version completely changes that. Erutan's arrangement with ethereal chimes and haunting echos just fits perfectly with this anime. It's beautiful to see them paired so well together!
The editing is great, though. The work with the clips chosen is wonderful. There's not a lot of flashiness or unneeded breaks/blinks. The simplicity of  the song and the clips themselves are left to do the communicating, with effects simply acting as enunciations.
The choices of clips varies in quality. Sometimes, it's really nice to see the lyrics and clips match up. Other times, they just don't mesh all that well. Now if the singing wasn't as obvious or central to the overall tune and tone, I think not aligning them would work better. Or even if the feeling of randomness simply happened less frequently with the current version, I would like it better. As it is, though, the video varied just a bit too much to connect as much with the song as I thought it was capable of. So while very pretty and nice, it didn't resonate with any deep chords.
I do like that the video focused on the first 'season' though (up til episode 13). Especially with the very last bit. That could have gone so many ways, but the clip chosen was very fitting for the atmosphere already established.

Overall Rating: 6/10