By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

As of Episode 5, I feel like Who Made Me a Princess has been making enough distinguishable differences that it’s truly becoming its own series. And honestly? It’s better than I initially thought or gave it credit for in my initial review.

The first three episodes left me underwhelmed, especially as a longtime fan of the webtoon. However, with the way things have continued to develop between episodes 3, 4, and 5, the anime seems to have found a rhythm and tone that feel intentional rather than imitative. The worldbuilding leans much heavier into magic than the webtoon did, but this choice actually gives the story a kind of cohesiveness that I felt it was lacking in the earlier episodes.

It also helps carve out an identity separate from the source material rather than feeling like a diluted version of it as we see Claude (Athanasia’s father) using more magic and Athy developing a sort of complex over it as people openly discuss her lack of magic as an issue.

What has surprised me most in this change, however, is how the show portrays Claude overall. In the webtoon, a lot of his early characterization hinges on cold distance and misunderstanding. The anime, however, offers a noticeably softer lens. His affection for her isn’t hidden so much as shown through action and tone. The switching out of important set pieces, like who is featured in the covered painting of Claude’s room, also changes the emotional weight of their reconnecting relationship.

Visually, I still have mixed feelings about the animation style (those jewel-like eyes remain more “blue” than “gemstone” to me particularly in the first one-third of Episode 5), but I’ve grown more accustomed to it. The magical effects and environmental design have improved noticeably since the premiere, and there’s a clearer sense of warmth and tone in how scenes are staged—especially in father-daughter moments.

At this point, I’m beginning to think of the anime less as an adaptation and more as a reinterpretation. It’s taking the same premise but shifting its emotional and aesthetic core to create something that is a bit more condensed and, pacing-wise, focused so that we can move on quickly. It feels like the story may try to end in a single season at this rate, and I don’t know that I would have any issue with that now that I’m beginning to see the changes adding up towards a newer, unique vision of the story.

I still miss the humor and tension of the webtoon, but I can appreciate what the show is doing on its own terms now. (That change, for example, of how Athanasia runs Lucas instead of the other way around, and the spitting-blood scene thereafter is really a big change to me as well, which is making the series stand out a lot more.)

While my first impression was lukewarm, I’m now genuinely curious to see where it goes next. If it keeps developing in the positive ways that it has been, Who Made Me a Princess might just manage to stand confidently as its own kind of fairy tale in this season’s lineup, and I’d be excited to see that happen.

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Developmental edits by: Krow Smith | @coffeewithkrow

Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee