Honestly, after watching all but the latest episode, because I'm currently trying to live without Crunchyroll Premium, I still don't know.
"Fena: Pirate Princess" is an Adult Swim/Crunchyroll "anime" with clear American influence. At times the anime reminds me a lot of classic Disney films. But it also has clear anime influence in the drawing style as well. It's the story of a princess who was thrown to the waves when her father's boat was attacked. She then washes ashore on an island, and is brought up to be sold in a brothel.
It's honestly pretty confusing. I'm not 100% sure of what happened in the attack. There was fire. There was running. A young boy who Fena clearly admires saved her, and promises to do anything to come after her. Then the next thing we see is Fena planning crazy escapes to try to get out of having sex with someone who paid for her...I believe virginity. Likely they tried to make it a little bit vague.
Warning: Spoilers incoming!
By some miracle some hapless men who worked for her father overhear about her situation and come to rescue her. Then out of nowhere come NINJAS! Ninjas running on rooftops!
Honestly, it was pretty bad. The two hapless fools come crashing through a window and manage to run off with the princess, but are then going in the wrong direction. Then one tries to fight off the guards, but then the ninjas take them out. It's the kind of slapstick fighting that we see in many American cartoons, and it's bad. It's really bad. At it happens at the same time as outrageous over the top ninja fighting.
Then Princess Fena gets rescued by her long lost love, and she can't stop talking, so he knocks her out. REALLY?! REALLY?!?!
Then they all get in a boat and an island appears out of the mist, full of ninjas.
Starting to see a pattern here?
It's bad. It's really bad. But so far it's not really bad in a good way. It's just bad, with maybe a little bit of interesting bits.
Then she gets a hunk of what looks like glass, and is told her father died for it's secrets.
Honestly, I can't really remember all that good about the show. It has pirates and ninjas, and still manages to be really bad, because of a horrible slapstick Americanized cartoon style. Part of me is really hoping it turns around, because it's only in the very beginning, but I have little hope. Unlike American TV shows, where the first season can be the worst and it can recover and be amazing, often anime only gets one season. Fena: Pirate Princess already wasted multiple episodes of that.
You would think that a tragic loss of her father, and a heroic escape from fire and a sinking boat would be exciting. It wasn't, because it was in the very beginning before you established any attachment to the characters. You didn't know who the boy was. That was your introduction to him. Then you watch as the girl is being trafficked, and is going through scenes in a comedic manner. It was all very weird. They treated it like she was a kid that didn't want to grow up, rather than someone that was having her chastity sold.
I think I would have to watch it again to know how deeply troubling it was, but I really don't want to. When I first saw it, it was kind of odd and disturbing but it really didn't fully register. Either someone didn't realize how messed up what they were showing was, or they tried to make it lighthearted so kids could watch it, and just made it even more disturbing.
It's not like you don't expect there to be a lot of horrible things with pirates, including human trafficking. But to treat it like it's just some kid that doesn't wanna get a job or something...
The more I think about it, the more I realize this show has already started with a poisoned well, and has pretty much no chance of recovering.
More time for other anime I guess.