Princess Tutu

Duck awakes from a dream in which she is a duckling, watching a handsome prince dance ballet. Later, she walks early into class and discovers Mytho, an advanced class student, dancing alone. When she trips, he dives to catch her, twisting his ankle in the process. Duck wants to apologize to him but is prevented from doing so by Mytho's controlling roommate, Fakir. The next morning, Duck resolves to apologize to Mytho, and spies canary chicks beginning to fly. One of the hatchlings hesitates and is forced to jump when a crow tries to attack it. Mytho leaps to catch it and falls as well. To save him, Duck transforms into Princess Tutu. Mytho asks who she is. Tutu/Duck remembers that she is a duck, and runs away.

The next day, Duck wakes up to realize that she is just a duck. Drosselmeyer appears to tell her that she is also the legendary Princess Tutu; her task is to return the pieces of heart to the Prince, Mytho. Longing to one day see Mytho smile, she decides to take up the challenge. Drosselmeyer gives back the pendant that changes her into a girl, as well as Princess Tutu.\n\nAn Anteater-girl, who is bitter and jealous of Rue for her superior dancing skills, sets her eyes on Mytho. She and Mytho have a dance-off with Rue. Rue chooses Duck as her partner and they win. Duck discovers that the anteater is being influenced by a shard of Mytho's heart—the feeling of bitterness. She transforms into Princess Tutu and convinces the heart shard to return to him. Mytho regains a feeling, which worries Fakir.

Duck learns about the book The Prince and the Raven. She discovers that its author is Drosselmeyer, and that he died a long time ago. She bumps into Mytho, who is retrieving water for Rue, while he and Rue were on a picnic. Duck uses up the water to clean a cut Mytho got, and while on a search for more water, the two stumble upon a restaurant. Inside, a woman, Ebine, serves them cold food and Duck discovers that she has another piece of Mytho’s heart: the feeling of loneliness. She retrieves it and afterwards Rue (and Fakir, who had been looking for him) discuss Princess Tutu, and her fate. The audience learns that if Princess Tutu confesses her love to the Prince, she will turn into a speck of light.

Mytho follows a mysterious voice and disappears. Duck and Rue go looking for him. They run into Edel, who tells them a story of a maiden who died and directs them in the right direction, which enables them to find Mytho. He finds the Wili Maiden, the ghost who’s been calling to him, and is offered the rosemary, which will allow the ghost to take him with her to the land of the dead. Rue tries to save him by dancing with the ghost, but fails since the ghost can dance for much longer than Rue. When Rue falls, Duck hides and transforms into Princess Tutu. Tutu dances with the ghost (revealing herself to Rue), and is able to keep going. She gains the feeling of sadness from the ghost and gives it to Mytho. Drosselmeyer notes that the feelings returned to the Prince, thus far, are unhappy ones, and questions Tutu, “Is this how you will restore happiness to the Prince?”

Duck learns about the Fire Festival. Duck, punished again, is charged with cleaning the room of the advanced class. She arrives at the classroom and finds Mytho, dressed in Festival garb, awaiting Rue to practice dancing together. Since she is absent, he decides to dance with Duck instead, to her joy. As punishment for not listening to him, Fakir locks Mytho up in a closet. He follows a light under the floor, and Duck follows him into the catacombs. She goes in search of Mytho, and a voice begins telling her riddles. She gets them all wrong, but finds the room Mytho is in, regardless, and gets locked in the room. She transforms into Princess Tutu and finally gets the answer to the riddles, revealing the voice is a lamp with a piece of heart.

A traveling ballet troupe comes into town and Duck's whole class gets time off to go and see the troupe practice. Duck sees that a heart shard has taken possession of the lead in the upcoming Sleeping Beauty show, but it leaves when the void in her heart is filled when the lead's husband encourages and supports her. Duck chases after the shard and asks it to return to Mytho, but it instead attacks her with a sword. Despite its obvious reluctance, Duck catches it and returns it to Mytho. The shard turns out to be the feeling of fear and uncertainty, and once it is returned Mytho becomes afraid of Princess Tutu. Duck is shocked and dismayed that her attempt to help Mytho has ended with him in pain.