TV-Series
Description
Princess Apricot is the heroine of the anime Bosco Daibōken. She is a water fairy and the princess of the fairy kingdom Fountainland, and she is destined to become its queen as the guardian of the Fountain of Life, the source of the water that sustains all living things in the Bosco world. She was created for the television series and does not appear in the children's picture books that inspired it.
Her homeland fell to the evil Scorpion and his forces, who killed her parents and occupied the kingdom. She herself was kidnapped by the cloaked villain Hoodman and his mercenaries Jack and Franz, who planned to keep her away from home until the next annular eclipse, called the Ring of the Sun. If she does not reach the Fountain of Life and take the throne before that eclipse, the waters of the world will dry up. Before her capture she sends out a call for help through her mechanical pet bird Speak, and the message is picked up by three residents of Bosco Forest: the frog Frog, the turtle Tutty, and the otter Otter. They rescue her and set out with her toward Fountainland aboard the airship Bosco, pursued all the way by Hoodman's forces.
In personality, Apricot is kind, generous, friendly, and gentle, carrying the calm and wholesome manner of a storybook princess. She is humble about her rank and dislikes being addressed as princess, asking her companions to call her Apri instead. She cannot stand to leave people in trouble and often urges the group to stop and help those they meet, even when the detour costs them time on her urgent journey. Aboard the ship she is always willing to share the work and regularly supports Frog with whatever difficulties arise. She is also attentive to the natural beauty around her, taking pleasure in flowers, meadows, and the landscapes they pass.
Her central motivation is to return to Fountainland in time to claim the throne, a duty she accepts both for the sake of her people and because the survival of all living things depends on it. Her compassion is paired with a strong sense of personal responsibility, and she blames herself when others are harmed because of her presence. This leads her to take risks on her own, as when she secretly borrows Tutty's hovercraft to rescue a baby dragon that had fallen into the villains' hands.
Within the story she is the figure around whom the entire voyage is built. Her rescue sets the adventure in motion, and every leg of the journey is shaped by the need to keep her from being recaptured and to deliver her home before the deadline. Along the way she also acts as the moral center of the crew, steering her companions toward kindness even as they face danger.
Her closest companion is Speak, the myna-bird-shaped robot who carries her initial message for help and stays with her throughout the trip. Late in the story Tutty upgrades Speak so that it can form its own thoughts and words instead of merely echoing what it has heard, and in the final moments it is Speak's voice that helps awaken her. Her relationship with Frog deepens steadily over the course of the voyage, beginning when he saves her with a deltaplane in the first episode and gradually gaining a quiet romantic dimension as the two grow close. Tutty and Otter become her loyal friends as well, while in Fountainland the minister Ender serves as her devoted retainer, though his constant lecturing about how the others should treat her often tries the patience of the crew. Her deceased mother appears in her memories and dreams, calling her home.
Throughout the series Apricot develops from a kidnapped princess into a full member of the Bosco crew, gaining courage and confidence while keeping her gentleness. Her sense of duty, her empathy, and her bond with Frog all grow stronger as the eclipse approaches, and the story concludes with her returning to Fountainland to take her place as queen and restore the waters.
As a water fairy, Apricot is tied to the life-giving water of her kingdom, and her rightful enthronement is what will unleash the great water power needed to drive out the occupying forces. She shows a gift for calming troubled creatures, as when she quietly speaks with the mother dragon and peacefully ends the dragon's attack on a village. She also receives vivid dreams that carry meaning, such as visions of her vanished throne and of her mother. Her fairy nature comes with clear limitations, however: she is very sensitive to cold and may freeze in low temperatures, and despite her identity as a water fairy she can even find herself in danger of drowning.
Her homeland fell to the evil Scorpion and his forces, who killed her parents and occupied the kingdom. She herself was kidnapped by the cloaked villain Hoodman and his mercenaries Jack and Franz, who planned to keep her away from home until the next annular eclipse, called the Ring of the Sun. If she does not reach the Fountain of Life and take the throne before that eclipse, the waters of the world will dry up. Before her capture she sends out a call for help through her mechanical pet bird Speak, and the message is picked up by three residents of Bosco Forest: the frog Frog, the turtle Tutty, and the otter Otter. They rescue her and set out with her toward Fountainland aboard the airship Bosco, pursued all the way by Hoodman's forces.
In personality, Apricot is kind, generous, friendly, and gentle, carrying the calm and wholesome manner of a storybook princess. She is humble about her rank and dislikes being addressed as princess, asking her companions to call her Apri instead. She cannot stand to leave people in trouble and often urges the group to stop and help those they meet, even when the detour costs them time on her urgent journey. Aboard the ship she is always willing to share the work and regularly supports Frog with whatever difficulties arise. She is also attentive to the natural beauty around her, taking pleasure in flowers, meadows, and the landscapes they pass.
Her central motivation is to return to Fountainland in time to claim the throne, a duty she accepts both for the sake of her people and because the survival of all living things depends on it. Her compassion is paired with a strong sense of personal responsibility, and she blames herself when others are harmed because of her presence. This leads her to take risks on her own, as when she secretly borrows Tutty's hovercraft to rescue a baby dragon that had fallen into the villains' hands.
Within the story she is the figure around whom the entire voyage is built. Her rescue sets the adventure in motion, and every leg of the journey is shaped by the need to keep her from being recaptured and to deliver her home before the deadline. Along the way she also acts as the moral center of the crew, steering her companions toward kindness even as they face danger.
Her closest companion is Speak, the myna-bird-shaped robot who carries her initial message for help and stays with her throughout the trip. Late in the story Tutty upgrades Speak so that it can form its own thoughts and words instead of merely echoing what it has heard, and in the final moments it is Speak's voice that helps awaken her. Her relationship with Frog deepens steadily over the course of the voyage, beginning when he saves her with a deltaplane in the first episode and gradually gaining a quiet romantic dimension as the two grow close. Tutty and Otter become her loyal friends as well, while in Fountainland the minister Ender serves as her devoted retainer, though his constant lecturing about how the others should treat her often tries the patience of the crew. Her deceased mother appears in her memories and dreams, calling her home.
Throughout the series Apricot develops from a kidnapped princess into a full member of the Bosco crew, gaining courage and confidence while keeping her gentleness. Her sense of duty, her empathy, and her bond with Frog all grow stronger as the eclipse approaches, and the story concludes with her returning to Fountainland to take her place as queen and restore the waters.
As a water fairy, Apricot is tied to the life-giving water of her kingdom, and her rightful enthronement is what will unleash the great water power needed to drive out the occupying forces. She shows a gift for calming troubled creatures, as when she quietly speaks with the mother dragon and peacefully ends the dragon's attack on a village. She also receives vivid dreams that carry meaning, such as visions of her vanished throne and of her mother. Her fairy nature comes with clear limitations, however: she is very sensitive to cold and may freeze in low temperatures, and despite her identity as a water fairy she can even find herself in danger of drowning.