One of the best and most popular anime on Crunchyroll for fall 2025 is not from Japan, and I like it way more than I thought I would

A South Korean web novel, Chinese animation studio, and both Chinese and Japanese voice casts come together in The Fated Magical Princess: Who Made Me a Princess, one of the best and best-looking new anime – rather, donghua – of fall 2025 on Crunchyroll.

The 2017 and 2018 Who Made Me A Princess web novels went on to inspire a web comic adaptation that ended in 2022, going on to rack up millions of views on reader apps like Tapas through 2023. The manhwa has been licensed and released in English under publisher Seven Seas Entertainment; the most recent volume, volume nine, was released in March 2025.

The new animated adaptation picks up at the start of the story for heroine Athanasia, a young princess in a romantic depiction of a magic empire, fighting for survival in her own way under the weight of a prophesied doom and an uncaring emperor father.

Without wishing to spoil, the early episodes of the Who Made Me A Princess donghua take a more subtle approach to the isekai theming that more overtly defined the source material. Our protagonist awakens as an infant with advanced intelligence as well as knowledge of the future presented as a storybook, and she works to avoid the fate revealed to her: desperation and incarceration which followed the futile pursuit of her cold father's affection.

The Fated Magical Princess: Who Made Me a Princess | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll - YouTube

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Who Made Me A Princess helped codify many of the tropes of this bookish branch of isekai stories – icy dads, dead moms, royal drama, magical underdogs, and cursed futures – but it presented them well, and now its animated version has presented them extremely well. This is shockingly high-budget stuff – on track to rival Solo Leveling for anime adaptations of Korean hits.

With adept hands, studio Colored Pencil Animation makes incredible use of 3D art that blends seamlessly with 2D characters and environments dripping with detail. It's been a while since anime backgrounds have physically made me pause my stream just to drink it all in. Who Made Me A Princess is overflowing with color and personality, and both its JP and CN dubs are exquisite so far. (We get so few high-profile donghua that I recommend the CN version if only for variety.)

Athanasia is the star, stealing hearts and plotting schemes while toddling around her isolated palace. Despite its tragic backdrop, this is, in part, what I'd call a financial power fantasy – a cute, feel-good story about someone trying to make the most of the silver spoon served to her. We're introduced to Athanasia's eventual adolescent self from the off, but the early parts of the story are about her young childhood. This setup is a lot more common in web novels and comics, but we're steadily seeing it bleed into anime.

As an introduction to Korean comics and Chinese animation, Who Made Me A Princess is a delight a few episodes in. I've followed the story for a while, and I think Colored Pencil's vision and pacing might be my favorite.

Looking at Crunchyroll's simulcast fall 2025 anime lineup, this is currently one of the top three highest- and most-reviewed series with 4.9 stars after 7,200 reviews, so it looks like it's found an audience. Check out our list of new anime in 2025 for more recommendations and hidden gems.

My first must-watch anime for fall 2025 is also the highest-rated new season on Crunchyroll so far: one girl pummeling dudes into mush, and with better animation than I ever expected.