PRINCESS Ai ULTIMATE EDITION
TOKYOPOP
CREATORS: Courtney Love & D.J. Milky
WRITERS: Misaho Kujiradou and D.J. Milky
ARTIST: Misaho Kujiradou
592 pp., B&W with some color, $19.99
TOKYOPOP announced Princess Ai in 2004 with some fanfare, much of it built around the fact that musician, Courtney Love, was a co-creator. The actual driving forces behind Princess Ai were artist/co-writer Misaho Kujiradou and co-creator/co-writer D.J. Milky (Juror 13), with character designs by Ai Yazawa. The story, about a princess who is both a persecuted savior and a reluctant diva, was published in three tankoubon (graphic novels): Princess Ai Vol. 1 Destitution (2004), Princess Ai Vol. 2 Lumination (2005), and Princess Ai Vol. 3 Evolution (2006). Now, all three volumes are collected in the handy Princess Ai Ultimate Edition.
The title character is Princess Ai, a beguiling young woman who sings with a mesmerizing voice, and the story of her misadventures begins when she finds herself lost and alone in the cold streets of the Shinjuku section of Tokyo. She has no memories of her past, and her clothes are as tattered as her memory, though she knows her name is Ai. She’s actually a half-breed from another dimension, Ai-Land, where humans rule over their servants, the Dougen (angels). Currently the humans and the Angels are at war, and Angel assassins, the Three Furies, have followed Princess Ai from Ai-Land and are ready to kill her because of the war.
Kent, a handsome young man who is a librarian at Shinjuku University, finds Ai and becomes her self-appointed guardian. Ai’s musical talent gets her the notice of a shadowy record company, H.T.A., and its nefarious president, Hayabusa. Hayabusa is a member of the Yakuza (Japanese mob), and he plots Ai’s murder because he thinks that, in the tradition of Elvis Presley, Tupac Shakur, and other deceased recording artists, Ai would be less trouble and worth more money if she were to die at the height of her popularity. Meanwhile, Kent stays by her side trying to both protect her and learn who she is.
THE LOWDOWN: Although the creators and writers of Princess Ai fashioned an overly large cast of characters and crafted a narrative heavy in back story, the main story is quite engaging. (There is enough material and ideas to easily fill at least twice as many volumes as have been published.) The art by Misaho Kujiradou is so beautiful that it makes any squabbles about story content secondary.
Another reason to get Princess Ai Ultimate Edition is the bonus section. It includes bonus manga, two color galleries, and a section of lyrics to songs D.J. Milky wrote for the series, as well as the lyrics to a Courtney Love song, “Hold on to Me.” Some readers will enjoy several pages of photos from the 2005 Princess Ai Cosplay Contest at the San Diego Comic-Con.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Princess Ai should please readers who like romance, music, and cool clothes, and they’ll probably like it even more in this handy giant edition. The clothes and gear depicted here already make Princess Ai a favorite of manga fans into cosplay (dressing up like an anime or manga character).
B+
