Rapid Review: ‘Princess Ai’

Did you know that American singer and musician Courtney Love once co-wrote a manga series titled Princess Ai? I didn’t until I scrolled through a number of manga titles in an online thrift store.

Princess Ai is a short manga series written by Courtney Love and “D.J. Milky” (Stuart Levy), and illustrated by Misaho Kujiradou and Ai Yazawa. The story follows an alien amnesiac named Ai, who wakes up next to dumpster in the streets of Tokyo, Japan. Ai pursues a musical career and in her newfound fame, her memories slowly slip back—however, her new life is not easy; the threats that she left in her home world have somehow found her on Earth.

There are a number of reasons why I liked and disliked Princess Ai. The story is a simple one with self-insert characters and musical references that fans of Nirvana and Courtney Love might appreciate. However, the self-insert characterization was something that was difficult for me to overlook. Ai is imperfect, which is what makes her alluring to the main love interest Kent, who bears a striking resemblance to Kurt Cobain. There are brief moments in the manga that make the fictional characters’ interactions bitter sweet.  And perhaps that is also what made this story hard for me to get through.

About the Manga

Princess Ai (2004-2005)

Author(s): Courtney Love and D.J. Milky (Stuart Levy)
Illustrations: Misaho Kujiradou and Ai Yazawa
Demographic: Shōjo 
Genre(s): Action, Romance
Theme(s): Femininity, Life, Motherhood, Memories, Music
Volumes: 3
Status: Completed

Trigger(s): suicide attempt

Review

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I give this manga 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐⭐⭐

New readers who want something quick to read may appreciate the duration of the series. With just 16 chapters, Princess Ai is something that can be read and finished in just a couple of hours. The manga also includes musical references, though these are too on the nose.

Although I praise the manga for its short length and easy-to-read narration and dialogue, I cannot help but feel disappointed by the fast paced storytelling. There are also some instances when things happen out of the blue, for instance, the suicide attempt in Volume 2, Chapter 9, or the random “romantic” encounters between Ai and Kent. I should also mention that the background characters seem to have no other role except to hate or praise the characters. Princess Ai also follows familiar cliches that include characters falling on their love interests, the love interest being immediately protective of the main character, and so on.

I love Misaho Kujiradou and Ai Yazawa’s art styles because of their whimsical and elegant line work; however, the direction of the manga panels make the story choppy. There are times when scenes change without warning; one minute the characters are in a room, and the next minute they are somewhere else. Context clues, like backgrounds, are appreciated, but the switches between some scenes make the story progress awkwardly. This makes me believe that there was a lack of communication between the writers and the illustrators.

Because Ai reads like Courtney Love’s self-insert character, there are comments that the titular character makes that are easy to trace back to Love. For instance, themes like life and motherhood are prominent in the first chapter. Courtney Love is a mother herself, so these comments seem like idealistic presentations of motherhood. The fact that sweet comments about these things are made in front of Ai’s love interest, Kent, suggests that having strong maternal instincts is what Kent admires about Ai… which makes this detail about Ai completely random given the short time that she and Kent have known each other.

From Vol. 1, Ch. 1

This kind of ideation is not new in shōjo. Many female lead characters tend to be a display of one’s depiction of femininity. Given Love’s reputation as an abrasive rockstar, this display of gentility, calmness, and overall hyper femininity was surprising.  However, the writers do not make Ai dainty and passive; she is headstrong. Ai is also “not like the other girls,” another cliché that often finds its way in many shōjo series. The titular character is beautiful and desirable to men. She is also the source of other female characters’ envy or admiration.

Ai’s character design is cute and impressive, though her boldness clashes with her angelic appearance. Because she is Love’s self-insert character, the angel gimmick is hard to ignore. Ai does not come off as an original character, which, sadly, makes the series seem more like an advertisement for Love’s music. And if the intention was to advertise Love’s musical persona, then it would explain why the story often reads like a fanfiction of Love and her late husband Kurt Cobain.

I do give the writers credit for attempting to depict the darker parts of the music industry, such as the over sexualization of artists and the pressures of social expectations. However, things move on very quickly for the titular character, which makes these issues seem like simple plot ploys with little to no attention. Because this is explored very lightly, it made me wish that the manga was not about an alien girl who happens to be an incredible singer. Somehow an autobiography adapted into a manga series about Courtney Love sounds more interesting. The original premise of a hunted alien girl would have worked as its own story without the self-inserted characterizations.

What influenced my rating was the choppy storytelling and near-perfect depiction of Love’s character. Now, would I recommend this manga to anyone? No. At least not really… The artists did an amazing job with the characters; however, the characters themselves were nothing special despite the real people they were based on. The manga series seems like less of a personal passion project and more of a cheap money-grab. So, reader, if you are willing to read this series, go for it!

Princess Ai is continued by a second short series titled, Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn. The second series consists of two volumes. It follows the same concept as the original, though its story is written by Christine Boylan and D.J. Milky. Despite the story’s continuation, I do not think that I will read The Prism of Midnight Dawn any time soon…