Princess Ai

    (Tokyopop, 2005)
™ and © 2005 Tokyopop & Kitty Inc.
Reads right to left; b&w

An angelic-looking alien named Ai falls to Earth, her only possession a strange heart-shaped box. She hits the mean streets of Tokyo (and they hit back), meets Kent (whom she loves in spite of herself), and learns she can sing. She soon finds herself being stalked by two powerful evil forces: winged creatures from her home dimension and music industry executives.

The first volume of Princess Ai at least had the benefit of being an original oddity, being the first high-fantasy manga that was a thinly disguised biography of a singer and actress. But what little promise there was in the magical-girl-gone-wild premise is squandered, as we watch Ai wriggle her way to the middle of the music business, whining all the way.

She contemptuously rejects all attempts to turn her into some kind of diva by pitching prima donna-level tantrums, when her “artistic vision” isn’t listened to. Moreover, there’s the sincere conviction that the drippy lyrics she sings here (so very different from Love’s own emotionally raw songs) have the power to generate peace and love.

— S. A. Bennett
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#1

July, 2004
Cover Price: $9.99
1 copy available for $14.99 		Misaho Kujiradou, D.J. Milky, Courtney LoveMisaho Kujiradou