As TOKYOPOP's first Japanese-American co-publishing venture, Princess Ai is an interesting story with an equally interesting story behind it. Though started in the United States, Princess Ai was brought to fruition in Japan. Despite the difficulties that come with working in different languages, different cultures, and different time zones, this book still became a hit in both countries.

~Rob Tokar, Editor

Ai is an alien who found herself on the streets of Tokyo with her clothes and her memory in tatters. Thanks to the kindness of a handsome, young college librarian named Kent, Ai started to piece together her past while she found work as a singer to earn some money. When a strange, dragon-winged female assassin from Ai's homeland tried to kill her, Ai agreed to a recording contract with H.T.A. in the hope that the powerful corporation might protect her from her enemies while enabling her to unlock her memories.

Courtney Love
While Courtney Love is best known as the controversial front-woman for the alternative rock band Hole, as an accomplished actress and for her marriage to Kurt Cobain, it is a little-known fact that before her meteoric rise to fame she lived and performed in Japan and became a huge manga fan. Her interest in Japanese comics led her to TOKYOPOP, where she collaborated with D.J. Milky to create her fantasy alter ego, Princess Ai.

D.J. Milky
He likes to eat ramen late at night and bananas for breakfast. Addicted to digital and analog fusion, Milky is in a constant state of flux and irk. Life's one reward comes in the form of making stories, music, and lately shooting DV. Milky has composed a few songs for TOKYOPOP including School's in Session (GTO), Initialize (Initial D), and Worthy of Your Soul (Reign), as well as writing Karma Club and two upcoming Stray Sheep books. Milky is currently in development on two manga projects as well as staring intently into the vortex.

Misaho Kujiradou
Favorite Foods: Natto (fermented soybeans), crab, miso ramen.
Least Favorite Foods: Red beans, cherry lobster, cold noodles.
Desk Motto: "If I do it, things will work out. So I do it."
Personality: Do things at my own pace. Stubborn. Timid. High-tech, but I hate the phone (laugh).
Current Obsessions: Dolls, especially "Super Dolphy," Flower Patterns, especially roses and gorgeous double-blossom floral patterns. The color pink. Other Works: debut work was Time Trouble in Oct. 1997, an 8-page comic she first made for Comic Ecole that received good feedback for its artwork and cover! First work that received substantial comments and feedback was in June of 1999, which was her 40-page manga story You are My God of Fame (a slapstick love comedy). She also received her first fan-letter for it!

Princess Ai
A beguiling woman with a look that is a mix of trash, flash, and punk, a voice like an angel, and a mind all her own.

Kent
A sweet, guitar-playing college librarian who offered Ai his home and his heart to keep her safe.

Hikaru
Kent's jealous and possessive gay roommate, he hated Princess Ai on sight. Though Hikaru is in love with Kent, Kent has not returned Hikaru's affections. Yet.

Fa'an
A street musician with strangely compelling lyrics who helps Ai discover her flair for singing. He has a knack for appearing and disappearing at just the right time.

Nora
A leader of the revolutionaries in Ai-Land, this Angel wants equality—not superiority—over Humans...but not everyone shares his views.

Kaz
Nora's radical cousin who believes that the Human royal family must be conquered at all costs. Much to Nora's dismay, Kaz dispatched Tess to capture Ai.

Tess
An angel, a witch, or a demon, depending on how you look at her, she's actually one of the Furies of Ai-Land sent to search out and drag Ai back to her planet.

Takeshi
Tough, tattooed, and tawdry, he's a VIP at the nightclub Club Cupid who just happens to work for H.T.A., the hottest talent agency in Japan.

Hayabusa
Takeshi's boss, the powerful president of H.T.A., who's allegedly connected with the Yakuza (the Japanese mob).

Jen
The one singer at Club Cupid who takes the time to befriend Ai.

From the Washington Post

Princess Ai is very much of its genre—shojo, Japanese comics aimed specifically at teenage girls. It's got all the stock shojo characters and situations: cute-as-a-button women with eyes half the size of their heads, willowy young men, accidents that make them fall on top of each other, wardrobe malfunctions, bitchy rivals, scheming corporations and a hefty helping of cheesecake.

~Douglas Wolk

Copyright © The Washington Post Company

From Anime on DVD

One year after the successful release of the first volume comes the next installment in this 3-volume manga, co-produced by TOKYOPOP and Shinshokan, serialized monthly in Japan in Wings, and all based off an idea from and the persona of Courtney Love, who is a manga fan herself after living and performing in Japan. I admit that I have not yet read the first volume, but seeing the names Courtney Love, DJ Milky, and Ai Yazawa attached to this project definitely had me interested in checking out this volume. Thankfully, the thorough and exhaustive story summary at the beginning of the book got me all caught up so I could hit the ground running....

The most interesting parts of this story for me are the parallels between Courtney Love's life, from what I remember, and the character Ai. Not just their personalities, but also how they are treated and presented by the music industry and media. Ai is seen as being very independent, outspoken, and definitely a bit stubborn, very much like her real life counterpart in Love. Ai really just wants to be with this man Kent, who has touched her emotionally, as well as discover more of herself by finding this book. However, it is the pressures and constrictions from the music industry that are keeping her from doing either of these. I think DJ Milky has done a great job at understanding how Love felt during her time at the top of the music industry, and conveying all those feelings and emotions here in this story....

The parallels between Ai and Courtney Love are done very well here, creating a fictional biography of sorts about Love's experiences and struggles in the music business. In the music business you are someone's pawn, and they will use and abuse you as much as they can in order to get as much profit as possible. I definitely remember the loud and independent Love as portrayed by the media, but it is interesting to see the parallels of her character from behind the scenes. While the gothic fantasy aspect of the storyline hasn't quite grabbed my interest, and the romance is not very strong, there is definitely a good little story here with Ai the musician.

After reading this volume and doing some research on how this book was created, I admit that I have become quite fascinated with how this has all come together. Albeit a bit short in length, this is an interesting co-production that I think opens up some interesting and different avenues for future products. It is also very cool seeing all the marketing surrounding a manga title in the US, including dolls and an anime trailer. You don't see manga titles too often get this level of advertisement and merchandising, so I hope it pays off well and it becomes more commonplace.

~Jarred Pine

Copyright © Chris Beveridge. All rights reserved.