Princess Princess (manga)

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Princess Princess


caption = Cast of "Princess Princess", from left to right, Mikoto, Toru and Yuujiro
ja_name = プリンセス・プリンセス
ja_name_trans = Purinsesu Purinsesu
genre = ComedyInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Mikiyo Tsuda
publisher = flagicon|Japan Shinshokan
publisher_other = flagicon|United States Digital Manga Publishing
flagicon|Germany Egmont Manga & Anime
flagicon|Brazil Panini Comics
demographic = Shōjo
magazine = Wings
first = August 2002
last = April 2006
volumes = 5Infobox animanga/Manga
title = Princess Princess +
author = Mikiyo Tsuda
publisher = flagicon|Japan Shinshokan
demographic = Shōjo
magazine = Wings
first = May 2006
last = January 2007
volumes = Infobox animanga/Anime
director = Keitaro Motonaga
studio = flagicon|Japan Studio Deen
licensor = flagicon|USA Media Blasters
network = flagicon|Japan TV Asahi
first = April 5 2006
last = June 21 2006
episodes = 12Infobox animanga/Game
title = Princess Princess: Himetachi no Abunai Hōkago
publisher = Marvelous Interactive
released = October 26 2006
genre = Visual novel
ratings =
platforms = PlayStation 2

Nihongo|"Princess Princess"|プリンセス・プリンセス|Purinsesu Purinsesu is the title of a fictional series written and illustrated by Japanese author Mikiyo Tsuda about the lives of three high school boys and the school they attend. The series is contained within multiple media pieces which began as a manga first serialized in the manga magazine "Wings" starting in 2002. After the first manga series ended, a sequel entitled "Princess Princess +" started serialization in the same magazine in May 2006, and finished in January 2007. An anime has since been adapted from the manga and began airing in Japan on April 5 2006, produced by the Japanese animation studio, Studio Deen. Also, this series had been chosen to become a live action drama called "Princess Princess D" which aired in Japan from June 28 2006 to September 13, 2006. Finally, a visual novel video game for the Playstation 2 based on the series was released on October 26 2006 in Japan.

Plot

"Princess Princess" is a story revolving around the lives of three boys chosen to dress up as girls at the all-boy school they attend, which also just happens to be the most elite school in the area. The main protagonist, Toru Kouno, has just transferred to a new all-boys school, Fujimori, after living with his uncle for a time. He is one such boy chosen to be one of the Nihongo|"Hime"|姫 or "Princesses", which is a tradition at the school in order to break up the monotony of life surrounded by nothing but males. Students (based on certain qualifications) are selected to be Princesses and are made to dress up as girls and attend school functions like this.

At the beginning of the story, there are already two such Princesses, Yuujiro Shihodani and Mikoto Yutaka, known as the Western Princess and Eastern Princess respectively, due to their room location. Toru is convinced into becoming a Princess soon after entering the school though once he accepted the job, he found it to be much more enjoyable than he thought.

Characters

Princess Princess

Princesses

;Nihongo|Toru Kouno|河野 亨|Kōno Tōru:anime voices|Jun Fukuyama, Takeru Satoh (Live action actor):He is the primary protagonist of the story who transfers to an all-boys school and becomes one of the "Princesses". He seems enthusiastic about it since all the Princesses get a lot of free stuff and added luxuries. His parents died in an accident, which is when his uncle and aunt adopted him. He seems to be very reluctant about spending time with his family, which mainly has to do with his younger step-sister Sayaka. He mainly uses his job as a Princess as a distraction from the problems he has with his family and in effect usually gets very in to acting like a Princess, much like Yuujiro. He often teams up with Yuujiro to tease Mikoto, much to Mikoto's chagrin.

;Nihongo|Yuujiro Shihoudani|四方谷 裕史郎|Shihōdani Yuujirō):anime voices|Romi Paku, Ray Fujita (Live action actor):The Western Princess, he is a confident boy and doesn't have many problems with dressing up like a girl in front of other people. He constantly likes to tease Mikoto because he thinks it's fun how Mikoto reacts. He has distanced himself from the rest of his family because he thinks that his mother, step-father, and younger half-brother together are the "perfect family". He and Toru often team up against Mikoto when Mikoto is at odds with them concerning Princess duties. This gets Mikoto to end up agreeing with them, especially since they hold leverage over Mikoto who doesn't want his girlfriend to find out about him being a Princess. He sometimes teases Toru about them being lovers and how Toru is "saying things only lovers would say to each other." To add to this through out the manga and anime there is an air of unresolved tension between the two, and they have been know to blush in each others presence.

;Nihongo|Mikoto Yutaka|豊 実琴|Yutaka Mikoto:anime voices|Tetsuya Kakihara, Kenta Kamakari (Live action actor):The Eastern Princess, he is more reluctant than the other two Princesses to crossdress because he has a girlfriend named Megumi who he doesn't want to find out about it. As such he is nonetheless a reliable character- he often stubbornly whines and complains on things the Princesses have to do but always ends up doing them anyway whether he's forced to do them or not. He is very self-conscious about being a Princess and is mortified whenever someone else outside of school finds out about it. He is the most animated of the three Princesses, always showing a lot of emotion and expression when yelling at Toru and Yuujiro. Mikoto is also tone deaf, having never sung before becoming a princess.

:He also cares a lot about the people close to him, though especially for his girlfriend. He has shown to change character and act different when around Megumi, which greatly amuses Toru and Yuujiro. Despite all the whining and complaining, however, he eventually becomes accustomed to his duty as a Princess such that he once had a brief fantasy of him and Megumi both dressed in Gothic Lolita Princess costumes. "Princess Princess" is not the first media series Mikoto has appeared in. Mikoto's first appearance was as a supporting character from one of Tsuda's earlier manga works, "The Day of Revolution", which was about Mikoto's girlfriend, Megumi.

tudent council

;Nihongo|Shuya Arisada|有定 修也|Arisada Shūya:anime voices|Hiroshi Kamiya, Takumi Saito (Live action actor):The student council president, he is a very confident person who was also a former Princess one year prior to the beginning of the story. He is a very good leader and often comes up with fool-proof plans which benefit him and the rest of the student council. He can also be very intimidating to talk with and in effect people often go along with his plans regardless. He was a Princess in his first year.

;Nihongo|Masayuki Koshino|越廼 将行|Koshino Masayuki:anime voices|Kousuke Toriumi, Shōta Minami (Live action actor):The student council vice president who is very physically strong.

;Nihongo|Wataru Harue|春江 渉|Harue Wataru:anime voices|Takuma Terashima, Haruhiko Satō (Live action actor):The student council treasurer, who is very good with math and can solve equations in his head quickly.

;Nihongo|Takahiro Tadasu|糺 孝弘|Tadasu Takahiro:anime voices|Eiji Miyashita, Hiroshi Yoshihara (Live action actor):The student council secretary, who has the impressive ability of speed and sleight of hand.

Other characters

;Nihongo|Akira Sakamoto|坂本 秋良|Sakamoto Akira :anime voices|Soichiro Hoshi, Osamu Adachi (Live action actor):The class president in Toru's class (1-D), he is a highly respected member of the school: due to his much-revered older brother and his own excellence in both academic performance and character, he is referred to as "Sakamoto-sama" by his peers regardless of their seniorities, and all students bow when they see him, though he feels somewhat intimidated by such reverence. For pretty much the same reasons, he has been hand-picked by Arisada as the next in line for the student council president and has on quite a number of occasions shown great leadership skills.

:He has five immediate family members, all of whom are amazingly beautiful (and, in his sisters' case, androgynous as well). In the past, Akira had often been pointed out as the only "average" looking person in his family by both himself and strangers. For a while, Akira felt out of place or "unworthy" of belonging to his family. When his family found out about his worries, they quickly reassured him and dismissed such ideas. His siblings (especially his older brother and older sister) usually fight for his attention, since their brother is such a kind-hearted and good-natured boy. Akira and his family are the main characters of one of Tsuda's earlier manga works, "Family Complex".

;Nihongo|Kaoru Natasho|名田 庄薫|Natashō Kaoru):anime voices|Anri Katsu, Kōhei Yamamoto (Live action actor):A third-year student majoring in home economics, he designs all of the clothes that the Princesses wear. He's fairly obsessed about this and always shows a lot of enthusiasm about it. However, he holds a lot of fashion awards for all the costumes he's designed and made himself. When it comes to the Princesses, he's easily struck by inspiration for new costumes.

;Nihongo|Harumi Sakamoto|坂本 春海|Sakamoto Harumi):anime voices|Kenji Nojima: He's Akira's older brother and a former student at Fujimori who was known by all who knew him as "Sakamoto-sama" because of his amazing beauty. He comes back during the cultural festival to help the student council raise money. Harumi is usually very cool and smiles constantly. However, in the presence of his younger brother, he becomes completely emotional and is easily moved to tears (something which Toru and Yuujiro accidentally notice when visiting Akira, as seen in a manga filler chapter).

;Nihongo|Megumi Yoshikawa|吉川 恵|Yoshikawa Megumi:anime voices|Junko Takeuchi:Known as Megumi-san by Mikoto due to her being older than him, she is Mikoto's girlfriend. She has a caring heart and would do things asked of her by Mikoto so as not to upset him. Also, she is not entirely sure of Mikoto's feelings towards her and once even suspected something was going on between Mikoto and the other two Princesses. Megumi and Mikoto seem to have a very good, understanding relationship between them. For instance, even when Megumi finds out Mikoto is a Princess, she says she doesn't care and Mikoto's the same person she loves either way.

:She has a very prominent effect on Mikoto's personality, being able to elevate his spirits when he's feeling depressed. Similarly, when around Mikoto she is very happy and it's obvious that they enjoy each other's company. As noted by Mikoto in episode five of the anime, Megumi does not seem to like using makeup because she thinks it's cuter. Mikoto seems to have no complaints over this as he thinks she's cute regardless. Megumi is the main character of Tsuda's earlier series, "The Day of Revolution", with Makoto and Mikoto as supporting characters.

;Nihongo|Makoto Yutaka|豊 麻琴|Yutaka Makoto:anime voices|Risa Hayamizu:She is Mikoto's older sister and has a different personality when compared to her brother. She is very forceful and never seems to back down, especially when the scenario involves Mikoto. Ironically, while Mikoto looks more feminine in appearance, Makoto looks more masculine.

;Nihongo|Sayaka Kouno|河野 さやか|Kōno Sayaka):anime voices|Chieko Higuchi:The daughter of Toru's aunt and uncle that adopted him, making her Toru's younger step-sister and cousin. She is in love with Toru and is very adamant (to the point of psychosis) about them getting married one day, against the wishes of Toru himself (as his feelings for her never evolved beyond that for a sister).She is overly obsessive with him and has hurt one of Toru's previous girlfriends with a razor blade out of jealously. Her fragile grip on reality was wounded by Yuujiro's claim that he and Toru are lovers- and that Toru is not interested in girls because of this. In vol.4 of the manga, Sayaka is encountered again by Yuujiro and Toru when they are out shopping, leading to Sayaka apologising, then declairing that in her mind only Yuujiro is worthy of dating Toru and he'd better hurry up and make her "brother" his.

;Nihongo|Shinnosuke Shihoudani|四方谷 慎之介|Shihōdani Shin'nosuke:anime voices|Sayaka Aoki:He is Yuujiro's younger half-brother who appears in episode nine of the anime and vol. 5 of the manga where he had come with his parents to see his brother at the school festival. He tends to be very shy and at first is especially reluctant to talk with Yuujiro. He has claimed that he wants Yuujiro home more often so he can marry "sister" (Yuujiro in his princess costume).

;Ryusaki:The director of the board who is in charge of the school. He became the director after his father retired. At first, he disapproved of the Princess system and sought to abolish it. Ryusaki only appears in the anime, and greatly resembles Mitaka in appearance and personality.

;Toui C. Mitaka:A transfer student who first appears in volume four of the manga. Upon returning from studies abroad and transferring to Fujimori, Mitaka learns of the student council elections and decides to run against Akira. At first he has a very low opinion of Akira, thinking of him as dull and not a worthy opponent, which causes Yuujiro and Toru to dislike him immensely. He eventually warms up to Akira, and by the end of the manga series he is so devoted to him that he is never more than a few feet away from him. Mitaka does appear in the anime in episode twelve.

Princess Princess +

Princesses

;Nihongo|Tomoe Izumi|和泉 巴|Izumi Tomoe:He is one of the new Princesses chosen by Toru and others. His parents do not show him much attention because they are often busy and on business.

;Nihongo|Kiriya Matsuoka|松岡 桐也|Matsuoka Kiriya:He is also one of the new Princesses chosen by Toru and others. He lost his parents, and now lives with his elder brother and younger sister.

Princess system

A candidate for a Princess must be a first year student of the school since they: have more free time from school work, their bodies have not fully developed, and they can easily wear girls' outfits. From all the first years, those with the best looks and most-suited personalities are chosen to be Princesses. However, if one only has good looks but is not popular, that person will not be chosen. The Princesses' duties consist of: wearing girl's clothes to morning meetings or school events, encouraging others at school, and cheering at school events. Students who are required to be Princesses cannot refuse the position.

When there is a conflict between a Princess' work and school classes, absence from class or leaving early can be considered as a school vacation, and the absence will not show up on his attendance record. Every month the Princesses receive thirty school luncheon vouchers each. Therefore, when they eat at school, they do not have to pay. All necessary school supplies (notebooks, school apparel, etc.) are covered by the Princess budget, which is the largest in the whole school. Also, the Princesses will receive partial profit they can use as pocket money from the photography club that takes pictures of the Princesses and sells them to other students. The school rules require the photography club to share profits with whoever serves as model for the photos they sell, and the photographs of the Princesses are the most sought-after.

Media

Manga

The "Princess Princess" manga, written and illustrated by Mikiyo Tsuda, was first serialized in the manga magazine "Wings", with the first tankoubon being released at August 2002. The series was published by Shinshokan and has already finished at five volumes. Once the first manga series ended, a sequel entitled "Princess Princess +" started serialization in the May 2006 issue of "Wings". The first manga series has been licensed by Digital Manga Publishing, with the first volume released in November 2006. Mikiyo has commented that "Wings" preferred her not to write it as a shōnen-ai series.

Anime

The anime series of "Princess Princess" based on the manga that preceded it aired in Japan from April 5 2006 to June 21 2006 and had twelve episodes.

Episodes

Theme songs

;Opening theme: Nihongo|"Because I Met You"|キミと出逢ってから|Kimi to Deatte Kara by Atsushi Miyazawa

;Ending theme: Nihongo|"I Want to Give You a Smile"|微笑みをあげたい|Hohoemi wo Agetai by team-F

Live action drama

A live action drama based loosely on the series, named Nihongo|"Princess Princess D"|プリンセス・プリンセスD|Purinsesu Purinsesu Dī, aired on TV Asahi from June 28 2006 to September 13 2006, for ten episodes. The D in the title is for "drama". Mikoto is the protagonist of this series. The story deviates from the original manga in that a new character named Otoya Hanazono, who is dissatisfied with the half-hearted efforts of the current Princesses, creates his own team of Dark Princesses to rival for the students' attention. The drama also excludes Mikoto's girlfriend, Megumi, and features shōnen-ai overtones that are not present in the original story.

Visual novel

A visual novel based on the series named Nihongo|"Princess Princess: Himetachi no Abunai Hōkago"|プリンセス・プリンセス　姫たちのアブナい放課後 was released on October 26 2006 for the Playstation 2 in Japan.

External links

* [http://www.dmpbooks.com/titles?n=63 Digital Manga Publishing's website for "Princess Princess"]
* [http://www.pri-pri.jp Anime official website] jp icon
* [http://drama-pripri.jp/ Live action drama official website] jp icon
* [http://www.mmv-i.net/game/ps2/pri-pri/index.html Visual novel official website] jp icon
*ann anime|id=6467|title=Princess Princess