Princess Ai

Infobox animanga/Header
name =


caption =
ja_name = プリンセス·アイ物語
ja_name_trans = Purinsesu Ai Monogatari
genre = Fantasy, RomanceInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Courtney Love
DJ Milky
illustrator = Ai Yazawa
Misaho Kujiradou
publisher = flagicon|Japan Shinshokan
publisher_en = flagicon|United States Tokyopop
flagicon|Australia flagicon|New Zealand Madman Entertainment
publisher_other = flagicon|Hungary Fumax
flagicon|Finland Punainen jättiläinen
flagicon|Italy J-Pop
flagicon|Lithuania Obuolys (2007)
flagicon|Poland Kasen
demographic = Shōjo
magazine = Wings
first = flagicon|United States July 6, 2004
last = February 7, 2006
volumes = 3

"Princess Ai" is a manga co-created by Courtney Love, Ai Yazawa, Misaho Kujiradou, and DJ Milky (a pen name for Stu Levy), and is published in English by TOKYOPOP.

The story deals with an amnesiac girl named Ai who was torn from her homeland, and awakens in present-day Tokyo. Remembering nothing of her life except her own name, the only clue she has to her identity is a heart-shaped box.

Plot summary

A young, amnesiac alien girl known only as Princess Ai is mysteriously transported to Tokyo, Japan. With only a heart-shaped box to clue her in on her past, Ai makes her living as a rock star at Club Cupid. She falls in love with a sensitive musician, Kent, to the chagrin of Kent's gay, possessive roommate, Hikaru. But Hikaru is the least of Ai's worries when gun-toting talent agents and demons seeking to take control of Ai's homeland, Ai Land, are hot on her trail.

Characters

Ai: The main character of the story. Ai is the product of a relationship between her Human father, King Sei, and a [dead] Dougen (Angel) female. Because of the war that rages between the Humans and the Dougen in Ai-Land, Ai's true parentage was kept a secret, even from Ai herself. Due to her mixed heritage, Ai sprouted wings on her back and has the ability to control people's emotions with her singing.

Kent: A young man who works at the Shinjuku University library part time. Kent was one of the first people to discover Ai after she appeared in Tokyo, and offered her a place to stay, an action which caused a lot of friction with his roommate Hikaru. Like Ai, he is of a mixed heritage, being half Japanese and half American, and uses this fact to help Ai come to grips with her dual heritage.

Hikaru: Kent's gay roommate. Hikaru has a huge crush on Kent and a hatred for Ai fueled by jealousy. Later on in the series, he makes peace with Ai and becomes one of her biggest supporters.

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. He watches out for Ai .

Nora : A leader of the revolutionaries in Ai-Land, this Angel wants equality—not superiority—over Humans...but not everyone shares his views. He got really close to Ai and sent her to Earth for her safety .

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. But later on , he discovers the truth about Ai and understands Nora's point .

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. She later becomes Ai's body guard .

Meggi: The second Furie sister to be sent out to fetch Ai. She is devoted to Kaz and repelled by flowers.

AlexaOne of the Furie Sisters. She is Tess's sister, and Kaz's last hope to return Ai to Ai-land.

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.

Yoshi: Ai's personal assistant. He is sometimes mistaken for a very tall woman.

Mika: A rude woman at Club Cupid. Calls Ai trashy. Wants Takeshi to notice her own talent instead of Ai's.

Manga volumes

*Volume 1: Destitution
*Volume 2: Lumination
*Volume 3: Evolution

Princess Ai: Rumors From The Other Side

"Princess Ai: Rumors From The Other Side" is a fanbook for "Princess Ai". The art is different from the regular manga art, causing some disappointment from fans of "Princess Ai". Half the book has mini stories from American manga authors and the other half of the book has two short stories from the original mangaka of "Princess Ai". There is only one volume to this series of mini stories.

The summary from TOKYOPOP:

"Who would dare print trashy rumors, innuendo and bald-faced lies about international rock diva Princess Ai? TOKYOPOP would! Ai is an outspoken, outrageous, controversial celebrity (with wings!), so it wasn't hard to find incredible stories from people who love her, hate her and love to hate her. Brought to you by Misaho Kujiradou and TOKYOPOP's top talent, these 12 all-new spurious stories take a totally twisted view of Princess Ai and her friends!"

Future Books/products

According to Amazon.co.uk, Princess Ai: Prism of Midnight Dawn, will be available on the website on 16 December.Again according to Amazon.co.uk Princess Ai: Encounters will be released on the site September 2008.

A special edition of Prism of Midnight Dawn (The manga book and a dvd of the Princess Ai music and music videos) will be available on the site on 11 December 08.

Production Information

The Princess Ai manga is a loose adaptation of Courtney Love's life story, with Ai as Love's fantasy alter ego ["I have always loved the Japanese culture and the people. Princess Ai is a great character because she feels like my alter ego, but in a fantasy setting."-- Courtney Love] . It should be noted that Ai means "love" in Japanese; thus, the name is a reference to both Courtney Love and Ai Yazawa, who drew the initial Princess Ai character design. It is also generally believed that Kent, the sensitive, blonde guitar player who becomes Ai's love interest, is based on Courtney Love's late husband, Kurt Cobain. Another connection to the real-life Love is Princess Ai's heart-shaped box, which figures prominently in the story. "Heart-Shaped Box" was a hit song by Nirvana, and was inspired by a heart-shaped box Courtney Love gave Cobain as a present.

Princess Ai is currently being adapted to be an anime titled "Princess Ai ~Ai-land Chronicles~". It was described as "Totally new blend of live action and animation in Gothic Lolita fashion." A trailer was made for the manga by Satelight (Arjuna, Gene Shaft, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Heat Guy J), and is believed to be part of the new production.

Recently there was a release of the single "Broken Leash" from volume 2 of Princess Ai. It was featured on Tokyo Pop's "ANIME TRAXX Volume 1". It is available on iTunes.

References

External links

* [http://www.tokyopop.com/S-1206/ Tokyopop Princess Ai website]