Reviews

Princess Ai: Destitution by D.J. Milky, Courtney Love, Misaho Kujiradō

Only show reviews with written explanations

calicolavender's review against another edition

2.0

I give this book a 3/10 — and that third point is truly because I am so endeared by the art style. Like many people, my intrigue with this series is just the fact that Courtney Love is the one who dreamt it up with her co-creators. I was originally pulled in by the promise that it was an Ai Yazawa collaboration, but the NANA creator really only supplies an illustration for volume 1.

As a story, it’s disappointing on many levels. As Princess Ai means “Princess Love” it’s clear that the story is a bit of a self-insert. The love interest is even a half-Japanese musician by the name of Kent, and a major plot point is Ai’s “heart shaped box.” In the story it’s a literal box tied to Ai’s home world, referencing a song written by Love’s ex husband expressing how he felt trapped in his relationship with her even after they split. It’s almost sad, but I can’t give too much pity to a story as self-obsessed as this one is. This is 10 years after the death of Kent - sorry, Kurt Cobain and it all just feels weird and a bit inappropriate. The story in and of itself is very simple, and the plot points are threaded together loosely at best. It’s themes are incredibly overt, nothing is subtle and it’s all cliche BUT it seems to do whatever the hell it wants, which I suppose I can respect. It surely seems to ring true to the real Princess Ai herself, Courtney Love.

I’m glad I have a physical copy of it because its surely a conversation starter…but as the lives of many rockstars are…its kind of a hot mess.

kismazsola's review against another edition

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3.0

Egészen véletlenül találtam, és egyébként nem sok fantasy-t fogyasztok (a keleti világból sem). Nem is ragadott olyan nagyon magával, de pláne úgy, hogy ez egy rövid sorozat, érdekel, hogy mi lesz még ebből.

Ai hercegnő egy másik világból jött

Spoiler

(ahol tutira vannak fúriák és angyalok), a Földön ébred fel, és nem emlékszik semmire. Pár dolog a történet folyamán beugrik neki, meg van nála egy szívalakú doboz, ami néha még villog is. Közben persze találkozik Kenttel (ez a név…na de jó lesz), akivel tipikus mangához igazodva seperc alatt egymásba szeretnek. Na jó, itt talán volt 1 perc is. De ettől még közepesen indokolatlanul. Van némi isteni intervenció is, egy fel-feltűnő énekes srác személyében. És persze Ai remekül énekel, ezért elkerül egy night clubba, majd onnan a legmenőbb zeneipari céghez, akiknek végül azért kezdi el beadni a derekát, mert tudja, hogy védelemre van szüksége.

A személyisége mondjuk kicsit irritáló, de elég tipikus mangákat-animéket tekintve.

Kicsit kusza, egészen valószerűtlen. De a japánokat ismerve ebből még ki lehet hozni legalább egy félig epic fantasy-t. Én mindenesetre drukkolok.

bored_chloe's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

It's kind of average and it's clear what the inspiration is while reading. It falls into some stereotypes with the gay roommate and the catty woman jealous of the main character, but it's still a fun read and a change from what I have been reading.

heyjudy's review against another edition

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3.0

~3/5
(This review is for the whole series.)

I was really hoping to love this series, but was oddly not too impressed.

Ai is a princess from another world, and she shows up on Earth with no memory, and slowly starts gaining it back by the end of the series, when she has to go back to her own world to save it. The ending was a bit cheesy, and a little open-ended, but it was okay. The character development was just okay—I did like the main romance, but otherwise we didn’t get enough complexity.

I do think the artwork is very pretty.

I also am interested in the character of Ai. As a person, she’s kind of annoying. Very stubborn and a bit of a spoiled brat, with no care for anyone but herself and a select few. Even after she signs a contract to be an idol, she doesn’t give a shit about all the agreements she’s made or the shows she’s agreed to do, and hates when they want her to do her job. She’s a pain in the ass.

But on the other hand, she’s a strong female character. She doesn’t stand for people bullying her or trying to take advantage of her, she can fight anyone if she wants to. I particularly like that with all the revealing clothes she wears, she wears them because she likes them, and doesn’t stand for it when people try to act like she’s easy because of the way she looks. I was impressed with that.

Overall, it was an okay series. Not amazing, not horrible. It didn’t keep me glued to the pages, but I might pick up the spin-off.

[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]