PRINCESS PRINCESS, VOLUME 1

Handsome Tohru Kuono has just transferred into an esteemed all boys’ school. Upon his arrival, he immediately notices the peculiar, overly friendly actions of the students and administration. Feeling suspicious, Kuono unearths that indeed, this school harbors a secret—they elect “princesses” to motivate the boys at extracurricular events and provide general encouragement. A princess is a boy, dressed in a frilly costume of a seductive nature (i.e. a maid, a nurse) to resemble a pretty girl. Lured by the financial perks, Kuono decides that he will become a princess and humiliate himself to “help” his classmates. Flat, banal illustrations do nothing to spark a sputtering plot. The boys truly act like spoiled princesses, talking about such vapid subjects as their hair or their height. To obfuscate an already slipshod story, it has the feel and stylization of a boys’ love manga, though the characters are not gay. A truly odd plot, insipid at its worst times and droll at its best, this princess is a royal mess. (Graphic novel. YA)