Polygon Comics

Taking A Stroll Through Yaoi Via "Princess Princess"

For those who need a quick refresher on what Yaoi means, I would suggest a visit to the Wikipedia entry for the term. :)

Yaoi covers a wide range of subjects. Personally, I am using it within the framework of how the Japanese refer to it, ie. along the lines of BL, 801, June, etc.

While researching some articles on the subject of cosplay and crossplay, I came across one posting in a crossplay forum suggesting people check out the manga and anime series, Princess Princess. Yes, that's the title.

So far, I've gotten a chance to watch a few of the online youtube recordings that have been fansubbed as well as flip through the first two volumes of the manga in its collected format, albeit in Japanese, so my understanding of it is limited from that respect.

So far, it's been quite good and I'm definitely adding it to my list of to-collect Manga/Anime.

So, What's the Premise!?

Well, picture this: there is an elite all-boys school. The administrators, seeing that boys will be boys, have observed that their performance wanes due to a lack of "stimulation". Their solution is to institute the "Princess" program, which takes one or more 1st year juniors, who match specific physical and mental requirements, and have them dress up as girls, from time to time, to break the dull and otherwise boring life of studying, exams, and sports.

Needless to say, those chosen for the Princess program are of mixed opinions on the matter and thus there are certain privileges to being chosen to be a Princess:

• Free lunch!
• School supplies, including uniforms, shoes, clothing, paper, notebooks, etc... all paid for! Free!
• Portion of the "photosession sales" proceeds as pocket money!
• The adoration of many many male peers... -_-;; ymmv.
• Getting to crossplay in custom designed and tailored outfits. Also ymmv.

At the start of the series, there are two such Princesses. One is Yuu-chan. The other is Miko-chan. Miko is the unwilling participant, partly due to the fact he has a girl friend and partly due to him viewing it as conflicting with his sense of being a man. Yuu-chan seems to take things in stride and actually enjoys his role as a Princess.

The latest member, Kouno Tooru, is a mid-semester transfer student, who doesn't know about the Princess program. His uncle got him into the school, but apologizes at the start of the manga/anime. Upon visiting the school, he is exposed to the "weirdness" that is the school and due to his concern for his family's financial situation, he decides to become a princess. Later on, he seems to be the determined type who, even when faced with the possibility of having the privileges stripped from him, he opts to continue being a princess, since it is his job.

The storyline and various plots and sub-plots expands from there.

Character Design and Costumes!

Let's face it. Gothic and Gothic Lolita styles are definitely starting to carry over into the United States. They've been a huge varrying trend in Japan for quite a while, though as of this writing, I'm not sure if it is still the main trend. :) Things change so quickly over there. Though judging by what is published, it's still going on strong.

Note that when I say Gothic Lolita... I use the Japanese meaning of the term, though the American meaning of that term is quickly aligning itself with the Japanese meaning, due to sheer interest in that particular style of fashion and cosplay/crossplay.

If you've been to a J-rock concert, you'll know what I mean. ^_^;;

The character design is definitely along the lines of that which appeals to those who enjoy reading manga or watching anime that features really beautiful and attractive male characters... though definitely leaning towards beautiful vs handsome. I believe the phrase some would use would be androgenous, that is... seemingly of being capable of representing either male or female genders. This style of character design lends itself well to crossplaying of the characters.

One of my favorite Anime series, El Hazzard, has the protagonist, Makoto Mizuhara, crossdressing as the missing princess of a nation for the better part of the series, a feat made more believable through the design of an androgenous character.

The Princess Princess series explains this in-story as the bases for their choosing the candidates as well as why 1st year juniors serve as the selection pool.

Final Thoughts

If the idea of guys kissing other guys or having quasi-romantic interests in other guys is something that might turn you off, then I probably won't be suggesting this to you. ^_- However, if you don't mind that, if it's up your alley, or if you value story and character design over that, then you will quite likely enjoy this series.

In my mind, the BL aspects aside, this series is turning out to be quite interesting. Yes, the idea of having cross dressing students "stimulating" the male campus is definitely odd... but then again, so are many aspects of Japanese anime/manga story telling and backdrops; interdimensional travel, water-based gender changing characters, phantom mallets, children piloting large mechas, etc. etc.

I also enjoy the author's little summaries at the end of each book discussing aspects of BL, Gothic fashion, and Gothic Lolita fashion, so far.

Come July, I look forward to getting some shots of the protagonists from Princess Princess.