Princess Ai
A young woman named Ai, is suddenly stranded onto the night streets of Tokyo, Japan, with no memories whatsoever. The only valuable item she has with her that ties into her past, is her beloved heart-shaped box. With no money and food, Ai wanders the streets of Tokyo, trying to figure out how she ended up on planet Earth. She soon meets an aspiring young rocker/musician named Kent, who shares her same passion for music. She then decides to work at a nightclub called Club Cupid and from there on, her talent in singing, wins her a ticket into fame and fortune of becoming a rockstar diva. But the life of the rich and famous isn't what it's cracked up to be for Ai, as talent-agents and...even demons from another world, try to seek her out and tear her fame (and even her) apart.
The manga series is a collaboration between Courtney Love, Ai Yazawa, Misaho Kujiradou and Stu Levy. It is also licensed by Tokyo Pop.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy
- Bare Your Midriff: In the beginning, when Ai wakes up in an alley. Her clothes are all torn and shredded.
- Bishonen: Kent, Nora and Takeshi.
- Bi the Way: Kent towards Hikaru to some degree (more like he's not sure about it)
- But Your Wings Are Beautiful: Kent towards Ai, almost verbatim. To be fair, Ai is more nervous about the wings than hates them.
- Camp Gay: Hikaru fusses about, and squeals at, things like a 14-year-old girl, and has women's clothing.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Most of Ai's outfits consist of this, along with some punk-fashion.
- Expy: Ai for Courtney Love, Kent for Kurt Cobain.
- Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind: Ai has a very rock sense of style, but in the end she's soft at the heart despite her temper.
- Good Wings, Evil Wings: Ai has angelic-like wings and is considered the heroine of the series, while Tess and her two sisters have bat/dragon-like wings and is considered somewhat villainous, but that changes later on.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Ai is the result of her human father (Sei) and her Dougen/Angel mother (Zho).
- Heel Face Turn: the witches/gorgons.
- Incest Is Relative: Ai and Nora were lovers back on Ai-land. Must I remind you that they're actually half siblings. Eeek.
- Love At First Sight: Kent and Ai
- Love Triangle: Kent x Ai x Nora. Plus Hikaru, although he barely counts, merely having an unrequited crush on Kent.
- Meaningful Name: "Ai" means "love" in Japanese. Now, who came up with this manga, again?
- The Power of Love
- Rip Tailoring: her first performance dress gets the treatment. Some of her later fashions look like they were created the same way.
- Self-Insert Fic: Courtney Love pretty much admits that the entire manga is a much more whimsical version of her own life.
- Shout-Out: Now, where have we heard about a "heart-shaped box" before...
- White-Haired Pretty Boy: Nora.
- Winged Humanoid: Ai once she develops the wings.
- You Remind Me of X: Ai claims that Kent reminds her of Nora, a certain someone from Ai-land.