Murder Princess Vol. 1

Reviewed by Von Jared Omo
August 13, 2007

Artist: Sekihiko Inui Author: Sekihiko Inui Publisher: Broccoli Books Website: Click Here

Tragedy strikes the kingdom of Forland as a mad scientist by the name of Professor Akamashi and his two androids, Yuna and Anna, engage in a coup d’etat and kill King Xenos. In a desperate attempt to find her older brother Prince Kite who is in the military, Princess Alita runs into the forest to escape the clutches of Akamashi. As Princess Alita continues her search, she suddenly trips and hits her head causing her to become unconscious and rolls off a cliff. At the bottom, a bounty hunter named Falis is searching for bounty with the help of her rouges Pete Armstrong, who is a brute, and Dominikov, who is a shinigami. A freak magical mishap occurs as Princess Alita falls head first straight on top of Falis’s skull causing them to switch bodies. With Princess Alita’s spirit in Falis’s body and Falis’s spirit in Princess Alita, the only hope for the kingdom of Forland is if Falis, who is in Princess Alita’s body, protects it herself. As they all return to the castle, Falis (in the Princess’s body) defeats Akamashi and his androids by hitting them with a bat and sending them flying out of the castle. Jodo, the butler, is told what has happened to the Princess and decides to disguise the Princess, who is in Falis’s body, as his granddaughter Milano. Because Princess Alita’s brother cannot be found, the Princess must step up to the throne. During the crowning ceremony, Akamashi and his androids attack again and Falis (who is in Princess Alita’s body) is forced to fight back and protect the people and again defeats Akamashi and his androids. The citizens witness first hand the power of the princess, who is actually Falis, earning her the name Murder Princess. A few days later, however, a man in black armor from head to toe storms into the kingdom asking for “the key” from the Princess (who is really Falis), but she does not know what he is talking about and decides to engage him in battle. Falis (in the Princess’s body) breaks a piece of the man’s facial armor revealing his eyes. Falis (in the princess’s body) sustains an injury and the man in armor decides to kill her. Milano (Princess Alita), however, knows about the key that the man in armor is talking about and as she catches a glimpse of the man’s eyes, she believes that the man in armor is her brother. When it seems like Falis (in the Princess’s body) has lost the battle, she is saved by Akamashi and his androids and they tell the man in armor that he cannot kill the Princess without their permission. The man in armor disappears and the Princess (Falis) is taken back to the castle. In the end, Falis (in the Princess’s body) wakes up and says to herself that she was not strong enough to defeat the man in armor.

From Volume 1, the reader has the idea that the story contains some plot twists. Not that much is known of Falis except that she is a very skillful bounty hunter who travels with a brute and a shinigami and fights with a very powerful sword. The fight scenes are drawn very nicely and the reader can see just how strong and powerful Falis really is despite being in the Princess’s body. The manga contains mild humor as to when the butler and Falis argue on how a princess should behave, which Falis has a difficult time doing. Akamashi and his androids play a role in the manga’s humor as well, as they constantly try to overthrow Princess Alita but fail at every chance due to her skills and strength. They somewhat resemble Team Rocket in Pokémon as they constantly fail at accomplishing their only task. The manga also contains some emotional value when it focuses on Milano (Princess Alita) and her struggle to find out what happened to her brother and how she plans to serve her kingdom while being in the body of Falis. The story may seem confusing at first because of the switching of bodies between Falis and the Princess, but once the reader gets used to this unorthodox character development, the story will seem to get interesting. The reader will get to see Falis’s character development through being in the body of the Princess and the Princess’s development in Falis’s body.

Even if the artwork may not be that eye catching, the story can surely make up for what the art lacks. To some people, the images may be well done while others may feel it needs a little something more. One thing for sure is that the manga is very entertaining and worth reading. The reader may become intrigued with Falis’s character and may want to find out more about her as her history may be revealed throughout the manga. Murder Princess is a very well thought out, very well drawn action/fantasy manga and is worth the time to read.