Murder Princess Vol. #02

By Matthew Alexander     December 04, 2007
Release Date: November 10, 2007



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Sekihiko Inui
Translated by:Satsuki Yamashita
Adapted by:Jason R. Grissom

What They Say
The world of politics is treacherous enough, but in Forland, it's deadly confusing. When her royal father is murdered by a greedy drug manufacturer, Princess Alita must step forward to take over the kingdom. Unfortunately, a freak magical mishap has trapped her in the body of Falis, the bounty hunter. Now Alita must stay disguised as a servant while the battle-savvy Falis sits on the throne in her body!

The Review
Alita is still smarting from her defeat at the hands of the Black Knight. Not to worry, after some brooding she gets back into the swing of things by stepping up her training in anticipation of a rematch. From here, the story takes an interesting turn. First Alita promises to help Falis in anyway she can, then decapitated bodies start appearing around the city. The truth behind these strange murders brings both Dominikov the Shikigami and the truth behind Alita and Falis’ connection to the forefront. It seems Falis was supposed to die the day her kingdom was attacked by Professor Akamashi. Her continued survival has warped the balance of the world and created a ‘corruption’ that has begun turning people into evil creatures. As a Shikigami, Dominikov’s job is to stop the corruption before it grows in strength. The whole situation proves to be difficult for Falis to accept.

From here, the action kicks into overdrive as Professor Akamashi, the Black Knight and the Witch appear seeking the second of four Destiny Stones. During the battle, Akamashi is killed while the duel between Alita and the Black Knight ends in a draw. However, the Black Knight turns out to be Kite, the Prince of Forland. So why is the Prince fighting against his own sister? Unfortunately, this is where the story suffers the greatest from its overall shortness. Two volumes is just too little space for Inui to lay out everything he wants. The idea of ‘corruption’ involving Dominikov turns out to be a sidebar with no resolution. The reason for Prince Kite’s betrayal is touched upon but never really explored. Lastly, we never learn anything about the identity of the person behind Akamashi, Kite, and the Witch’s actions.

With all those disappointments, I did enjoy the flashback on Alita’s childhood and why she became a bounty hunter. I also appreciated Inui’s willingness to kill off characters to further the plot, which is rather surprising considering how silly some parts of the story can be. Then again, the overall ending of the story is pretty weak, however I did enjoy the way Alita’s final battle with Prince Kite came to an end. For those waiting to decide on whether to by this series I have to say it depends on how much you like Inui’s art. If you enjoy his character design and reading short series then this isn’t a bad pickup as long as you go into it knowing it gets cut short. It’s also a nice primer for the OVA if that ever makes it to the U.S. I haven’t seen it, but I hope the story receives a cleanup of ideas, follows the more adult aspects of the story, and smoothes the story flow with a solid ending.