Failed Princesses (Japanese: できそこないの姫君たち, Hepburn: Dekisokonai no Himegimi-tachi) is a Japanese yuri manga written and illustrated by Ajiichi. It was serialized on Takeshobo's Manga Life Storia Dash website between April 2018 and August 2021. It was collected into six tankōbon volumes.[1] The series was licensed for an English-language release by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2019.[2]
| Failed Princesses | |
 Cover of the first Japanese volume | |
| できそこないの姫君たち (Dekisokonai no Himegimi-tachi) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance, Yuri |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ajiichi |
| Published by | Takeshobo |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Manga Life Storia Dash |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | April 6, 2018 – August 6, 2021 |
| Volumes | 6 |
Plot
Fujishiro Nanaki concentrates on being pretty, and is annoyed by others like Kurokawa Kanade who she considers plain. However, after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, Nanaki is consoled by Kanade and their relationship begins a new development.
Characters
- Kurokawa Kanade
- A quiet girl who is so non-confrontational that she often walks away from unkind comments said to her at school.
- Fujishiro Nanaki
- A popular girl who places more importances on looking cute then reaching class on time. Kanade soon becomes Nanaki's new makeover project after her boyfriend is revealed to have been cheating on her.
Publication
Written and illustrated by Ajiichi, Failed Princesses was serialized on Takeshobo's Manga Life Storia Dash website from April 6, 2018, to August 6, 2021, and was collected into six tankōbon volumes. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the series for release on print and digital platforms from May 12, 2020.[2][3]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 21, 2018[4] | 978-4801964709 | August 11, 2020[5] | 978-1-64505-445-0 |
| 2 | June 28, 2019[6] | 978-4801966635 | September 8, 2020[7] | 978-1-64505-736-9 |
| 3 | January 30, 2020[8] | 978-4801968554 | February 23, 2021[9] | 978-1-64505-972-1 |
| 4 | August 28, 2020[10] | 978-4801970434 | August 31, 2021[11] | 978-1-64827-287-5 |
| 5 | March 30, 2021[12] | 978-4801972506 | April 5, 2022[13] | 978-1-63858-175-8 |
| 6 | September 30, 2021[14] | 978-4801974173 | October 11, 2022[15] | 978-1-63858-602-9 |
Reception
Anime News Network gave volume one an overall rating of A−, noting that "Nanaki's use of the phrase “repay you with my body” (meaning her make up and shopping skills) is loaded, with Kanade giving it a sexual connotation in her mind, but right now that's less important than the validation the girls bring to each other: that they are worthwhile people no matter what anyone else says."[16] Erica Friedman of Yuricon praised the work, noting that "This series has a pretty standard beginning, but it definitely picks up steam as it moves along."[17]
Failed Princesses was included on the School Library Journal's recommendation list of nine LGBTQIA+ manga for teens.[18]
References
External links
- Manga Life Storia Dash's Failed Princesses official website (in Japanese)
- Seven Seas Entertainment's Failed Princesses official website
- Failed Princesses (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia