Shounen Princess: Putri Harimau Naoko

Shounen Princess: Putri Harimau Naoko (Japanese: 少年☆プリンセス Putri Harimau Naoko, "Boy Princess: Putri Harimau Naoko"), alternatively Putri Harimau Nao,[2] is an otokonoko romance manga series by Seishiro Matsuri. It was originally serialized by Akita Shoten in their monthly magazine Champion Red from January 19 to May 19, 2014, and later collected in a single tankōbon volume. The decision to end the series was Akita Shoten's; Matsuri said in 2019 that he would like to continue it if a publisher were to finance further production.

Shounen Princess: Putri Harimau Naoko
Cover, featuring Nao Kusunoki
少年☆プリンセス Putri Harimau Naoko
GenreRomance[1]
Manga
Written bySeishiro Matsuri
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintChampion Red Comics
MagazineChampion Red
DemographicSeinen
Original runJanuary 19, 2014 – May 19, 2014
Volumes1

The story follows a young man who is mistaken for a woman by the prince of Urunei, who wants to marry him; his father, a bureaucrat in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs eager to please Urunei and advance his career, sends him against his will to Urunei as his daughter Nao, dressed like a woman. As the future crown princess, Nao has to get used to behaving and dressing femininely while being targeted by assassins.

Critics enjoyed the series, finding the protagonist and his gradual turn to femininity appealing, as well as how the story goes beyond just a "reversed gender" scenario, but criticized the ending as feeling rushed. According to Matsuri, sales of the series were positively affected by the premiere of the anime series Himegoto, which also features a cross-dressing male character.

Plot

Shounen Princess: Putri Harimau Naoko is an otokonoko romance story,[1][3] and follows Naotora Kusunoki, the son of a bureaucrat in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1][2] The prince of Urunei, a wealthy Southeast Asian country,[3][4] has seen a picture of Naotora, and, mistaking him for a woman, requests to marry him; despite Naotora's protests, his father obliges, eager to please Urunei – an ally to Japan – and advance his career. Renaming him Nao, he sends him to Urunei as his daughter, wearing a revealing Uruneian outfit for women.[1][2] Arriving in Urunei, Nao worries about passing as a woman, but the press, there to photograph the future crown princess, calls him a beautiful woman. At his hotel room, an assassin from a purist faction opposing commoners marrying into the royal family attacks Nao, but his bodyguard Ahmad saves him.[2]

Visiting a market with Ahmad, Nao overhears a rumor that he is Putri Harimau reborn – a legendary Eastern, female tiger spirit who founded Urunei together with the royal family's dragon-god ancestor. Nao slips and is caught by Ahmad, and embarrassedly finds himself aroused, realizing he can find men attractive. They are interrupted by another assassination attempt, but Ahmad stops it by revealing himself as prince Ahmad bin Shaya Rahman in disguise. Later, Nao accidentally sees Ahmad bathing, learning that she is a woman disguised as a man. In the inner palace, where only women are allowed, Nao has to wear skimpy panties as part of its dress code, and risks revealing that he has a penis. Noblewomen and the king's mother bully him for being a foreign commoner, but Ahmad defends him. Nao worries about how femininity starts feeling natural, and is confronted by the masked man Jemal Wahid, who offers to return Nao to Japan if he cooperates with his plot to drug Ahmad and reveal her gender by leaving her naked in public. Nao saves Ahmad, and Jemal chases them to a cliff; the two fall into the ocean and are swept away to an island. After waking up, they make out while Nao contemplates how their relationship may require him to keep cross-dressing. Ahmad tells Nao that Jemal is a descendant of the royal family and the only one who could challenge Ahmad's claim to the throne.[2]

Later, Jemal steals the sword used in Urunei's enthronement ceremonies; confronting him, Nao is told that the queen and prince died in an accident fifteen years prior, and that Ahmad, the prince's twin sister, has taken his place. Unable to take the sword by force, Nao seduces Jemal and grabs it while he is distracted. Jemal does not believe Nao can use the sword as no one has ever managed to unsheathe it, and the legend says that only its original owner Putri Harimau can. Nao succeeds, however, confirming him as Putri Harimau reborn. Jemal forcibly kisses Nao as Ahmad arrives to place flowers at her family's death site. Nao yells to her that he is not unfaithful, but Jemal proclaims that he has everything as the true king: the sword, bloodline, and Putri Harimau. Ahmad confronts Jemal, but is shot by her confidant, major Malika, who swears fealty to Jemal.[2]

Locked in his room, Nao learns that Jemal has taken Ahmad to a boat, planning to blow it up. Nao contacts the purist faction, allying on the condition that he cannot marry Ahmad. Boarding the boat, they learn that Ahmad is safe, having put a decoy doll in her place, and that Malika only pretended to be on Jemal's side, faking her attack on Ahmad. Malika shoots Jemal, and he falls over the railing, pulling Nao with him, hoping to drown him. Underwater, Nao surprises Jemal by revealing that he has a penis, making him lose his grip on Nao and sink, while Nao returns to the boat. Nao cries, thinking he will never see Ahmad again due to his promise, but having witnessed his actions, the purist faction pledges loyalty to him. Nao and Ahmad kiss, and return to land to plan their wedding; blushing, Nao realizes he will have to continue wearing women's clothes forever.[2]

In an epilogue, the sword is discovered to contain a map.[2]

Production and release

Shounen Princess was written and illustrated by Seishiro Matsuri, and was serialized by Akita Shoten in Japanese in their monthly magazine Champion Red, from the March 2014 issue,[3][5] which was published on January 19, 2014,[6] until the July issue, published on May 19, 2014.[7][8] Akita Shoten later collected the series as a single, 200-page tankōbon volume under its Champion Red Comics imprint,[5][9] and released it together with an epilogue on June 20, 2014.[2][10] Art prints with illustrations of Nao were made available to readers buying the Champion Red debut issue of Shounen Princess and the tankōbon volume.[11][12]

One of the series' themes was the concept that boys who "become girls" end up taking on a type of heroism, an idea that Matsuri said he felt vindicated in believing in after reading Mayao Masayoshi's manga Shishunki Bitter Change.[13] The ending to the series indicates that a continuation was planned, with a "to be continued?";[1][2] in 2019, Matsuri said that it had been Akita Shoten's decision to end the production and that he would like to continue the series, but would need a publisher to finance the production costs.[14][15]

No.Release date ISBN
1 June 20, 2014[10]9784253233682
  • Chapter 1: "Tora no Musume to Ryū Ōji" (虎の娘と龍王子, "The Tiger Girl and the Dragon Prince")
  • Chapter 2: "Kōkyū no Yami" (後宮の闇, "The Inner Palace's Darkness")
  • Chapter 3: "Nazo no Otoko Jemaru" (謎の男・ジェマル, "The Mysterious Man Jemal")
  • Chapter 4: "Ōja no Jōken" (王者の条件, "Conditions of a Ruler")
  • Chapter 5: "Otome Sairin" (乙女再臨, "Return of the Maiden")
  • "Omake: Fragments" (おまけ fragments, "Bonus: Fragments")

Reception
According to Matsuri, the anime Himegoto affected Shounen Princess's sales positively.

The series was well received by critics,[1][16][17] and was included in the Japanese publication Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'s monthly recommended manga feature.[16] The publication liked how the series depicted the psychology of Nao as he gradually becomes more accustomed to femininity and dressing like a woman. Describing him as the main attraction of the story, they called him cuter and more attractive than the heroine, and sexy in a way that could only happen in an otokonoko scenario. They also appreciated how the plot goes beyond just being a "reversed gender" scenario, instead being a more complex story about a normal person growing and becoming a hero, but criticized the ending as feeling rushed, and wished for a continuation.[1] Writer Naoki Miyamoto recommended the series, finding the scenario of Nao trying to learn how to behave femininely cute, and liked how the series twisted the typical marriage scenario.[16] According to the pop culture news site Akiba Blog, readers considered the story "brilliant" and cute, and liked its use of romance and eroticism, and how it features both comedic and more serious sequences. They also liked its empathetic portrayal of its characters, and its use of trans-esque themes in a story about marriage and national interests.[17]

According to Matsuri, sales of Shounen Princess were positively affected by the Niconico premiere of the anime adaptation of Norio Tsukudani's Himegoto, which also follows a male character dressing like a woman.[18]

gollark: Well, yes, but it's still *quite a lot*.
gollark: And yet tons voted for him?
gollark: My issue with it isn't "oh no people PAY DIRECTLY for HEALTHCARE" but that it's a horrible wasteful mess.
gollark: This is somewhat true, but broken general governance leads to stuff like the ÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆæÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆaÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆææÆÆÆÆÆÆÆæ healthcare system.
gollark: It has very bad governance systems, though, that's not a hugely localized thing.

References
  1. "【日刊マンガガイド】『少年プリンセス』 マツリセイシロウ". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Takarajimasha. 2014-07-07. Archived from the original on 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  2. Matsuri, Seishiro (2014-06-20). Shounen Princess: Putri Harimau Nao (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. ISBN 9784253233682.
  3. "マツリセイシロウのRED新連載、男の娘のお姫様を描く". Mynavi News (in Japanese). 2014-01-19. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  4. "マツリセイシロウの新連載「少年☆プリンセス」の扉ページ". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2014-01-19. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  5. "少年☆プリンセス". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  6. "チャンピオンRED 2014 表示号数3". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. "チャンピオンRED 2014年7月号" (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  8. "チャンピオンRED 2014 表示号数7". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  9. "少年☆プリンセス". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  10. "【6月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2014-06-20. Archived from the original on 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  11. "ムサシマル先生『転落悪魔!　デモンズ・コア』1巻にイラストカードをプレゼント". Comic Zin (in Japanese). CoreCorporation. 2014-01-10. Archived from the original on 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  12. "秋田書店　チャンピオンREDコミックス　6月新刊の特典情報". Comic Zin (in Japanese). CoreCorporation. 2014-06-16. Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  13. Matsuri, Seishiro (2014-07-17). "マツリセイシロウ@連載中 on Twitter" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  14. Matsuri, Seishiro (2019-06-27). "マツリセイシロウ@連載中 on Twitter" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  15. Matsuri, Seishiro (2019-06-27). "マツリセイシロウ@連載中 on Twitter" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  16. Miyamoto, Naoki (2014-08-14). "【ランキング 番外編】 このマンガだってすごい！　アンケート参加者イチオシ単行本（6/1～6/30発売）". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Takarajimasha. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  17. "女装コミックス　少年☆プリンセス　「男子中学生が王家に嫁入り！？」". Akiba Blog (in Japanese). 2014-06-21. Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  18. Matsuri, Seishiro (2014-07-17). "マツリセイシロウ@連載中 on Twitter" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
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