Akiko Higashimura tells a unique tale of femininity, fashion and beauty

Kodansha Comics brings Akiko Higashimura’s 2008 manga series stateside with omnibus volumes.

18 years old, Tsukimi Kurashita is not used to Tokyo’s city life. The overwhelming aura of the Tokyo “princesses” or fashionable women, tends to scare her away from exploring far from her current home, Amamizu-kan. It is a building like a time capsule, home to older features and women, who like Tsukimi have reclusive personalities and obsessions. While fashionable women scare Tsukimi, jellyfish are what she loves, and she visits a local aquatic pet store regularly to see a special spotted jellyfish she named Clara. During one of her stops to visit her little friend, she finds a moon jellyfish sharing Clara’s tank. Knowing how dangerous it is for the two to be together, she tries to tell the shop employee to separate them. Her efforts are useless as he dismisses her warnings, but an unlikely hero saves Clara. A “princess” stops on her way home and sees the argument between Tsukimi and the worker. After some negotiating, the “princess” convinces the man to hand over Clara. The events of the evening surprised Tsukimi, but the biggest shock followed in the morning.

The “princess” that helped rescue Clara ended up staying the night in Tsukimi’s room. However, when Tsukimi awoke, she found a young man sleeping where the “princess” was. Clara’s savior is actually Kuranosuke Koibuchi, the youngest son of a local politician. While both his father and younger brother look down upon his hobby, Kuranosuke continues to crossdress, both when he hangs out with the rest of his trendy friends and when he visits Amamizu-kan. His presence at Tsukimi’s home is quite a hassle for the quiet teen, especially with her landlord has a rule of having no men in the building to preserve the purity of the women. Little does Tsukimi or her landlord know that Amamizu-kan may be lost to a proposed redevelopment project and Kuranosuke might be the only person who can help..

Higashimura’s art has an airy feeling to it, making for several breathtaking scenes. It adds more to Tsukimi’s thoughts and daydreams. She also fills the series with so many funny moments. There are many references that those in the know about modern Japanese culture may understand easily, but just incase Kodansha provides notes in each omnibus volume.

Currently, there are two collected editions out on shelves, each containing two translated volumes. Fans will have to wait till early October for omnibus volume three, but there are others ways to get your “Princess Jellyfish” fix during that time. Brain’s Base studio created the 2010 anime adaptation that consisted of 11 episodes while Asmik Ace Entertainment studio made the live-action film in 2014.  The two adaptations are very loyal to Higashimura’s original story and art. Funimation has the English dubbed and subtitled anime for purchase and streaming, and it is unknown if the film will have an English release. Hopefully events similar to Pacific Arts Movement’s 2015 Spring Showcase will pop up so that fans can see the wonderfully produced film.

Originally posted on
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