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''Princess Knight'', released in Japan as ''Ribon no Kishi'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Princess Sapphire, a girl who pretends to be a male prince to prevent the criminal Duke Duralumin from inheriting the throne of the reign of Silverland. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''Shōjo Club'' from 1953 to 1956, with chapters collected and release into two ''tankōbon'' volumes. A Japanese animated television series was adapted produced by Mushi Production, which aired on Japan's Fuji Television from 1967 to 1968. ''Princess Knight'' also ran through other three serializations between 1958 and 1968, and has spawned many types of related merchandise. It was dubbed into English and first brought over to the American audiences by Joe Oriolo in the 1970s, where it was called ''Choppy and the Princess''. Later, it was also broadcast in Australian television, and brought to British, American and Australian home media market. The manga was first published in English by Kodansha International in 2001, and Vertical licensed it in 2011. ==Plot== For the most part the story of both the manga and the serializations is the same, with only the second serialization (known as ''The Twin Knights'') and to some extent the fourth serialization being significantly different. Taking place in a medieval European-like fairy-tale setting, ''Princess Knight'' is the story of young Princess Sapphire who must pretend to be a male prince so she can inherit the throne as women are not eligible to do so. As she is born her father, the King, announces his baby is a boy instead of a girl. The reason for this is that the next-in-line to the throne, Duke Duralumin, is an evil man who would repress the people if his son were to become king. Princess Sapphire has a pint-sized sidekick in the form of Tink, a young angel-in-training out to earn his wings. When she was born, Tink gave Sapphire the blue heart of a boy as well as the pink heart of a girl, and so God sent him down to Earth to retrieve Sapphire's extra heart. Tink is stuck inside a rather weak mortal shell, and cannot go back to heaven until he has fixed things. Sapphire would not let Tink remove her boy's heart, however. As a result, Tink later realizes how much Sapphire needs her boy heart to vanquish the evil in her land. Sapphire and Tink experience a variety of fairy tale and political adventures, including encounters with ice witches and anti-Royal revolutionaries. Sapphire also dons a Zorro-style mask at night and fights crime as the Phantom Knight, as well as foiling Duke Duralumin's schemes to take over the kingdom and his attempts to prove that Sapphire is really a girl (and thus discredit her as the heir to the throne). In the final episodes, Duralumin stages a coup d'état to help Mr. X conquer Silverland. The King and Queen are captured, but help Sapphire to flee. Duralumin is about to proclaim his son as king and himself as regent when he is assassinated by Nylon, who has been driven near-insane by the Duke's constant abuse. The mentally deranged Nylon proclaims himself and welcomes Mr. X and his armies in Silverland. Mr. X, though, soon makes it clear that he has no intention of letting Nylon rule, even as a puppet monarch, and merely keeps him around as a churlish buffoon. Sapphire and Frank try to prevent the King and Queen from being executed, but they are too late and the King and Queen are dropped in the sea. This culminates in the final battle, as Sapphire heads off to Silverland castle to confront Mr. X with the aid of three magic balls. Given to Sapphire by her parents, the balls represent the three kingdoms and are supposed to save Silverland: they are used at first to ring the kingdom's bells, magically giving to the people the will to fight the invaders. Sapphire has the balls melted to form a magic axe which she uses to rout Mr. X's troops, break up the castle's walls, and confront X himself. Sapphire ends up dueling Mr. X., with the help of Frank, and manages to wound him. Just as the enraged Mr. X is about to chop Sapphire and Frank in half, Tink calls on God for help, and a lightning bolt strikes X. As Sapphire seems to triumph, Mr. X rises from his apparent death and begins smashing the castle with his bare hands, eventually causing it to collapse onto himself. Nylon, who was swaying through the halls like a raving madman, is also crushed to death. Sapphire escapes the collapsing castle and stands triumphant in the sunlight. Tink has been mortally wounded by the castle's breakdown and tells God that he is ready to sacrifice his life should Sapphire's parents be brought back from the dead. God then accepts to bring back the King and Queen to life, as Tink dies. Sapphire and Frank end up getting married. Tink's spirit returns to heaven where he has finally earned his wings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Princess Knight」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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