Ribon no Kishi, or Princess Knight, is a 52 episode series from Mushi Pro based on the Osamu Tezuka manga of the same name. It has been released in the United States as a dub only disk under Nozomi, and in Japan as of 2008.
Due to an angel screwing around, a princess is born with two hearts- one of a boy, and one of a girl. The angel Tink must help the now adolescent Sapphire, who was raised as a boy to keep the throne from falling into the clutches of evil. Sapphire is happy to keep both their hearts, while embracing both sides of the royal spectrum.
I can't say I'm a fan of the opening or ending theme song, but the animation is delightful. I have enjoyed the manga in the past, and the series is fully of the style of humor Tezuka's works are known for. I also did not expect to see Hecate, a minor antagonist turned ally, appear in the second episode.
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| Hecate |
Princess Knight's aesthetics were heavily based on Takarazuka works- all female musicals known for their handsome women playing the male roles. If any of this sounds familiar, both Takarazuka and Princess Knight have influenced any girl prince or lady knight that came after. Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles, Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon, Utena from Utena, Pearl from Steven Universe.
What I am trying to say is if you like gender fluid and butch women with swords, Ribon no Kishi is the first within anime to deliver. There are times where our protagonist loses one heart and the gender stereotypes are out in full force, but on the whole, its a strong start to queer anime.Unrelated, here's an image of Sapphire and Hecate from a Black Jack gag manga.
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