Princess Knight
A girl with two hearts pretends to be a prince.
Princess Knight, also known as Ribbon no Kishi, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl born with both a boy's blue heart and a girl's pink heart, who pretends to be a prince to prevent the evil Duke Duralumin from taking over the kingdom. The series is widely regarded as a classic and has been very influential in the manga and anime industry, starting a tradition of androgynous heroines and establishing trends in shōjo manga.
- field
- Manga and anime
- nationality
- Japanese
- known_for
- Gender-bending protagonist, pioneering shōjo manga
- creator
- Osamu Tezuka
- first_serialization
- 1953 to 1956
Quick Facts
- Ja Romaji
- Ribbon no Kishi
- Genre
- Fantasy
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Princess Knight was ordered by an editor of Kodansha's magazine Shōjo Club, who wanted Tezuka to produce a manga aimed at a female audience that could replicate the success of his former boy-aimed stories. Tezuka's first idea was to transpose the all-female musical theater group Takarazuka Revue into manga. Sapphire is based on the dansō no reijin ('beauty in male dress') of Takarazuka, and Franz is modeled after actress Yachiyo Kasugano. The manga was originally serialized in Shōjo Club from 1953 to 1956, and its popularity led to a radio dramatization in 1955, three other serializations between 1958 and 1968, and a 52-episode television anime series by Mushi Production that aired on Fuji TV from 1967 to 1968.
Reader's Guide
Princess Knight is considered one of the first narrative-focused works in the shōjo manga genre and portrays a female superhero. Its portrayal of gender roles is ambiguously interpreted by critics; some claim it has pro-feminist ideals, while others think it expresses misogynist ideals of 1950s–60s Japanese society. Nonetheless, it started a tradition of androgynous-like heroines and established several trends in shōjo manga. The series' arrival in the English-speaking market was delayed by NBC Enterprises executives' perception that it could be interpreted as 'sex switch'. However, in the 1970s, the television series got a dubbed version produced by Joe Oriolo, renamed Choppy and the Princess. The manga reached the anglophone public in 2001 when Kodansha International published a bilingual edition, followed by a newer version by Vertical in 2011. It has influenced several stage musicals since the 1980s and inspired remakes by other authors. An anime film adaptation titled The Ribbon Hero was released on Netflix August 8, 2026.
Did You Know?
- The gender-bending main character was inspired by the all-female musical theater group Takarazuka Revue.
- Sapphire was born accidentally with both a blue heart of a boy and a pink heart of a girl.
- The television series was renamed Choppy and the Princess for English-speaking audiences in the 1970s.
- An anime film adaptation titled The Ribbon Hero was released on Netflix August 8, 2026.
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