Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side

by D.J. Milky (Creator), Misaho Kujiradō, Hans Steinbach

This anthology includes four new manga stories, 30 pages from the upcoming novel, and a sneak peak from the upcoming Princess Ai manga series: The Prism of Midnight Dawn! Each story is bookended by fan and professional art as well as poetry from original Princess Ai author D.J Milky.

Genres: Manga, Comics Manga, Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

D.J. Milky is the author pen name of creator and entrepreneur Stu Levy.

Born in Los Angeles, Stu is the founder, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer of the manga media company TOKYOPOP. Stu also produces, directs, and writes for graphic novels, film, and television. His preeminent work "Princess Ai" debuted at #1 on the National Bookscan charts for Graphic Novels.

Stu’s creative works include writing the children’s novels “Sailor Moon – A Scout is Born”, “Sailor Moon – The Power of Love”, and “Karma Club”; children’s books “Stray Sheep” and “Kung Fu Klutz & Karate Cool”; and the graphic novels “Juror 13” and the “Princess Ai” series, created with Courtney Love. He has also translated manga volumes of “Parasyte”, “Sailor Moon”, “Ice Blade” and “Magic Knight Rayearth”. He also has written and produced a series of songs including anime theme songs and a soundtrack from “Princess Ai”.

Stu holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics/Business from UCLA and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. He studied at Tokyo University and Keio University in Japan and is a California attorney. Currently, Stu chairs the Producer Guild of America's International Committee and was previously a Board Member of its New Media Council. He is fluent in Japanese.

Reviews

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My actual rating for this book is a 3.5, so I'm being generous and rounding up. There are 12 stories in this collection volume, and as such I penned down general thoughts and feelings on each one. I'll be tossing them under the spoiler tag on this review; there aren't many actual spoilers I mentioned for any of the stories, but it's quite a large list to sort through and I don't want to clog up anyone's scrolling as a result. If you're interested in seeing my thoughts, feel free to click that spoiler tag reveal button.


The Last Song of Paradise [by Erica Reis]- 2 Stars. The entire short story seems a little too off-kilter and somewhat ridiculous for something that took itself so seriously, even if it was trying to get across an encouraging message. I'm still happy to see Reis's art though, because she has a very unique style.

A Little L-Ai [by Kim Mi-Kyung]- 3 Stars. Just a fun sort of little cracky story that involves shenanigans, the sort we don't really get throughout the main trilogy of Princess Ai. I enjoyed it though, given it didn't take itself very seriously.

Weekly Weird News [by Ashly Raiti & Irene Flores]- 3 Stars. Very short, and for something written in a tabloid article format, pretty fun and true to the medium in which it's presented. It's also a fun little poke at anyone who might possibly ship Ai and Takeshi.

All About Ai [by T. Campbell & Amy Mebberson]- 3 Stars. A bit longer and more dramatic than the previous three stories, but it's also done in a very fun way that utilizes the old trope about how the Arch-Nemesis character likes to set herself up in a pristine light and paint the hero as the person who stole everything from them. It's nice to see something written with Mika in mind as a character telling stories about Ai, considering Mika was somewhat axed early on in the series. The art style threw me for a bit of a loop, but even that was still fun nonetheless in the way it was utilized.

Takeshi Rising [by Armand Villavert, Jr.]- 4 Stars. Now this was just pure fun! I could go with an entire volume just based on these silly conspiracies.

Little House of the Furies [by Ron Kaulfersch & Mike Schwark]- 4 Stars. Again, this is just some beautiful, cracky fun.

Run, Hikaru, Run! [by Sarah Winningham & Emma Vieceli]- 5 Stars. This was just beautiful and there's no other words for it. I honestly would accept this as canon events that happen with Hikaru in the main trilogy.

A Star Is Made [by Che Gilson, Brett Uher & Mara Aum]- 4 Stars. This time we get another twisted set of events as told by Hayabusa about how he met Ai and made her his top star at the agency. This one is also short, but definitely fun in an outrageous sort of way.

Zoroa the Martyr [by Hans Steinback]- 2 Stars. A bit over the top and not really compelling. I could genuinely see that happening to Zoroa though, ex post facto.

The Legend of the Hawk-Ai [by Steve Buccellato]- 5 Stars. Sorry, but as ridiculous a tale as Daisuke spins, this was just pure and total gold.

The Ai of the Beholder [by Pauro Izaki]- 4 Stars. OH MY GOD. I HAVE NO WORDS FOR THIS ONE, JUST OH. MY. GOD.

An Ai-Witness Account [by Misaho Kujiradou]- 5 Stars. This one was just sweet beyond words, and I adore it.

Overall rating comes to a 3.5 average score based on my scores for each individual little story. This was a fun little collection to read, and I think many hardcore fans of the Princess Ai manga series would enjoy this.

[AmyH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compilation books can be a bit of a mixed bag, suffering from stories that don't have enough time to be fleshed out and a hodge podge of artists who clash with the style of the original. Rumours From The Other Side hits these points but manages to get in enough humour to make it an enjoyable read for fans if the original series, though is likely to make any converts out of newcomers.

Ironically, its success is helped by Ai being, to put it mildly, a bit of brat. Whilst this could grate when she was in the starring role, here it allows for her to be taken down a peg or two by stories told from the secondary characters perspectives. They may have been villains in the orginal, but there's a fair amount of truth in these new stories which makes them engaging.

Stand out stories include All About AI (the funniest story of the book, telling Ai's story from a very bitter Mika's perspective), The Last Song Of Paradise (a surprisingly moving explanation for Ai's disappearance) Weekly Weird News (imagining tabloid stories about Ai), Takeshi Rising (an investigative reporter's musings about Takeshi involvement in the saga) and Zoroa The Martyr (told from the anti-Ai cults perspective).

Hans Steinbach's art style in Zoroa is the closest to the original in terms of detail but also adds a sense of epic scale and drama that make it the most visually memorable. Returning series artist Misaho Kujiradou also has a story but it mostly consists of Ai and Kent having flashbacks about how they met and sadly doesn't add anything new to the stories or characters.

A Little L-Ai matches the gothic lolita style of the original but the chibi-fied character designs are an odd choice, particularly as the plot involves Ai being turned into a child where the art style makes it impossible to tell the difference.

Little House Of The Furies, Run Hikaru Run, The Legend Of Hawk-Ai and The Ai Of The Beholder tick the boxes of being forgettable and/or visually unappealing.

Overall the book will likely be an entertaining read for fans of the series but is unlikely to stick around in the memory or on the shelf.

[Róka · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/2,5

[Tori Seiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

silly & fun filler [: i♡ all the different art styles && any excuse to see more cute fits princess ai wears!!

[Jessica Severs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fans of Princess Ai will get the full celebrity-tabloid treatment for their otherworldly winged rocker in this collection of short stories.
Just like a trashy gossip mag in the checkout aisle, these amusing vignettes are from the perspective of inside sources -- mostly characters from the original series, like Mika from the strip club and Kent's gay roommate Hikaru.
More than a dozen talented manga artists and writers contributed to this collection, each offering his or her unique style, which suits the skewed viewpoints perfectly. There's also a story by the original "Princess Ai" artist that gives fans a glimpse of how Ai's coping now that she's back home and away from boyfriend Kent.
"Rumors" should tide fans over nicely until "Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn" comes out -- no date set as of yet.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Ai may have returned to Ai-land, but rumours about her still abound on Earth. Where did she go, what happenned during her final concert, and where did she come from in the first place? This book collects short stories that act like articles in a gossip magazine - each exploring a different manga-ka's take on the Ai legend, occasionally adding to the true narrative while making us question whether any of it is true. I think this format works perfectly to give fans of the series another dose of Ai's unique magic.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that because I didn't even LIKE the Princess Ai original series, this was just stupid for me.
While I liked the art, the rest was absurd and just made me dislike the original series even more, because I felt that Princess Ai was even more selfish and self-centered.

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection of short stories created by artists from TOKYOPOP we get to see the rumors that are construed by both her fans from the Other Side and from Ai-Land after Ai disappears from Earth to put an end to the Second Revolution on Ai-Land.