Failed Princesses, Vol. 1

できそこないの姫君たち [Dekisokonai no Himegimi Tachi] #1

by Ajiichi

Fujishiro Nanaki is super cute, super popular, and super annoyed with anyone as plain as her classmate Kurokawa Kanade. When Nanaki finds out her boyfriend's cheating on her, however, her life makes a complete 180 -- as does her relationship with Kanade.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yuri, LGBT, Lesbian, Graphic Novels, Young Adult

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2018

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated April 2024 - on my nth re-read of the first volume that suddenly lead into a weekend spent devouring all six and a half volumes, I am going to double down on my original review and say that this is a five star story full stop, and one of the best yuri series out there. The way this manga grows its characters is top-notch and years of hindsight have only improved my opinion of it.

Original:

This is a four star story with five star characters and I hope I can successfully put into words how good it is. This is the only book in recent memory where I got to the end and immediately went back to the start and read it cover to cover a second time right away.

There are no easy answers to life and even fewer to high school and this book wades into one of the most realistic depictions of the latter I have ever seen in a yuri manga. No all girls school here, just a decisively unisex classroom awash in cliques and tribalism.

And this thing is itself awash in layers and themes, from forgiveness to regret to being a true friend to not judging anybody based on first impressions. Heck, they manage to make a pair of handkerchiefs wonderfully symbolic and that, to me, shows an author caring about what is on that page.

Fujishiro is de facto head of the gyaru faction in her class and possibly the most popular girl in school. She definitely has no time for Kurokawa - the plain, introverted fujoshi who is happily isolated with her own band of otaku pals.

Despite her obsession with being the cutest thing on earth, Fujishiro finds herself dumped very early in the story and Kurokawa overhears the whole thing, leading to an incredibly bittersweet moment where Fujishiro leans hard on Kurokawa, all too aware of how she looked down on her and will probably get what she deserves out of it.

Except Kurokawa isn’t as heartless or vindictive as she could be, though she is certainly very guarded. When Fujishiro misinterprets a harsh judgment as words of encouragement she decides Kurokawa is actually a good person at heart and hits the ground running to make a new friend.

You’d think this was about to become a whole ‘plain girl gets made over’ scenario and while there is some of that, what makes it work is how much both give to each other. It’s much cuter to see them meeting in the middle - you can’t beat the image of a gyaru reading manga.

And much like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters, mixing cliques in high school can have catastrophic results. Fujishiro deliberately cuts ties because she realizes they’re kind of awful (though I do like that the author even adds a little nuance here), but Kurokawa, who was quite happy in her little circle, ends up being ostracized for really no good reason.

There is a great role reversal here and I especially love that Kurokawa doesn’t let Fujishiro off the hook for destroying her school life, even as she’s coming to Kurokawa’s rescue. We also see how bad Kurokawa’s self-esteem is and how much she beats herself up for letting Fujishiro hang earlier on.

Obviously this book has a lot to unpack. These two are so real, so complicated, so imperfect that even if they never got together I would read a whole series of them being friends (and outside of Kurokawa being highly vulnerable to Fujishiro’s face magic there’s basically no romance yet).

And it’s full of wit and charm. There are a lot of fun sequences throughout, such as a personal favourite - the pitch-perfect Shonen Jump manga parody - and the fact that Fujishiro’s catch phrase appears to be ‘Let me repay you with my body!’.

To borrow a line I’ve used before, this is not just a good yuri, it’s not just a good manga, it’s a good book period. I didn’t quite like how the volume ended; I think I understood what they were going for, but it’s the one time the intent isn’t really clear. I could go on and on about this one, but it’s worth the time and the money to experience for yourself.

[Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I don’t really understand what’s going on in this book. I’m not the hugest fan of the miscommunication troupe so maybe that’s why I didn’t like this as much. Umm I don’t know. I have the next one so I’ll continue but I hate the way this ended.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Popular and pretty girl sees nerdy girl in a new light, stops teasing her, befriends her, and gives her a makeover. Kind of dull, kind of dumb. It's called a yuri in the back, so I suppose this could be heading toward romance eventually? Meh.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review will be for entire series! Read at your own risk!

Read 6 volumes - Finished

Schoolgirls with crushes on schoolgirls... I love it. Super popular, gorgeous girl falls for super quiet otaku girl and hijinks ensue. Definitely looking for more volumes!

The two are only beginning to realize their feelings for one another in volume 3, so be ready for a slow burn!

Edit 10/4/21: so many love shapes! I like they addressed Izumi’s sexuality a bit even if it came off kind of homophobic. But that’s the reality of Japan honestly. I’m proud that Nanaki didn’t shame her for it and faced her head on.

Edit 8/1/23: the ending was sweet! I was shocked at Kurokawa at first but I could understand how she got her feelings twisted. I’m glad they could resolve it in the end. I think someone was crying on nearly every page in those last two volumes - it was so dramatic!

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute but pretty shallow.

I like the art style and the concept is interesting to a point. If you’re into make up, you might find something deeper in this but I kept waiting for a True Beauty like moment where it emphasizes that make up and looks aren’t everything. It leans very heavily into the geek let’s pretty girl treat her badly because she’s pretty schtick. I’m glad that Nanaki sticks up for Kanade, even when her own friends are being mean to her. However, I hope the next volume gets deeper into why Nanaki enjoys her company.

[Willow Heath]

Failed Princesses is a rewarding slow-burn yuri manga that begins, not with the sparks of love, but with the sparks of friendship.

Popular girl Fujishiro Nanaki makes no secret about her love of attention and her desire to be seen as the cutest, prettiest girl in the room.

Her classmate, otaku wallflower Kurokawa Kanade, is entirely the opposite. A bookworm and lover of BL manga, Kanade enjoys her unassuming life and the friends with which she can share her interests.

My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/essential-yur...

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review for the whole series as I was not paying attention to when each volume started and ended, hah! My rating? I don’t know, I never know how to rate a manga. Some of these volumes are probably lower and some higher, but overall, maybe it’s a 3.5-star situation. Ill round up.

This was cute; definitely a cutesy-fluffy kind of story, suitable for all ages (ish). It was entertaining and kept my interest to the end. The story focused heavily on themes of friendship and trying to understand each other (explicitly the theme lol), though nothing went all that deep. It is a romance story ultimately, but its one of those where up until about 98% of the way it could just as easily be entirely plutonic friendship. The art was well done but definitely leaned into the overly-cute style. If you notice the word “cute” used a lot in this review, then you should know what to expect if you read the manga.

There isn’t much of a storyline, but it works well enough with what its got. Very cliché; most popular girl in school sees the plain nerdy character and ½ the story is basically an extended makeover montage. Lots of blushing. Friend drama. Misunderstandings. School trip. Unnecessary swimming scenes. Etc..

Its gay, but one of those ones where no one ever says the word and talks around the issue like it’s a landmine.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up because the characters are so well done and I love the way it subverted the trope of the makeover with Nanaki "un-making" herself for Kanade.

Full review eventually appearing on ANN.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out a little fast. It has some really good moments and future volumes could be really promising so I will be sticking with it for sure. I just did not like how Kanade just goes along with everything like losing her friends and being made fun off. Nanaki is clearly trying to become a better person but she isn't there yet. The final pages showed this. Overall, I am eager to see where this goes. The art was quite good throughout.

[Merb · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ 4.5 stars ~

[Stella L · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I hope people give this one a try. It doesn’t shy away from the heated drama of high school girls, and that really lets everyone get to shounen levels of passionately shouting about feelings (something I usually find myself wanting more of in yuri with high school protagonists) (love when gals unleash the full unrestrained chaotic energy of being in high school).

One note I’d like to make is I usually don’t get grabbed by bully/bullied pairings, but the turnaround here from ‘bully’ to ‘ride or die friend’ is pretty quick for Nanami—that’s what made it enjoyable for me.

[Tabby Schaub-Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't personally a fan of this book. I'm appreciate that the book didn't rush into a relationship in the first volume. My problem with the series was that the love interest wasn't considered pretty until the main character helped give her a make-over. Perhaps the series gets better but I'm not very interested in finding out what happens.

[em! · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5! So, so cute!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the first volume of this new manga was incredibly adorable and enjoyable to read, but so far there actually is no hint of yuri. Rather, this manga is about high school cliques. There are the pretty, well-off, preppy girls, then there are the nerdy, plain-Jane, quiet ones. And when one of the preps tries to befriend a nerd, the cliques clash and reject both girls, leaving them to be each other's only friend.

The two main characters are prep girl Fujishiro and self-conscious nerd Kurokawa. This manga is a bit different, in that the two girls always refer to each other by their last names, even as they grow close. Fujishiro's boyfriend dumps her, and she is surprised to find Kurokawa defending her even though she has often mocked Kurokawa for reading yaoi manga and neglecting her appearance. She comes to feel sorry for misjudging Kurokawa and wants to make it up to her by giving her make-overs.

This is the one problem I had with the manga. Fujishiro wants to become friends with Kurokawa, now that she sees she is a nice person, but I didn't like how she went about bonding with the other girl by trying to change who she is. She forces Kurokawa to have her eyebrows plucked, get her hair cut and styled differently, buy a whole new wardrobe, and wear makeup. And then in the end Fujishiro is actually upset because she's worried Kurokawa looks cuter than she does. I felt there was too much emphasis on appearances and the need to be cute to be considered a worthwhile friend.

Other than that, I loved the manga. The art is adorable. There was one panel where Kurokawa's arms looked suddenly disproportionately short, but overall the art is of really nice quality, both cute and beautiful. I did like both characters, even though Fujishiro is incredibly pushy and conceited. My favorite was Kurokawa, and I loved that she is a fujoshi! She buys boys' love manga and her bedroom is plastered with BL posters. Based on this one volume, I wouldn't think this was a yuri manga at all, but I'm still interested in the characters and to see where this story goes. I just hope it pulls itself out of these shallow depths and that their friendship/relationship is based on more than appearances.

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 4 out of 5]

More shoujo-ai than yuri, and it's a high school comedy manga, with hijinks aplenty. But 'Failed Princesses' is cute, and contains good messages about empathy, breaking BS social cliques, finding out who your real friends are, trying new things, not judging people, standing up for what you believe in, and basically calling people out on their shit. And looking pretty while doing it.

Yeah, it might not be completely groundbreaking - cuteness and appearances still matter to the characters - and it doesn't look as though that mentality will change further down the line (or at least, not significantly in the face of a wider sexist culture). But there is a parody element to 'Failed Princesses'. I adore that it's also about otaku culture, and the mangaka seems to know and love a lot about it. The character development is clear and done well, in my opinion; even if not in the "cuteness in girls doesn't matter, WTF is wrong with you?" department.

'Failed Princesses, Vol. 1' - an opposites-attract manga that will tickle your funny bone, and make you think of yuri and shoujo-ai titles like 'Girl Friends' by Milk Morinaga (there are some similarities). Recommended for light and fluffy fun.

Final Score: 3.5/5

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this on-hold at the library on a whim, and I really enjoyed it! It’s a story of a loud, popular gyaru, Fujishiro, and an otaku who doesn’t spend much time on her appearance, Kurokawa. They’re in the same class, but Fujishiro looks down on her lack of polish. When Fujishiro’s boyfriend cheats on her Kurokawa unwittingly ends up comforting her. Leading Fujishiro to declare them friends.

I didn’t think I was going to like Fujishiro, but she kind of won my heart. When Fujishiro’s gyaru friends speak poorly of Kurokawa, she jumps to her defense and immediately addresses the slight with Kurokawa. She’s really devoted to helping Kurokawa feel good about herself. Not only using the power she specializes in, her beauty and fashion abilities and connections, but by encouraging her to be strong and have more pride in herself.

I also love how open she is to learning and trying out the things Fujishiro is interested in, like manga Kurokawa enjoys. She even goes out of her way to purchase copies of BL manga when Kurokawa refuses to lend her any of her own in embarrassment.

All in all this manga is hella cute, I’m definitely planning to read the next volume!

[Rereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really cute and fun to read! While I usually don't like the main characters being shallow or rude, what I like about Fujishiro and Kurokawa is that both of them are shallow and rude. That way, the relationship is a) balanced and b) both characters have chances to grow into better people. The artwork/ art style really sells it, it's so cute, vibrant, and charming, perfect for a series focused on appearances.

Even though the story isn't original, I like how blunt and honest both Fujishiro and Kurokawa are. Fujishiro, despite coming across as vain and shallow, is honest with herself and others and wears her heart on her sleeve. Even though Kurokawa is openly blunt, I like how willing she is to go along with Fujishiro. Also, I'm fine with having a yuri series that isn't trying to do something new nor is trying to push some deep message. Sometimes I need some good ol' fashion high school yuri drama and romance.

That's all I got for now, looking forward to more! Definitely try it out if you want an adorably dramatic high school yuri!

[Freddie🏳️‍⚧️🐀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good start to a manga with some good characters, drama, and GL? If you like yuri this is a good read to give a try.

Art: The art style itself isn't too special, but everything is drawn pretty clean and detailed. The character designs are pretty distinct and fit the characters. The faces are pretty expressive too, and some pop to the panels. It also saves it from the panels just being talking heads.

Story: For a first volume, there's some good drama and emotion set up. You already learn so much about the characters without it seeming out of place. A believable friendship is set up between the two leads, and it's interesting to see them start as people who hate each other. Also the makeover scenes are pretty sweet and cute.

Characters: I like that both leads have fleshed out personalities, arcs, and backstories. Nanaki and Kanade are both flawed characters, failed princesses if you will. They're still likeable, but they aren't perfect angels. They're selfish at times.

[Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute yuri manga!

It begins as a cute story about girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum who become friends, and their developing relationship together reveals potentially yuri feelings!

It's interesting because their sexualities each initially seem straight for the most part, given one of the girls has had a boyfriend before, and the other reads yaoi manga. So it seems like gals being pals, but as the plot develops you're like "hmm..."

I like how it's reminiscent of "Please Tell Me, Galko-chan!" which was a similar story about a gyaru who befriends an otaku, overcoming their prejudices to become friends.

I can't wait to read more!

[Joe Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fun. I like where it's going.

The girls seem like they are meant to be together. Their friends have abandoned them in disgust. What a shame. Teen girls can be so cruel. Well if they stick together, they can overcome any obstacle. And they're both so cute! I can't wait to see how their friendship (and more!) Develop. Those other girls sure are mean though. Ugh. Well the 2 protagonists are what matter. I think they're meant for each other. I look forward to the next volume. Art, very good. Dialogue, excellent. Characters, believable, likeable, adorable.

[Bentgaidin · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Failed Princesses' is a cute new manga I picked up, about a school's princess who is comforted one day by a her plain and reclusive classmate, and decides to repay her kindness by giving her a makeover -- only to find herself torn between jealousy and adoration of how cute her classmate can become. It's a light and fun read, even when dealing with weightier matters of social bullying and tangled emotions among people you thought were friends, and I'm going to look forward to where it goes from here as they introduce new people into the mix.

[Elley Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ack, this manga is so cute!! A cute popular girl and an un-cute fujoshi become unlikely friends. This yuri manga is hilarious, especially in some of the moments where Fujishiro is trying to convince Kurokawa to let her "repay her with her body." There is one part where Fujishiro is plucking Kurokawa's eyebrows and if you didn't know better you'd swear everything was VERY sexual... *wink* Also I love how completely pulled by her whims Fujishiro is - ahh, the joys of being a highschool girl.

I can't wait to read more of this great, hilarious series!

A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.

Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC via Edelweiss. Cute so far, but the first volume really doesn't do much besides set up the premise (the gyaru queen bee of the school decides to befriend the quiet nerd who awkwardly comforted her after finding out her boyfriend was cheating her). There's an almost Elphaba/Galinda vibe to Nanaki's determination to give Kurokawa a makeover, but it seems to be motivated by obliviousness rather than self-interest, at least. Curious to see where the story goes.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

She Reads This Kind Of Smut?!

This was cute, I liked both of the heroines and it was interesting to see their prejudices. It’ll be interesting to see if our heroine with Face Magic™️ will learn to be less shallow and if our otaku heroine comes out of her shell. I’m really looking forward to reading the next volume and seeing their relationship shift and change. Also to see who really is the cutest of them all!

[Leon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really a fan of this type of trope: popular girl and lover girl. I am gonna see if anything happens in in Volume 2. If nothing happens then I really can't classify this as Yuri.
Right now in the book, everything is up in the air whether they even have feelings for each other. I am sensing queerbaiting

[Francisco De La Garza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me parece una dinámica interesante la de este manga. Una chica tímida y otaku como Kurokawa, que admira a la belleza gal de Fujishiro. Ambas son excluidas de sus grupos de amigas por empezar a estar juntas...pero su relación empieza a desarrollarse, sobre todo de parte de Fujishiro hacia Kurokawa, volviéndola más linda, dándole más autoestima y poniéndose celosa de ella. Me atrapó.

[Ani Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The epitome of "do I wanna be her or fuck her?"

The story follows Fujishiro - a super popular girl who insults her plain classmate. Kurokawa. Then she does a 180° in her personality, and their relationship gets filled with miscommunication, jealousy, confusion, and more.

Basically a bully-turns-lover typa plot💀

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Failed Princess for the win!

I'm happy I purchased this manga, it was definitely worth it. The characters are excellently drawn and easily likeable .. Well at first Fujishiro is not, but she comes around! The story flows perfectly, and I need more of it!

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5 really but not quite a 4/5 for me.

Seemed like it will be one of those slow-burn type of romances. The girls are both pretty judgey high school girls who have to learn to grow as people to become friends.

[MiserableFlower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a slow transition to a relationship here. Vol 1 is just subtext and it’s giving the backstory and initial connection that most other stories just blast past. It’s cute and has potential so I’m definitely looking forward to vol 2.