Gender-Bending in Princess Knight

Part Four: Discovering Herself

By Sheena McNeil
April 29, 2013

Disclaimer: This article is based on the version published by Vertical, Inc in 2011, translated by Maya Rosewood. This translation is based on the Tezuka Osamu Manga Zenshu edition published by Kodansha in 1977. This article is also spoiler heavy!

This article is the fourth and final in a series examining how gender-bending is handled in Princess Knight and focuses on the last six chapters of Part 2. I would encourage you to read my first three articles on (see links at the bottom of the page) before delving into this one.

This part continues with the wedding for Prince Franz Charming and Hecate, the daughter of Madame Hell (but not King Satan -- she was born of her mother's magic). The demons are all commenting on how hideous Hecate is in her human form with a fancy wedding dress on. When one demon asks why she has to dress like a "human bride" another replies, "Well, she is a girl." There are female demons among those gathered. Being a girl has nothing to do with why she's in the form of a human or dressed as a bride. Before their vows are finished, Madame Hell arrives to give Sapphire's girl heart to Hecate so she can "become a more feminine woman." It's interesting to note that Madame Hell is the only one that wants this (and is obsessed by it), while the other demons are talking down about Hecate being in the form of a human and being "pretty" by human standards. Hecate herself has repeatedly turned down this heart, but her mother doesn't want to listen. Perhaps this has something to do with Madame Hell being in an abusive relationship. It's become clear that she's trying to gain control of Charming's kingdom through this marriage more than trying to "improve" her daughter for her daughter's sake.

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Hecate has her minions impersonate her and Charming so they can steal the heart and pass it off in the confusion more of her minions create, so that she can Charming can escape with the heart without getting married. Having been tricked by a couple of minions, King Satan is furious. He finds some humor in it and is impressed, but he's also on the rampage since he too was fooled. And who does he take it out on? Madame Hell. He catches her off-guard, asking where her real daughter is and then smashing her head between both of his fists. In his presence she is dismayed and shocked at the news of the fraud and jumps at his orders. Once away from him, she lets her anger show and prepares to attack her daughter (the cycle of violence continues).

As an aside, it's interesting to note that Madame Hell, a demon, is upset by her daughter, a demon, acting "monstrous" and deceiving them, while she deceives and hurts others to get what she wants. When Hecate gives Charming Sapphire's girl heart, he says she's "a really fantastic and kind girl, for a demon!" Hecate replies that's why her mother hates her and that she's "just not cut out for a demon's life." But she was doing the kinds of things you would expect a demon to do!

Hecate tries to protect Charming while standing up for herself, balking at being forced to marry against her will. Charming tries to help Hecate while she's fighting her mom, but he doesn't realize that killing Madame Hell will also kill Hecate. This needed to happen for the plot, but it's also typical. The girl is trying to protect the guy in order to let him escape, but he decides to intervene in her fight to protect her.

Blood arrives at the island where the cure for Sapphire's wound exists. Like Jason and the Argonauts landing on Lemnos, Blood and his men find themselves the happy prisoners of women. The queen drugs Blood, wanting to make him stay and be hers, but he clings to his love for Sapphire and fights to get the cure and escape. The queen wounds Blood with the same type of arrow wound Sapphire had, to get him to take the cure himself, but he forges on. He arrives, hands off the cure, and expires with the last words of, "If you see Franz, tell him, if he truly loves Sapphire ... he's an idiot ...." Both men have made sacrifices for Sapphire; the difference is, Blood doesn't regret his. In fact, he points out that Charming is rather undeserving of Sapphire. Charming put Sapphire through so much (more than she put him through), yet when he learns the truth about her identity as the flaxen-haired maiden in the beginning of Part 2, he admonishes her for how she "made [him] suffer."

The doctor rushes the cure in only to discover that Sapphire has died. Then, Charming and Tink burst in (literally -- through the window). Even when she's dead, Charming can't admit that he loves her. He starts to, then changes what he's saying to, "I never forgot you, even for a moment." He could have told her the situation when he told her about the engagement, but, to be fair, Sapphire didn't tell him important things when she had the chance either. They give the cure to Plastic, who still has the boy's heart, and Tink prays to God for an answer, but that answer could create as many problems as it solves -- Charming will have to visit the goddess Venus to get a flower that will revive Sapphire. Blood's resolve was stronger than Charming's, and he only had to face a mortal woman that wanted to make him hers; Charming will be up against the goddess of love and beauty herself!

Venus told Tink that "the one who loves her [Sapphire] the most should get the flower." Sapphire's mother (restored to life after Madame Hell was killed) wants to go, but Charming says he'll go because he's "more suited to dangerous missions." That's not what Venus said. She said whoever loves Sapphire most, not who can handle a dangerous mission! All you have to do is meet with Venus and get her to give the flower. There is risk, but nothing that requires a sword-wielding prince / hero.

Tink puts the girl heart back in Sapphire, saying, "When you wake, you'll be a real girl." Certainly she will be fully a girl, but she was also a girl, and not any less real, when she had both hearts. She was able to do and feel all the things a "real girl" would while also doing more "manly activities."

Upon seeing Venus, Charming gets chills from her beauty. Venus finds Charming to be handsome and gallant, and she wants to use one of her flowers to bind him to her. He says Sapphire stole his heart and he avoids Venus's subtle advances. Venus decides to make Sapphire miserable and "make Franz bend to [her] will." That attitude sounds right for Venus, but it's not a healthy love and is fraught with jealousy. Sapphire is revived, and Charming is returned with some words of advice from Venus's servant, Eros: "If your love for Sapphire stays strong, she will be saved." (Saved from Venus.)

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Sapphire does indeed come back to life, but with complete amnesia! You would think at the very least she would realize she is a girl (girl's body and heart at this point), but apparently her princely attire confuses her. That, and the people she meets as she travels north assume she's a knight, which means they assume she's a guy. Mislead by Venus, Sapphire travels North to search for her memories and her lover. Sapphire first passes Nylon (who still refers to Sapphire as "he"), and then she comes upon a real flaxen-haired maiden and feels the tug of remembrance but doesn't know why. The girl and her mother, assuming Sapphire is a brave knight, tell her about the upcoming "martial arts tournament" hosted by the marquis, Lord Oolong (and by "martial arts" they mean European jousting tournament). They mention how women attend to find a husband among the knights, and this flaxen-haired girl asks if Sapphire will marry her if "he" wins. Sapphire doesn't seem to hear all of that; her mind is preoccupied, but she does think the tournament is a good idea since it could lead her to her love and allow her to test her strength. Before going to bed for the night, Sapphire is able to jog the memory of disguising herself as a flaxen-haired maiden by putting on a dress. She also remembers dancing and falling in love with a man, but as we see as we keep reading, that's not enough (nor is her female body) to convince her that she's a girl.

Charming follows after Sapphire and runs into a disguised Venus and Eros, whom he helps. He does not let himself be distracted and leaves when Venus asks him to stay with her. As he runs off to keep searching for Sapphire, he literally runs into Friebe, a swordswoman. Not letting him go, she challenges him to a fight -- mainly for the sake of her ego and pride, as she's trying to prove herself in a world where women don't generally fight with swords. He gets mad when she calls him a coward, retorting, "Now you've gone too far, you play-fighting two-bit actress!" Friebe then keeps Charming on the defensive till he asks if they can stop. He should have learned from all his experiences with Sapphire (and getting beaten by Sapphire at sword fighting) that he should not judge a woman like that. And even though he could not get the upper hand (or even find an opening to go on the offensive) against Friebe, I'm sure he still hasn't learned. I seriously don't see what Sapphire likes in Charming; at least Blood respected her and did not look down on her as a woman or a sword fighter.

While entering the tournament grounds, Friebe notices Sapphire and sidles her horse up to introduce herself and flirt a little. Friebe tells Sapphire, "I want to find a husband among all those warriors. Someone charming and dashing … like yourself!" She winks and rides off laughing, so, at this point, it's unclear if she's having fun or just flirting and excited. The contestants are asked to wear helmets to help hide their identity, and thus their shame, if they lose. This also hides Sapphire's gender (along with the body armor she's wearing). Her first bout is tough and results in her helmet getting knocked off (revealing her to Charming, who's in the crowd), and even though her face is exposed, her opponent thinks she's a guy. When the match is done, Friebe congratulates Sapphire and asks Sapphire to watch her match. Does Friebe have her sights set on Sapphire or is she bonding with another girl? At this point it could still be either, though the latter is less likely given the situation.

Venus works with Nylon to get Sapphire jailed, and when Eros objects, Venus counters that she "could have made her ugly." Sapphire has never seemed conceited or concerned with her looks (other than to disguise herself to be unrecognizable as a "girl"). Venus, on the other hand, is very concerned with looks, being the goddess of love and beauty. If Venus really wants to squelch any possibility of Venus and Charming getting together, she needs to get more serious than superficial, but her nature, as Eros has pointed out, is to be capricious.

Oolong helps Sapphire escape from his own prison, and Sapphire quickly runs into Friebe, who has been waiting for her. Convenient. Friebe takes her to a hide-out where a nice old woman gives Sapphire clothes that belonged to her son (when he was 12!), causing Friebe to comment that Sapphire is "quite boyish." Friebe and Sapphire get to talking and Friebe basically proposes to Sapphire. To convince Sapphire that she is a "proper girl" as well as a swordswoman, Friebe dones a fancy dress covered in hearts and pulls her hair back. Friebe also points out that she can cook and clean, and oh by the way the pastor is on the way. She's definitely aggressive. In fact, when Sapphire tries to turn her down, Friebe threatens to throw Sapphire to her pursuers if she doesn't marry her! Sapphire finally says there's a reason she can't marry her, and it's not because they're both girls. Friebe asks if Sapphire has a lover and "who is she?" assuming still that Sapphire is a male. Sapphire says she does, but only because the disguised Venus told her so, not because she remembers... and she certainly doesn't remember that it's a guy she's interested in and that they aren't actually lovers.

Elsewhere, Venus captures Charming, trying to convince him to forget about Sapphire since Sapphire has forgotten him. She pushes his buttons till he says, "Sapphire is 100 times more lovely than you!" Those are definitely fighting words. Venus has already mentioned making Sapphire ugly, and now she has more reason to. Interestingly, Venus did not bring up appearances in this conversation; she offers "a deeper, more intense love." Charming is the one that leaves his "we are bound by love" argument for something superficial. Charming couldn't even tell Sapphire was a girl before! He also couldn't tell the difference between Sapphire au natural and in a wig. To his credit, when Venus asks him to choose between dying and getting drugged by one of her magic flowers to love her, he extends a shaky hand toward the death blossom, and when she questions his choice he says, "I don't care if I die. Even if it means death, you'll never erase my love for Sapphire!" I'm impressed by Charming for the first time. There's some commitment to this love he talks about.

Getting back to Sapphire's situation, Sapphire ends up at the alter with Friebe. The pastor says, "Sapphire, you shall be husband, household head and master..." in the vows. Sapphire finally breaks down and tells them the truth -- she is a woman and not a man. She hasn't regained her memories, but at least she has realized or accepted the nature of her physical form. Neither the pastor nor Friebe believe her until Sapphire shows Friebe her naked chest. The pastor is quite upset saying, "We can't have girls marrying other girls!" This wedding was taking place in a Christian church, so the pastor has a reason to be upset. Tezuka is able to use this situation to show some acceptance of female / female relations, though, by letting it progress this far. Sapphire is almost ready to go through with it, but feels bad lying about her gender (as she should).

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Friebe laughs long and hard before dissolving into silent tears. Sapphire apologizes, admitting she "shouldn't have gotten [her] hopes up" and questioning, "Why am I even dressed as a man?" Friebe has an admirable attitude after all this, telling Sapphire, "You don't need to tell me. I'm sure you have your reasons." She then continues to help Sapphire escape from Nylon and the gang of guards he's amassed. When Sapphire gets cornered, Friebe (not dressed in her armor) jumps in to protect Sapphire, and Sapphire protects her right back. When Sapphire says, "I'll save you, Friebe!" Friebe says, "Stop talking like a man! It's too confusing! You're a girl, right?" Friebe and Sapphire both have cause to question Sapphire's gender (though Sapphire still doesn't remember), but Friebe has basically said the same thing to Sapphire, just with different words. The "I'll save you" line is stereotypically male-heroic, but what about the act of fighting to save someone? Friebe is actively fighting many armed guards to save Sapphire. So what exactly about Sapphire's statement (as opposed to her actions) is too masculine?

When Oolong arrives, Nylon tries to justify his actions by saying he was trying to recapture the escaped prisoner, but "this bitch dared to protect him." Yes, he's still calling Sapphire a guy. Oolong is rightfully upset at Nylon calling Friebe a bitch, since Friebe is Oolong's sister! The next little bit shows that having a swordswoman for a sister has made Oolong very accepting of gender-bending and makes me believe he would have taken offense at that name-calling even if it was some other girl. Friebe sobs that Sapphire is a woman, much to Oolong's surprise. He then laughs, saying, "You can find brave women like Friebe who are as manly as any man in every country." He acknowledges that this surprise is "galling" but accepts it without judgment. He even jokes about marrying Sapphire himself since his sister won't be.

Leaving her new friends, Sapphire encounters Venus, who jars her memory of Franz Charming and then turns her ugly. Sapphire did nothing to Venus other than be the object of Charming's affection, making her an unknowing rival. The goddess is jealous and spiteful. We are not shown Sapphire's face while she is ugly, and turning her ugly apparently knocks her out; Tink gets Venus to change her back, but Venus just changes tactics. Sapphire never seems to be awake or alive when bad things happen to her hearts and now her face. I'm left to wonder how Sapphire (and Charming) would react to her being ugly. How superficial are all who have pledged love for her?

Venus heads back to Charming, to find that Eros has freed him because he is "too upstanding a man." Venus says many things to prove she loves him, even offering to give up her status as a goddess, which makes me think there may be more than just a passing infatuation here. Failing that, she transforms herself to look like Sapphire and to break up with Charming. Charming shows yet again that he's superficial as he's easily fooled into believing this is really Sapphire. Hello! You were just talking to Venus with Sapphire nowhere around, and now Venus is gone, Sapphire is there, and you know that Venus's goddess powers can transform things since she just turned Eros into a flower. Even when Venus falls into her own trap (for Sapphire) and turns into a pig, Charming still thinks it's the real Sapphire until Sapphire and Tink arrive on scene. Charming asks her, "You're not another pig, are you?" Wait. So, he thought the pig was impersonating Sapphire? This guy is really not worthy of someone like Sapphire. Charming is very flawed, especially in his views on gender roles and appearance. The fact that he is Sapphire's love interest is frustrating, in part because he doesn't support the positive gender-bending and feminist aspects of this story and it detracts some from Sapphire's character for her to be okay with that. They embrace, Charming suggests they go home together, and Sapphire (whose memories have now returned) says, "And let's get married! I'll wear a gown and say my vows to you as a woman!" At least she is fully accepting her feminine side now, but she's "supposed" to since all she has is a girl heart now.

The story ends with Charming and Sapphire riding off on the same horse and Tink, saying he'll answer to "Cupid" if they need him, returning to heaven. Apparently, Sapphire could only be in a position to marry Charming if she only has a girl heart and not both hearts. And while the laws have been changed, she's not going home to reclaim her throne, but is going to marry the prince of another kingdom. Why couldn't the happily ever after include her getting both hearts back? After all, even Tink was beginning to see how important that boy heart was to keep Sapphire herself. On the other hand, thanks in part to her amnesia, Sapphire found the strength to still carry herself in the same "manly" way as before and fight without feeling "girlishly weak." We've also been introduced to another woman doing manly things who (as far as we know) only has a girl heart. The moral at the ends reads more of acceptance, and the issue of Sapphire's hearts is kept out of the story from the point where she is brought back to life with amnesia. While the manga doesn't explicitly talk about them, the reader should keep things in context. Even with its flaws and limitations, this manga was ground-breaking and took many strides forward with female characters.

Gender-Bending in Princess Knight Part 1
Gender-Bending in Princess Knight Part 2
Gender-Bending in Princess Knight Part 3