Broken Princess is a book series by M. Hadley. So far, the first volume was released in 2017, but the series is on hiatus because the author is working on other projects.
In Ancient Japan, the city of Edo was living peacefully when out of nowhere, mechas, tanks, and other futuristic war machines attack it unprovoked. Princess Himiko, Edo's superpowered defender, attempts to fight back and protect the people, but is eventually knocked out and buried under rubble. When she wakes up and frees herself, the attackers are gone, but the city has been burned to the ground and everyone, including the children, has been killed. Desiring vengeance, Himiko tries to find the attackers' trail, but suddenly finds herself in the futuristic city Megacity Yamato. She quickly runs afoul of the city's police force, the Public Guardians, whose logo is identical to that of the attackers, though they don't know who she is or what she is talking about. Her only allies are a group of rebels against the city for the rights of Bions, human-looking robots who are discriminated against.
M. Hadley's Deviantart page
has several illustrations related to the story and previews for future volumes.
Tropes
- Anachronism Stew: Himiko wears a sailor fuku, lived in Edo instead of Yamatai, and mentions meeting people like Oda Nobunaga, Katsushika Hokusai, and The 47 Ronin. All of these existed centuries after her time.
- Badass Creed: Himiko has the Nemesis Code: "Truth. That which cannot be disputed. Rectitude. Conformity to truth and righteousness. Courage. The ability to confront evil, the opponents of truth and righteousness. Benevolence. Kindness for all things great and small. Respect. Deference to all, even my adversaries. Loyalty. Eternal duty to the Code and its tenets. Purity. As an instrument of the Code, I can never be contaminated by the forces of evil. Retribution. Just punishment for evil rendered."
- Bag of Holding: A compartment in Himiko's belt buckle can store several items larger than it.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: Himiko is forced to compromise her principles a few times, like when she runs from a fight or takes a hostage, since she is desperate to survive.
- Bulletproof Vest: Himiko's sailor fuku was woven from the silk of Jorogumo the Spider-Woman herself, so it is practically indestructible and can stop bullets and lasers. However, getting shot will knock her down and hurts like hell.
- Code Name: The rebels use code names like Monkey, Dog, Pheasant, Momotaro, White Rabbit, and Geppetto.
- Copycat Mockery: When Himiko is arrested a second time, she has flashback of her childhood nanny Yamauba getting killed by a mecha and cries while screaming her name. The Public Guardians cruelly mock her by copying her.
- Disguised in Drag: Kitty and Nene pretend to be women in public.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Kitty and Nene wear Public Guardian uniforms to sneak up and help Himiko when she gets arrested the first time. They quickly get found out because their uniforms are old and they do not have comm links to communicate with the others.
- Due to the Dead: Before leaving the ruins of Edo, Himiko buries every dead body she finds.
- The Ending Changes Everything: In the ending of Volume One, the rebels discuss that Himiko is actually the Spire, a clone of both Orochi and Kushinnada, the girl who was to be sacrificed to it. The Spire is meant to cause extinctions, then the cult the Order of Kushinnada took her, tortured and brainwashed her, and the rebels have footage of this. This raises the possibility that Himiko's memories of Edo and its massacre were only a simulation or implanted memory.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Other than flashbacks to Himiko's past and to the massacre of Edo, most of Volume One takes place over a single night.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Himiko doesn't really fit in with the future. She mistakes vehicles and the mechas and tanks for monsters.
- Gender-Blender Name: The rebels Kitty and Nene are men.
- Healing Factor: Himiko can near instantly heal her injuries as long as she has the Qi reserves.
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Averted because every time Himiko punches through something hard like stone or metal, her knuckles bleed before her Healing Factor fixes them.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Everyone calls the Bion by terms like "it" or "that thing". They do the same to Himiko after mistaking her for a Bion, but the Public Guardians keep doing it after learning she is human since she has superhuman abilities. The rebels are the only ones who call Himiko by name.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: When Himiko is incapacitated and arrested the first time, a Public Guardian named Yuki stomps on her head. The others reprimand him for using excessive force.
- Killer Yo-Yo: Himiko's main weapon is a golden yo-yo called Kusanagi. The string can extend indefinitely and conduct electric attacks, and the disk can smash a truck apart.
- Ki Manipulation: Called Qi, Himiko can channel it to boost her strength, speed, and senses, heal herself, use elemental attacks, and sense the presence of others.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: When Himiko is being rescued from a prison transport, one of her geta falls off her foot. Fortunately, a robot on her side catches and returns it.
- Revenge Is Not Justice: Himiko wanted to kill all the Public Guardians and everyone associated with them after believing they were the ones who attacked Edo. She is visited by the spirit of her father, who reminds her that the Retribution part of the Nemesis Code calls for a just punishment. He tells her to investigate and find out who is really responsible to bring them to justice.
- Royal "We": Himiko addresses herself using "us" and "we". This causes some confusion as Kitty is one of the only people in the future who understands it.
- Shoot the Hostage: When facing a tank, Himiko uses a Public Guardian as a shield, but the tank's operator, Dai, fires anyway. The explosion knocks Himiko senseless and apparently vaporizes the hostage.
- Slave Brand: The Bion are supposed to have a bar code mark on them and those who refuse are arrested.
- Supernormal Bindings: Both times that Himiko is defeated and arrested, she is put in high-tech handcuffs and anklecuffs. The cuffs are held together with Hard Light cables and not even Himiko is strong enough to break them. Both times, she needs to be rescued.
- Super-Speed: Himiko is fast enough to leave afterimages, Flash Step, and go into Bullet Time sequences.
- Super-Strength: Himiko is strong enough to punch through stone and metal and send people and trucks flying.
- Technologically Advanced Foe: Ancient Edo did not stand a chance against nearly indestructible war machines. Even the superpowered Himiko has trouble dealing with the weapons and devices of the Public Guardians.
- Tracking Device: The first time Himiko faces the Public Guardians, they discreetly spray her with Nanomachines to track her location and record everything she does. When she is rescued from their custody, the rebels manage to duplicate the signal and make it emit everywhere, making it useless.
- The World Is Just Awesome: Himiko dismisses Megacity Yamato as a land of monsters, metal, and lifelessness at first. When she is rescued from a prison transport in the sky, she looks down and sees the city from above with all its towers and lights and admits it is beautiful.
