Gee, who could the 7th Princess possibly be?
Kilala Princess is a shōjo manga licensed by Disney and Tokyopop, written by Rika Tanaka and illustrated by Nao Kodaka, which was serialized from 2005 to 2008; the first 15 chapters were published in Nakayoshi, while the last eight chapters were published in the magazine's quarterly spinoff Nakayoshi Lovely. The compiled volumes were first released in English as half-volumes, never making it past the Japanese Volume 2 in English. However, in 2016 and 2017 Tokyopop released all five volumes in proper format.
The basic plot is like a shoujo version of Kingdom Hearts. A young girl, Kilala, has always dreamed of being like the Disney Princesses. When she meets Prince Rei, who's looking for the Seventh Princess to save his kingdom, Kilala resolves to help him.
To do this, she travels to the lands of the Disney Princesses and works to save their lands from evil, collecting the magical gems that will save Paradiso in the process. But the Disney villains aren't the only ones Kilala has to watch out for...
A sequel series
began release in 2020, focusing on Mulan, Pocahontas, and Brave's Merida as the tiara sends Kilala on a new quest. This series, unlike the first, is written by Mallory Reaves.
This manga contains examples of:
- Action Pet: Kilala’s pet mouse Tippe accompanies her throughout her adventures.
- Adaptational Badass: The Wicked Queen wasn't a physical fighter in the Snow White movie, but in the manga she easily gashes Rei's arm and defeats him in combat.
- Arc Villain: The Disney villains are the villains of their respective story arcs (these being the Wicked Queen, Jafar, Lady Tremaine, Ursula, Maleficent, and Gaston), but the main villain is Valdou.
- Art Shift: The Disney characters are drawn in the Disney style, while Kilala and her friends are drawn in a regular manga style. Sometimes the change can be jarring. It's also ironic given how the whole big-eyed Anime look was based on early Disney cartoons.
- Artificial Human: Valdou and his troops turn out to be extremely humanoid robots.
- Ascended Fangirl: After admiring the Disney Princesses, Kilala joins their ranks.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: In the "Cinderella" world, Kilala asks the fairy godmother to temporarily turn her into a boy so she can get into the ball. She makes a pretty cute one, too.
- Big Bad: Valdou turns out to be the main villain and the cause of much of the conflict in the story.
- Book on the Head: When Kilala is in Cinderella's world, they are training together to have perfect manners; Cinderella and Kilala are once both seen with several books on the head.
- Break Them by Talking: Ursula, Maleficent, and Valdou do this to Kilala at different points in the story.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Following Kilala and Rei’s escape from Valdou’s hands in the end of volume 3, the story shifts from spontaneous visits to the Disney Princess worlds to Kilala and Rei hopping from one world to another in desperate search for the other gems.
- The Chosen One: The Seventh Princess, aka Kilala, is the only one who can save Paradisio.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Sylphy, but she gets better.
- Cool Crown: Kilala's tiara, which is enhanced with the princess jewels.
- Culture Chop Suey: Kilala’s hometown Avalon takes its name from the Arthurian setting, but incorporates many elements of Japanese culture. The school system resembles Japan’s, with its Sailor Fuku-like uniforms and a guidance counselor who reprimands students. Kilalanote and Kenta’s names are of Japanese origin, but Erica’s name and Kilala’s surname Reno are of western origin.
- Darker and Edgier:
- The last volume of the manga is noticeably darker than the rest of the series, with a duel to the death between Rei and Valdou and a village being set on fire.
- The manga itself may count in regards to the movies they adapt, with depictions of blood when most of the movies had Bloodless Carnage.
- Deconstructed Trope: Being a princess isn't as easy as it looks; Kilala learns different things from each of them. In the final volume she struggles with the responsibilities of running a country, but decides she will be a princess in her own, unique way, while keeping the lessons they taught.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Sylphy eventually warms up to Kilala once the latter persists in befriending her and saving her from being brainwashed at Rei's insistence.
- Disney Death:
- Kilala nearly dies at the end, but is revealed to be just fine.
- Ursula gets caught in a blinding flash of light, but is shown moments later to have been just knocked out cold.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Kilala and Sylphy invoke this trope to wow Gaston, dressing as fancy barmaids to distract him.
- Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Gender-inverted in the first chapter, where Kilala kisses Rei while he's asleep.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Kilala has to go through a lot of trouble, but eventually finds her own happy ending even after she learns being a princess in rela life isn't as easy as it sounds.
- Empowered Badass Normal: The tiara's magic helps Kilala deliver the finishing blow on villains, but everything else she does is with her own natural strength.
- Fan Disservice: Ursula's wedding dress is hideous on her body.
- Fanservice: Kilala wearing a Seashell Bra and long skirt in the Little Mermaid arc, and Sylphy and Kilala dressing up as barmaids in the Beauty and the Beast arc.
- Fantastic Racism: Valdou and the rest of the Ridiculously Human Robots hate humans, considering themselves to be superior.
- Fate Worse than Death: The Queen prepares a poisoned apple that would make anyone who eats it so ugly no one would ever lay eyes on them again.
- Foil: Sylphy and Kilala contrast in every way. Kilala is young, compassionate, and modest, while Sylphy is haughty, rude, older, and sexy.
- Foregone Conclusion: Ariel's chapter takes place before she met Eric, so Ursula is just knocked out rather than killed.
- Formal Full Array of Cutlery: Kilala once enters a "Cinderella girl contest" and fails it, notably during the table manners test: she not only uses her soup spoon the wrong way but picks any cutlery in sight.
- Genki Girl: Kilala is full of energy, and inspired others through her positive outlook.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: Kilala must find the seven gems for the tiara.
- Graceful Loser: Sylphy admits Kilala won Rei in the end and shows up as her maid of honor.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Valdou is sliced in half vertically at the end.
- Heavy Sleeper: Rei is sleeping when Kilala first finds him. Out of curiosity, she kisses him and he wakes up... only to fall asleep again two seconds later.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Sylphy seems good at first, but then turns out to be The Mole. She later switches sides again, this time for good.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Snow White tells the Queen that she will eat the poisoned apple to save Kilala, though she's interrupted before she can follow through.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Queen is done in by her own magic, being turned into a vulture.
- Honorary Princess: Kilala is a schoolgirl, elected by a magical crown, to be the seventh Disney Princess (there were six at the time of publication). Granted, Kilala marries Rei in the end, but was recognized as the "legendary princess" nevertheless before that.
- James Bondage: Rei is captured and knocked out quite a bit and is often saved by Kilala.
- Lighter and Softer: The sequel series has less heavy themes than the first, and is episodic in nature.
- Magic Land: Paradiso is the magic place Kilala's parents have gone to in order to cure hr mother's illness. It ends up as a subversion, as it's being torn apart by revolutionaries.
- Magical Girl Warrior: With the Tiara's magic, Kilala battles and defeats Disney villains to save the lands.
- The Magic Versus Technology War: The uprising of liberated Paradiso citizens, led by Rei and Kilala wielding the Magic Tiara against the robot mastermind Valdou and his minions.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Tippe is supposed to be a mouse, but its appearance resembles more of a rabbit. Tippe also flies.
- The Mole: Valdou and Sylphy turn out to be evil, pretending to work for Rei while plotting to steal the Tiara.
- Ms. Fanservice: Sylphy's outfits are quite sexy for a children's manga.
- Mythology Gag: Kilala having a pet mouse not only references Cinderella’s mice friends, but also the Disney mascot Mickey Mouse.
- Parental Abandonment: Kilala's parents are in a magical world called "Paradiso” to seek medical care for her mother's illness. Finding them is part of Kilala's motivation.
- Pimped-Out Dress: The princesses wear these by default, as does Kilala at times. Sylphy wears one in the Sleeping Beauty world.
- The Pollyanna: Kilala remains optimistic and courageous throughout much of the story, and when her journey ends her outlook is said to be an inspiration to others.
- The Power of Friendship: Kilala's belief in friendship and the power of love helps save the day a lot.
- The Power of Love: This helps Kilala defeat the Disney villains by empowering the Tiara's magic, and is ultimately what allows Rei to defeat Valdou.
- Princesses Rule: Some Disney Princesses rule over their respective kingdoms, as does Kilala by the end.
- Prone to Tears: Kilala cries frequently when someone she loves is in trouble, or she doubts herself.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Kilala and Erica are very close and promise to never change no matter where life takes them in the future, and Kilala is initially adamant Erica is the princess Rei is looking for.
- Recycled IN SPACE!: The series is essentially Kingdom Hearts for GIRLS!
- Red Herring: Erica in regards to being the princess Rei is looking for.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Tippe the pink mouse, who acts as a Team Pet.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: The non-Disney villains and Valdou turn out to be humanoid robots.
- The Rival: Sylphy is a rival for Rei's affections, and is also his fiancee.
- Rival Turned Evil: Sylphy sells Rei out to Valdou once she's promised his hand in marriage as a reward.
- Royal Brat: Sylphy acts haughty and extremely rude to most people.
- Seashell Bra: Ariel, naturally, and Kilala wears one as a mermaid.
- Sequel Series: Years after the first story's conclusion, a new series was published focusing on Kilala's life after becoming a true princess, with the tiara sending her on a new quest.
- Shadow Discretion Shot: The Wicked Queen turning into a vulture is shown via shadow.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Kilala’s friend Kenta and the Tippe-focused side-stories disappear in the later volumes when things become bleaker.
- Something Only They Would Say: Kilala recognizes when Jafar impersonates Sylphy by the fact that "she" doesn't call Rei her darling like normal.
- Spell My Name With An S: Kilala's name is spelled in katakana as "Kirara", an actual Japanese name. However, the English release translates it to "Kilala".
- Sugar Bowl: The Princess worlds, when not being threatened, are generally very peaceful and sweet.
- Teleport Spam: The Wicked Queen does this when battling Rei, slashing at him and disappearing in a blink.
- Villain Team-Up: In Aladdin's world, Valdou teams up with Jafar to obtain the lamp and power over Paradiso.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Erica disappears from the story shortly after Ariel's world, though she does cameo in the last volume at Kilala and Rei's wedding.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Averted.
- Valdou shoots Kilala as she's about to reunite with Rei. Thanks to the Tiara's magic, and falling into Cinderella's world, she lives.
- The villains also try to shoot a mind-controlled Erica.
- World-Healing Wave: The Tiara's magic is used to restore Paradiso from a barren wasteland into a world teeming with greenery and beauty.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When Kilala sees Rei unconscious, she assumes he's a handsome prince who needs true love's kiss to wake up, just like in the Disney Princess stories. While she's right about the former, Rei was just asleep, and nods off immediately post-kiss.
- Yonkoma: The first volumes feature 4-panel comics following the misadventures of Tippe, Kilala’s pet mouse.
