Princess Jellyfish Part 2

Shojo & Tell: A Manga Podcast

Covers volumes 9 to 17 of Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

Don your armor (read: your prettiest, frilliest dress) and get ready to defend Tsukimi and all the residents of Amamizukan from corporate kidnapper Kai Fish. Guest Carrie McClain (an editor at Black Nerd Problems) and host Ashley list off the moments that made them cry in the second half, what clothes come to mean for the Amars, who has agency (and who doesn’t), and have one of the most epic Shipping Corners on the podcast yet. (Shu!! How dare you worm your way into our hearts like this?! HOW DARE YOU make us doubt Kuranosuke x Tsukimi for even a minute?!) Plus, in an author’s note, Higashimura questions why Princess Jellyfish is so popular in America, so Ashley and Carrie, as Americans, provide personal (and speculative) answers.

LINKS

• Princess Jellyfish is available from Kodansha USA physically and digitally
• You can watch the 11-episode anime over on Funimation
• Higashimura also did Tokyo Tarareba Girls, which was a digital-first initiative from Kodansha that's now getting a print run. Listen to our episode about it here.
• Kuranosuke still does not identify as an okama
• What is a fujoshi?
• Hana-Kimi is available from Viz Media
• Harajuku and fashion
• Correction when talking about Maid-sama: Takumi Usui is actually 3/4s Japanese, 1/4 English, and his half-brother Gerald Walker is the reverse. Which just makes their genetic stereotypes even more ridiculous in the manga. (To show that Takumi is mixed-race, he has blond hair and green eyes, both recessive genes.) This was mentioned at some point during our Maid-sama coverage. Listen to our first Maid-sama episode here. The manga is also available from Viz Media.
• Higashimura’s divorce news
• Deb Aoki’s article in Publisher’s Weekly about why manga is booming in the West right now
• Outro song: “Kokodake no Hanashi” by Chatmonchy (the opening of the Princess Jellyfish anime)

SOCIAL

• Find Carrie's work on Black Nerd Problems, where she writes lots about comics
• Follow Carrie on Twitter @DivineBlkPearl
• Follow Shojo & Tell on Twitter @shojoandtell
• Follow Shojo & Tell on Instagram @shojoandtell
• Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshMcD00

Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Want to tell us what made you cry? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.