Princess Princess 3

I was kind of expecting a volume like this, or rather, I was expecting everything that occurred in this volume… but I suppose it was hard to take in all at once.

This volume basically contained every shoujo manga plot device you can think of.  There was the school play (which we’ll see most of next volume).  There was the school choral competition, where of course one character had to be taught how to sing.  The complications with the main character’s sister that were brought up last volume… they looked like they would provide some promising tension, but the situation was kind of ended lamely.  The school festival took place.  There was a chapter about the main character transferring schools.  Ho hum.  We were spared a hot spring trip, which probably would have done it for me.
Though, to be fair, I did get a little enjoyment out of some of that.   Even though there was no way the main character was going to transfer, I did like some of the conversations between the characters.  Granted, these conversations weren’t all that deep or edifying, but they were at least a little enjoyable within the context of the series.  The school festival event involving the Princesses was pretty funny.  The students had to collect stamps from seven different people, which included the three princesses, three student council members, and Akira’s older brother, who is still apparently the school celebrity.  You basically could pay off the council members to get their stamp, or beat them at impossible tasks.  You had to find or chase down the princesses in order to get their stamp, which was them kissing your card, and Akira’s brother was apparently unapproachable because of a “Holy Aura.”  Once again, nothing too ingenious, but enjoyable here.  I also liked the song the Princesses wound up performing at the choral competition.

It’s still just… sort of okay.  I don’t have much hope of it picking up momentum in the last couple volumes, but I’m not exactly dreading reading them, either.

Also, I still liked Mikiyo Tsuda’s afterward stuff.  Even though it’s not too much different from what other artists talk about, for some reason, her 4-panel comics and illustrated afterward are just very funny in the backs of all these books.