#ribbon knight

[r0bitadraws]

They were not suppose to see that...

Team Phoenix is pretty fun to read and I really appreciate the author adding so many characters and references to other Tezuka works - even works that have never been translated or released in the west.

I kinda wish I saw more of what happened between Sapphire and the other knights, but I guess that's only meant for my imagination. I can only guess the Blue Knight had some awkward moments considering how he'd been granted responsibility for supervising a bunch of teenagers.

[r0bita]

Princess Knight headcanons, speculations, and observations, because I have nothing else to do right now. This post got longer than intended.

Much... much longer...

Kingdoms and regions.

Even though both Goldland and Silverland are fictional, they may possibly be the fantasy counterparts to real European medieval/renaissance era kingdoms. Both England and Italy are mentioned in the manga as seperate locations, so it's safe to say that neither Goldland nor Silverland are situated in either of those countries.

A lot of French influences are found in Takarazuka revue and Takarazuka also inspired Princess Knight, among many other stories and characters written by Osamu Tezuka. By that logic, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that the main character's homeland, Silverland, is probably based on France. Aditionally, the French pronunciation of Sapphire is Saphir, a masculine word/name in the language. The word "sapphire" in general is a masculine word in romance languages. With that context in mind, it makes Sapphire's gender/naming less suspicious both in reality and in-universe.

Goldland is possibly based on Germany or even the Holy Roman Empire. Additionally, Franz and Heinrich are both german names. Franz, is the German version for "Francis", meaning freeman, frank, or Frenchman (interesting...). Heinrich is the German version of Henry, meaning home ruler or enclosed ruler (very interesting...).

Despite being from an another kingdom (exiled from birth?), Capt. Blood was raised most of his life in Italy (I keep thinking Sicily. If Goldland is the HRE then maybe??? Italian states, the papacy, and the HRE were not always on good terms throughout history. I shouldn’t over think this part too much...). Not surprisingly, he would be fluent in regional Italian, as well as multiple languages and dialects due to his upbringing by nobility and as a sea voyager. Italian varients of Heinrich/Henry would be Arrigo, Enrico, or Enzo, so those could probably be the names he grew up with. As a pirate starting off from the Italian coast, would he call himself Capitano Sangue or Sanguigno?

Hecate's family lives in Mt. Resin (no real mountain by that name seems to exist, as far as a quick internet search can show). It's possibly located within or near the alps, making the location close enough to both kingdoms possible real word locations. I also get a Spanish/Iberian vibe from Hecate and Mephisto and Madame Hell, like characters from a Francisco Goya painting.

I'm surprised there isn't a Bronzeland (unless it was mentioned in the old Ribbon Knight/Princess Knight anime and I completely missed that?)

However, I definitely remember the anime bringing up three sacred treasures in the form of Gold, Silver, and Bronze orbs/bells by the finale. Maybe there were hints to a third kingdom that never got fully addressed?

Characters Observations and Headcanons

Plastic's retains some of Sapphire's experiences on account of the heart switch situation. Maybe even some emotional responses... *cough* and her romantic interests *cough. Even though he proves to be very competent and more mature than he seems, he often worries that he still doesn't have a lot to show for in spite of EVERYBODY agreeing he's a very dependable and trustworthy person.

I'm pretty sure Hecate is the type to break the fourth wall if she wanted. She'd be the type to reference famous actors and popular movies in public. She could totally predict the future, and only choose to use that power for silly reasons.

Incidentally, both Plastic and Hecate are both on the same boat when it comes to their parents and circumstances. Both Plastic and Hecate's parents insist that what they do is for their children, even when their methods are clearly wrong and both Plastic and Hectare are insistent that not only are their parents actions unnecessary, but that it's more for their selfish wants than for their children's needs. Also the coincidence that they were both born/created without "hearts" is an interesting topic.

Franz and Sapphire are both characters that, because to their upbringing, have trouble figuring themselves out and fully trusting others. They are confident in their abilities, but not so much in believing they are worthy of them because of the high standards they must uphold. Thankfully, they are both sword maniacs and absolute dorks around each other, and in general. They'll be fine.

Sapphire functions by giving herself comands. "If I must be a boy, I will be a boy." "If I must be a girl, I will be a girl" "If I must be strong, I will be strong", etc. This is pretty effective up until something disrupts Sapphire's concentration or is simply to overwhelming for her to handle alone. Once something doesn't go as planned, she needs to regain her composure and that often means switching off from whatever she's focused on. This can be frustrating for her, because switching off leads to her getting distracted and it makes her feel vulnerable. This leads to Sapphire often being very defensive and nervous when allowing others, especially strangers, close to her and allowing them to help her.

Franz heavily values honesty, openess, and reassurance, which is both a blessing and a curse for him. He's too dependent on taking other people's words to heart and does not handle mockery and dishonesty very well. This may also be why he is incredibly curious (to the point of being obsessed and nosy at times) and isn't shy about admitting when he doesn't know everything. However, he also has a tendency to be self-deprecating at times which comes in conflict with his need to look competent. He won't allow people to call him a fool, but that doesn't stop it from calling himself a fool often.

I am frankly under the belief that Franz is nearsighted, has a habit of staring off, and prone to laughing fits when he gets surprised, nervous, and even upset at times, much to his uncle's frustration and constant training in etiquette (that last one may very well be true based on his responses to sudden information in the manga).

I'd also like to believe that before deciding to become a pirate, Blood was probably set to possibly become a surgeon, or more likely a physician, either arranged by his adoptive parents or possibly by himself. This is just a personal hc I have due to Capt. Blood's original novel and movie counterpart, Dr. Peter Blood, who started out as a surgeon before he took to piracy.

Madame Hell and Satan. Worst couple.

Madame Hell and Mephisto. Power couple.

Satan could care less about his kids. Mephisto would spoil them and spoil them more. Hell is the actually the more responsible one when it comes to keeping an eye on Hecate, even if she can barely keep up with her daughter.

Oolong and Friebe, coolest sibling duo. It's not a headcanon, it's a fact. (Franz and Blood wishes... No, seriously. Franz does wish they were that in-sync, but life isn't fair and neither is his uncle...)

Speaking of Franz's uncle, Duke Chanell. It's not outright stated, but it is implied that he is his maternal uncle, stating that he raised him after his mother died. If Blood is the illegitimate child of the previous king of Goldland, this may add more to why he has a strong dislike towards Heinrich, who was probably a baby when he sent him away. Franz's uncle is depicted as harsh and greedy. But from a bigger picture, it does make sense why he would go towards extreme lengths for his nephew, possibly the only child left by his sibling, the queen. Even though he is the one ruling the country at the moment, he clearly prefers that Franz to be the one to succeed him then giving it to the elder brother, and is deeply upset about Franz pursuing The Flax-haired girl ,Sapphire, and getting forcibly engaged to Hecate.

[showamagicalgirls]

The reason I consider Princess Knight (リボンの騎士) to be a magical girl series is that Sapphire is given both the heart of a boy and the heart of a girl by God in the Christian heaven. Plus, her sidekick is a cherubic angel, and there are other fantastical elements like fantastical beasts. All of those things seem pretty magical to me, and they’re all featured in the episode I watched today — the second episode of the English dub.

[ojamajomary]

This year’s super sentai is a surprisingly superb... do I missed that Gira Hastie  is lost orphaned royalty spoiler leak?

[anistarrae]

happy birthday to them all

[das-a-kirby-blog]

I sweetened them, okay?

[linkandorf]

Daroach & Gooey

[adeleine-everyday]

day 50

happy birthday, crystal shards!!

[pezz-mp4]

Three [Does deep cut's pose]

[macaroniv]

kirby is my default setting my bad gang

[veinsfullofstars]

“Any more stupid questions?”

Bonus live reactions to being saved from a Dark Matter ambush:

Started 07/13/24, finished 07/27/24, updated for color correction 11/02/24. | Kintsugi AU Masterpost

[itsquakey]

Happy Birthday Kirby! Here's the 30th piece back up in all its glory!

[r0bita]

I personally get a lot of nb/grey spectrum vibes from Hecate. Sapphire gets all the gender conflict attention and drama that comes with her role, but I feel like some other characters get left out in some of the conversations about gender roles and gender identity in Princess/Ribbon Knight and it's different interpretations.

Specifically from the 1963 manga, Hecate and Madame Hell's relationship goes farther than an evil witch, aligned with the literal devil, and her rebellious daughter who occasionally plays a deturogonist role, aligned with the pure-hearted and morally righteous main characters (should this get a spin-off?). Hell, Hecate's mother, is constantly trying to force her child into a more feminine role, become more lady-like, get married to a man with money and power, and ultimately serving as a tool to give her parent(s?, it depends...) more power through this role. Meanwhile, Hecate simply wishes to remain the way she is, single, doing spells, playing pranks, and living a care-free no strings attached life.

There's also the argument that because Hell created her, not birthed her, that Hell views her daughter as an incomplete person, and she's desperate to "fix" that in order to insure Hecate's happiness. Meanwhile Hecate doesn't seem to view herself in that regard at all. Hecate doesn't view herself as incomplete, she likes herself! In response to her mother's actions, Hecate constantly tries and fails to get through to her mother that all her attempts to "help" her child are not necessary or even benefit Hecate at all, if anything it harms them both.

Hecate likes herself the way she is. If the whole boy-heart vs. girl-heart situation is seen by modern fans as a trans/gender-fluid allegory where are the main character is constantly pitted in situations where they have to choose between or compromise living their life as a boy or a girl, then wouldn't having neither heart make someone agender or non-binary in that situation? (ignoring the uncomfortable supernatural and divine circumstances that started this and add to how dated it may make the story in a modern context)

Hecate's conflict with her mother isn't an uncommon theme in many stories, especially in Tezuka's mangas, but their particular conflict feels uncomfortably familiar with a lot of accounts and depictions of trans/gnc/nb/grey-spec kids being pressured by their parents to be more gender-conforming.

[showamagicalgirls]

There are a lot of differences between the English dub and the original Japanese versions of Princess Knight (リボンの騎士), particularly towards the beginning of the show. The first shot of the first episode, for example, is of this animatronic storyteller who never appears in the dub.

[wet-bed]

3 months and 2 week, 8 frames per second again, 5 grams of nothing, that's the power of procrastinating on a animated gif redraw for way longer than the original which it shouldn't...but it did, cause I'm slower than your typical social media digital artist lmao

comparison with the new one in krita on the left and old one in flipnote on the right

just in case they get confused...

[yokyoaaa]

So I have a vision