Carlo Santos and Shaenon Garrity at the Comic-Con. Aoki, for About.com, selected it as the second best new shōjo released in 2011 after Sailor Moon, stating it "can seem a little dated and quaint compared to its contemporary counterparts, but it's no less charming and fun to read." Gravett included Princess Knight on his book 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die. Its art has been well received by critics, including Sizemore, Joseph Luster of Otaku USA, Wildsmith, Chris Kirby of The Fandom Post, and by Mautner, who stated, "Visually, Knight is a stunning achievement." On the other hand, Carlo Santos and Silverman of ANN said its art style may not appeal to modern readers, with Silverman deeming it a great "deterrent". Kirby wrote that Princess Knight is "a pleasure to look at, fun to read, and a piece of entertainment that excels at entertaining more than anything." Sizemore praised it as it "constantly delivering thrills at each turn," contrasting to Wildsmith, who considered the episodic nature of the series "chaotic and unfocused". Although also commended the formula, Santos stated the story in overall "has its weaknesses" and "allows itself ... logical loopholes." Luster asserted initially it focused too much in gags which "could easily become a tiresome formula", but the action in late chapters overcomes it. Sizemore called it "fun" but "deeply flawed in its storytelling." Shaun A. Noordin of The Star asserted, "The memorable characters, adventure, drama and comedy (not to mention a framework for exploring issues such as feminism, gender equality and identity) are all there, but the barrage of story arcs made it difficult for us to be invested in the narrative." Legacy Impacts on industry Princess Knight marks the first time Tezuka used his "story comic" format—which uses a narrative structure and cinematic techniques—in a shōjo manga. The series changed the concept of shōjo from gag comics or strips teaching "good behavior" to narrative-focused works, and thus is considered the first modern work of the genre. It also established elements that would be common in late works of the genre, including an idealized foreign (from a Japanese perspective) settings, a heroine with large eyes, and gender ambiguity with a certain amount of androgyny. In the 1970s, two trends were predominant in shōjo manga: the first featured "androgynous, masculine, or asexual protagonists searching for self and love", and the other had "more explicit romance involving