of letting Nylon rule, even as a puppet monarch, and merely keeps him around as a churlish buffoon. Sapphire and Franz try to prevent the King and Queen from being executed, but they are too late and the King and Queen are dropped in the sea. This culminates in the final battle, as Sapphire heads off to Silverland castle to confront Mr. X with the aid of three magic balls. Given to Sapphire by her parents, the balls represent the three kingdoms and are supposed to save Silverland: they are used at first to ring the kingdom's bells, magically giving to the people the will to fight the invaders. Sapphire has the balls melted to form a magic ax, which she uses to rout Mr. X's troops, break up the castle's walls, and confront X himself. Sapphire ends up dueling Mr. X, with the help of Franz, and manages to wound him. Just as the enraged Mr. X is about to chop Sapphire and Franz in half, Tink calls on God for help, and a lightning bolt strikes X. As Sapphire seems to triumph, Mr. X rises from his apparent death and begins smashing the castle with his bare hands, eventually causing it to collapse onto himself. Nylon, who was swaying through the halls like a raving madman, is also crushed to death. Sapphire escapes the collapsing castle and stands triumphant in the sunlight. Tink has been mortally wounded by the castle's breakdown, and tells God that he is ready to sacrifice his life should Sapphire's parents be brought back from the dead. God then accepts to bring back the King and Queen to life, as Tink dies. Sapphire and Franz end up getting married. Tink's spirit returns to heaven, where he has finally earned his wings. Production and style During the 1950s, Osamu Tezuka was already popular having written Kimba the White Lion (1950) and Astro Boy (1952). In late 1952, a Shōjo Clubs editor asked Tezuka if he would be able to create a work similar to his previous ones but aimed toward girls. Tezuka agreed and his first idea was to transpose the all-female musical theater group Takarazuka Revue into manga. Takarazuka's "aesthetic is on full display in Princess Knight", argued Natsu Onoda Power, in her book God of Comics. Born in Osaka, Tezuka lived in Takarazuka City between five and twenty-four, and with a mother who