Webtoon Review: The Cursed Princess Club

The Cursed Princess Club

Webtoon

Lambcat

In a world of royalty, a princess is always deemed “Worthy” by one standard alone; her beauty. If a princess is beautiful, then surely her kingdom will be wealthy and successful. She will be married to a handsome prince of a neighboring kingdom, strengthening the bond of the two monarchies and ultimately bringing honor and prosperity to both. What happens, though, if a princess is NOT beautiful? Well, The Cursed Princess Club aims to show you just that.

When the comic begins we open in the Pastel Kingdom, which is our setting. Inhabiting this kingdom is the Pastel family, all of whom are beautiful in different ways; all except for one. Gwendolyn, or Gwen as she is called most often, is the youngest daughter of the pastel family. Very early on her appearance is criticized, as she does not fit the typical “princess mold”. She has sharp teeth and green hair, her skin is even tinted green, and witches themselves mistake her for one of their own. Gwendolyn our main character.

Gwen is a sweet, and loving girl. She loves to bake for others, and her food is rumored to be the most delicious in the world. Gwendolyn cares about others more than herself, and she does her best to help however she can, no matter the circumstances. She is, in essence, the embodiment of “beautiful on the inside”.

The story of this comic follows along as this sheltered princess is exposed to the outside world. Her appearance, which was never questioned by her loving family, even once, is mocked and ridiculed by strangers until our dear sweet Gwen sees only ugliness in the mirror. This berating of her appearance is what ultimately guides Gwen into the forest at night, and what causes her to meet a very special group of ladies (and one gentleman) who have deemed themselves “The Cursed Princess Club.”

The Cursed Princess Club is a group of princesses who are all quite literally cursed. They immediately assume Gwen is cursed as well, based on her looks, which only seems to make things worse for Gwen’s self-esteem. However, after a very rocky start, they become good friends of Gwen’s and accept her for exactly who she is. She may not be cursed, but they welcome her into their club anyway.

It is these very princesses who try to show Gwen that being beautiful is not mandatory and that no matter how she looks, she is still a princess. Beauty does not make you worthy of love. You are already worthy of love. That is the message in the Cursed Princess Club. It is a journey of self-worth and learning to be okay with who you are. Regardless of how you look to others.

The art style of this comic is somewhat simplistic. Every panel is drawn is such a way that you see only what is necessary at the time. If two people are talking, you see ONLY those two people and their immediate background. There are, of course, times when it is necessary to see a scene. In these instances, most of the details are grayed out. For example, in a shot of a ballroom, the people who are not important for the scene are not in color. I believe this is done, on purpose, to highlight what matters to the comic. It also saves the artist time, which is a plus when doing everything on your own.

However, that being said, the art itself is good! This comic is well-drawn, and important aspects of it are, in fact, detailed. The specific focus on only important events does not take away from the reading experience, as one might think. I would have hardly noticed it, to be honest. The art is very stylized, however. It has the feel of early anime. Something like “Case Closed” In that, it is drawn in an anime style with high cartoon elements.

The Cursed Princess Club is an endearing comic about the journey of a girl trying to learn how to love herself. It is a rather lighthearted comic with classic comedic moments that blend well into the story, making you forget the underlying darkness.

The Cursed Princess club updates every Monday and is currently on episode #46.

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