After watching all the anime of Princess Knight and doing some background research on the subject, I learned that in his childhood where he grew up, his heart was captured by the local all female acting troupe. He loved there plays with colorful costumes, scenery and atmosphere. So he decided when he was an adult to pay homage to them and write the first girls manga in Japan: Ribbon no Kishi(Knight of Ribbon) or Princess Knight in America.
This must have been great for girls and women to read because it showed them that a woman can do anything that a man can do, but it also showed how there're discriminated against and abused, thus making people more aware an sensitive to the matter. Osamu Tezuka became a champion of womens rights. His message in the story isn't just love all creatures, but that women should be given equal rights with men.
Princess Sapphire is a tomboy like Astro's sister Uran, but she's more vunrable because she's only human and thus she's more abused than Uran. When she suffered, I suffered with her. Like when she was taken away to Egypt to be sold into slavery. I was angry :angry: and I wanted to jump in there and beat up those guys and say "Leave the poor girl alone, you scum!"
I think Tezuka was trying to expose the abuse of women around the world. The story may take place in the middle ages in Eroupe, but I think it was a medifore for the current Japanese royal family, who's female airs can't inherate the thrown. Look how the current Princess in Japan is suffering, just like Princess Sapphire. There're only now thinking of changing the law so that a women can inherate the thrown, just like Sapphire's father decided to change the law so that she could inherate the thrown as a female, no longer having to pretend to be a Prince.
If they did change the law, then women all over japan and asia for that matter would feel impowered and liberated. I think most Tezuka heroines are either liberated women or struggleing to be liberated like Sapphire. There're never just simple subbordinates or housewifes. Look at Astro's sister Uran-chan. She may be small, but she's got 50,000 horsepower. :wahah: Adult men don't evan have one horsepower. Fortunately she uses the power for good and fights along side Astro.
All this proves that Osamu Tezuka was a man who understood a womens heart. His message in Princess Knight opened my eyes to the suffering of women that's still going on around the world, just as bad as in Princess Knight and in some cases worse. I've decided to do something about it. There's an annual Federal Charity drive at my office and I'm going to give to 3 different women's charity groups that will help end the suffering of women aroung the world.
Thank you Osamu Tezuka and Princess Knight, you're both way ahead of your time. 
