Katakana Furigana manga help

[ChristopherFritz]

The first instance of 王女さま(プリンセス) I believe is in case the reader is unfamiliar with the English word. (Remember, this was circa 1992.) If I recall correctly, Usagi makes a side comment about pudding (プリン), which suggests the furigana is what was spoken, and the kanji is to let the reader know what the word means. After the first instance, it becomes fine to use プリンセス alone.

On the other hand, the あいつ, I took the furigana not to be what was said, but rather to specific to the reader who あいつ refers to. (I know, inconsistent if I’m right.)

As for マーキュリー and かせい, well, Naoko Takeuchi was wildly inconsistent. See also: エネルギー vs エナジー.

@wannabefssp

Is it normal for furigana to be used loosely as an interpretive key instead of a phonetic key?

Yes and no. Depends on the author. Here’s from a manga series I’m currently reading:

In this case, the word is supposed to read レンタル, and the furigana (which includes kanji!) is giving the meaning. That’s backwards from what I usually see, where the furigana is the reading/what’s spoken.

Edit: From the same manga:

@wannabefssp

I’m having a largely negative reaction to it after the first volume but that’s another story.

If you want to complain or vent about it, feel free to =) Anything specific?