I've read the first 4 volumes, so I've got a pretty good idea of the standard of storytelling here and it is very high, much higher than the usual licensed shoujo aimed at a young teen readership, to be honest. This story is clean and pure but has quite an astonishingly complex plot at times, with some actual bona fide surprises (it's very hard for any manga to surprise me, lol, but this one succeeds).
On the surface it appears to be a typical love triangle if you read the summary, but oh my goodness, it's so much more than that. Things you will notice as you read the manga: the INCREDIBLE awesomeness of the heroine, who is funny, strong, forthright and unsentimentally romantic (I never knew someone could be unsentimental and romantic!); the political and cultural details of the society she lives in, which is extremely coherent and well-built; the unique personalities and charm of the two leading guys, who are not cookie-cutter bishie stereotypes but people with real depth and personal histories; the freaking hilarious gags that uplift even the moments of tragedy (I still don't know how the mangaka manages to combine sadness and humor so well); the minor characters and their solid characterization; the surprising subtlety of emotions which aren't melodramatic in this manga as they are in so many shoujo stories; the MANY strong female characters, not just the main one.
Yeah, so plenty of good stuff here. I frankly couldn't put it down when I started reading, and ended up reading all 4 volumes in one go. Will get the remaining 3 volumes ASAP and finish reading the series.
One of the awesome things about this manga is that although you can guess which guy is going to end up with the girl, it just seems so impossible for him at this point (even 4 volumes in!) that frankly you're wondering how the heck they could even end up together, and not in a bad way, but in a "omg I wanna know how the mangaka makes this happen!" way. And the mangaka's storytelling is so good that you trust her to make it happen in a believable and entertaining way. One of those entertaining things is the very original idea of the tattoos representing the heroine's inner emotional state, which makes the romance quite unusual because it makes the heroine literally unable to hide her feelings - I mean they are physically visible to anyone who catches sight of her tattooed arms. The heroine's discomfort at having her innermost being so constantly and easily on display is one of the unusual plot points that makes this manga so interesting. The guys are also both so unique and both so lovable in their own ways that no matter who "gets the girl," I predict that I'll be partially heartbroken. That's rare; usually in shoujo love triangles the reader is made to favor one of the guys much more than the other. In this one, there really is suspense and a building sense of "winner takes all" that's upping the stakes of an otherwise simple love triangle. Since both the leading men are equally impressive and are essentially decent human beings with good hearts, the reader can't just easily say, "Oh, this one should get the girl," without feeling remorse for the other guy. They both genuinely care about her, too.
Another huge plus point for me was the plethora of strong female characters. One of the things I have found disappointing in many shoujo mangas is the scarcity of truly strong, decent, coherent and normal women who are just as accomplished and intelligent as the men. Somehow the bishie-licious hero of the shoujo manga is always smarter, stronger or more mature than all the girls in the manga... Not so here! In this manga, not only is the heroine a strong and clever girl, but her mother is the female ruler of the kingdom who is wise and courageous, and there are a whole bunch of other women that are also successful role models. I like that about this manga - that the girls and women in it aren't stereotypical damsels-in-distress types but have their own strengths, abilities and responsibilities that are on par with the men. They aren't just love-crazy like so many girls/women in shoujo are, but have other responsibilities and concerns that often outweigh their romantic ambitions, just like it is with guys who have to focus on other things sometimes. A real (and rare) equal opportunity manga. 🙂
Try this and you'll enjoy it. It's not a soppy romance with a tearful heroine - instead, it's a surprisingly unsentimental and yet sweet romance about a pure, clever and strong heroine who more often than not rescues the guys, rather than the other way around.
Two thumbs up!
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