The first thing I'll say is that the art's sweet, absolutely gorgeous. Of course, there may be those who believe Kairi (the uke) a little too feminine for their tastes, but I find him tastefully adorable. Taste and preferences are far too subjective, but I would never feel that it is in my right to criticize (not critique, distinct difference) just because it was not to my liking.

Onto the plot, yes, I must admit, it is a multitude of cliches, the entire story line is probably built on cliches, but I fail to see what makes it less of a good manga, simply because the plot follows the typical drama. There's a certain reason and logic as to why cliches are formed. With the exception of a petty group that finds perverse satisfaction in nitpicking overused plots and denouncing them as shallow and frivolous, there is an ever-present demand for such books (manga).

Why would Harlequin print a hundred books about Greek and Texas Tycoons, why would the market for historical romances thrive, why is it that mobster bosses and brooding vampires and arrogant princes are so dreadfully appealing? Why? People (oh, you may call us shallow and frivolous) do enjoy cliches. I personally love a good cliche. You know what's a cliche? Happy endings. The biggest cliche in the history of mankind. Do you hate all books and all manga with happy endings?

Maybe. I wouldn't put it past some people, but that of course speaks for a minority. I believe the majority loves a good ending. Correct me if I'm wrong. Perhaps times have changed and the market now decides we like the characters that we have all come to feel for die a horrible, gruesome death.

Clearly there are several notable flaws in the plot, mentioned several times before me, the Divine Grape Tree. Yes, the reason it is so revered is that it is a tree that grows grape when grape actually grows on vines. Okay, so I see the problem, but what I don't see is how that affects the entire story, it could be a sacred golden flower, or a silver dragon, or a gigantic three-storey clam for all I care. I wouldn't be one to nitpick, it's a manga for heaven's sake, and yaoi to boot, realism is not what I'm looking for.

Yet I must admit that there is something lacking in the relationship between the main couple, which, I must say, didn't seem to be getting anywhere and suddenly seemed to have gotten somewhere. All the misunderstanding and hurt ever-present in the four long angst-ridden chapters can hardly be resolved in five short pages, maybe three. It does seem rushed, and perhaps slightly disappointing when the reader has been expecting more.

All in all, I still believe this to be a wonderful mainstream sort of manga, in a not quite mainstream genre, while there is room for improvement (in pacing and character development mostly) as there always is in any form of media, I have undoubtedly found in this manga, a greatly satisfying read, and it is something I do enjoy enough to pick up again after I've read it through once.

... Last updated on December 5th, 2011, 9:50pm

The cliche type of story of a poor innocent kid being force married to some rich seme may be nothing new but I'm sure I'm not the only one finding that generally interesting.
When I read the tag "rape" I thought this might not be that great, because I personally feel rape can ruin a lot of otherwise sweet and romantic stories, however, it really fit decently here.

The art is AMAZING! The characters are interesting and while you easily feel bad for the little uke, he didn't really come across as suffering that much... I mean come on! Nobody can hate a seme THAT hot!!!

I agree there's gaps in the story where it feels something's just missing but it's still a good read, and the only complaint I'd have is putting it into 1 volume instead of drawing it out, milking it and making it a multi-volume series instead.
Also I'm sure lots of people want to read the story of the king and the secretary as well, where is that?! More please!

Okay, I don't like the idea much of foreign princes of made-up countries... but I guess that's just my taste. The thing is though that it didn't bother me in this story. Partly because I liked the art very much, which is always a big plus in my opinion, and partly because it was rather well-executed. It wasn't overly 'fantasized', if you see what I mean. It had the fairy-tale plot, but I felt the story was still more serious than other 'foreign prince stuff' I read. Shou WASN'T depicted as a mix between a european knight in a sea of roses, an arrogant arabian sultan, and an alien. (fyi, I AM accusing certain mangakas of commiting such awful crimes as creating that kind of character)
So I THANK GOD it didn't happen here.

BUT this had another drawback instead, not that awful but stil a bit disturbing. I had the impression while reading this that some parts had just been 'jumped over'. Like the fact that Kairi was hired as a housekeeper, and not as a queen (which was weird too, but acceptable). But he just went along pretty easily. In his place I would've protested from the start. But no, he was apparently okay with being trained as a 'bride' and then going to a far-away country, leaving his aunt behind, to marry a future king.
And when did he fall in love? one moment he wasn't, and suddenly he was all lovey-dovey. I didn't see it happen. That was way too fast.

It's just one of those stories where some things go conveniently easy. I understand there isn't much time in five chapters to handle every little difficulty, but in the way it happened in 'Royal Prince', it didn't feel realistic enough. There really were noticeable 'gaps' that have to be filled in by the reader. Someone is being chased, and then suddenly the chase is forgotten. There are many more examples. The story is a bit erratic.

Other than that, I think it was an 'enjoyable enough' read, and I would recommend to try it. But I really can't say if you'll like it. If the art hadn't been good, I would've rated it five instead of seven, I think.

... Last updated on April 12th, 2012, 1:27pm

No matter how weak or girly Kairi is, that doesn't give Shou the right to treat him like a pet and rape him. This manga disgusted me simply because of Shou's behavior. Kairi's passive ways (I mean, he said NOTHING when he was told he was going to marry some prince) and his absolute defenselessness were annoying, but that's not what really bothered me. Shou's cruelty and disgusting treatment toward Kairi made me totally sickened. He was an overbearing tyrant til the last chapter.


Sorry for ranting, but Royal Fiancé royally ticked me off.

... Last updated on February 13th, 2010, 12:50pm

One of the sadly mediocre works, and that's too bad because it has quite a lot of potential to be...... dramaticly convoluted and elaborate.

Personally I don't like most of Kamon Saeko's uke -- all of them are trembling ukes and nothing else, for chrissake-- but the seme intrigues me. This is the case, except I can't really find any sympathy about the seme too, and the uke.... is understandably scared (albeit the mental image of a scared tiny little creature doesn't ever got off from my mind..)

almost no characteristic beyond tropes, the story itself is pretty... 'huhlolwutwha?', and...

.....do grapes grow in trees?

good art can't really save this one.

@edit : just read the extra and....I don't know; now it feels like they're simply trying to fit in as much yaoi stereotype as possible. >_>;

... Last updated on April 23rd, 2010, 10:45pm

There's not much plot to it at all... but most yaoi are like that, you know.
And for those who complain that this is "cliche." Gosh, most manga out there are of cliche themes--and not all of them are yaoi.
Cinderella story? Small and effeminate uke? That's typical yaoi manga. It's kinda sad, but really good ones are hard to come by.
I could understand a bit why some comments seem upset over the obviousness and cliche-ness of the plot, but ... erg, don't trash this just because it's filled with cliche, yea?

In my opinion, this manga was a good and fast read. It has all the elements to make it a better and longer manga, but unfortunately it doesn't go more than 6 chapters (5 chapters + extra). I do agree with the other comment that the story, especially the relationship between the uke and the seme could have been elaborated more. I thought it was just cut too short and at a weird place...
Just like I said, it's a sort of cinderella story themed yaoi.
The uke is small, effeminate (but not overly so). Very kind. Cute. I thought the uke was really cute and lovable. I didn't mistaken him for a woman or anything like that.
The seme is handsome, perfect, princely in everyway. But he has trust issues and is cold.
...It's very hard not to spoil this. I bet most of you guys reading this would probably guess the plot already. haha.
There's not much, if at all, real comedy in this. But it's not a serious manga either.
It's a romance story--like most yaoi are. So... yea. Expect lots of blushing and sex.
The sex: graphic, but not 'hard core.' If you read this in mangafox, for the sensitive ppl out there, be warn that there's no censor (no white strips, if you know what I mean). It wasn't overdone and tacky. It kept things sensual without revealing too much.

I'd recommend it for anyone who's looking for a fast read.

Oh yeah, the art.... ohhhhh the art is exactly my type. I totally love love love the art. So nicely done. Clean, well drawn, hmm mmm! But that's just me though; everybody has different perception of what's considered "good art." ) I think imma rate this a 9 mostly just because of the art, lol.

At first glance this Manga is really nothing special. The plot is not that uncommon and I almost didn't read it. I am glad I did. Though I don't know why, the seemingly stupid plot intrigues me and the wonderful art alone makes this worth reading. Since only chapter 1 is out yet, I cannot speak for the whole volume, but after reading the first chapter I am eager for more! I definitely recommend it, but don't expect a masterpiece of the story!^^

It's exactly what you think you'll get from something titled "The Royal Fiance". I mean seriously, the stereotypes are all over the place. I read this back when I was into shoujo and understand why I liked it so much now as opposed to now when I dislike the simplicity of the shoujo genre. I prefer yaoi with developed plots and characters that might be cliche or stereotypes but it works for them or they skew it or something, and this just fell flat of my later expectations. It was honestly really hard for me to reread it so I could post a review (something I try and do often).

So if you like shoujo, definitely one for you.

... Last updated on March 11th, 2016, 11:25pm

i have to admit, this manga was pretty cute and all. however, it really irked me that not once did the prince acknowledge kairi as a man. he was always referred to as "bride" or "wife" or "princess" IT PISSED ME OFF!! i HATE it when the ukes get overly feminized like that. plus, in the extra, kairi could have very well been a girl from the angles it showed the love scene DX anyways...personally i would have enjoyed the manga a lot more if a couple chapters had been set aside for the secretary and the king :3 or the entire manga!! the little snippets that you got of their story were BY FAR more intriguing than that of kairi and shou....plus i preferred the secretary as a lover of ukes that actually look and act like men XD

As much as I enjoyed this manga I felt as though it was rushed, I'd like to have seen more of Kairi and Shou's relationship develop. But other than that I thought it was quite cute, so I'm giving this a 7.