VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
CARTOONIST: Aya Shouoto
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7366-3; paperback (November 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
188pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
Kiss of the Rose Princess is a nine-volume graphic novel series from manga creator, Aya Shouoto. The series focuses on a mystical girl and the four magical knights who help her on a quest to save the world from the Demon Lord and the forces of evil.
Anise Yamamoto cannot remove the rose choker from her neck or she will suffer a terrible punishment. That is what her father told her, and she takes his dire warning quite seriously. Then, a strange creature falls from the sky and hits Anise, causing her to lose the choker. Instead, she gains four cards representing four knights, each of whom she can summon by kissing a card.
Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens at Shobi Academy. As usual, Anise begins the school day running from the dress code enforcer who wants to remove the choker, which is a violation of the school dress code. However, Anise is more afraid of her father than anything, so she won't remove that choker.
Then, the bat-like/cat-like Ninufa falls from the sky and knocks the choker off her neck. He gives her four rose cards and exhorts her to kiss each one. Each card summons a Rose Knight who is bound by an ancient Contract of the Rose (the Rosette) to the one who summons him. Each knight is handsome, but Anise wonders why she needs them.
I think the Kiss of the Rose Princess manga is one of those shojo manga about a magical girl. I think VIZ Media describes Anise as a “mystical girl,” but whatever she is, this plucky heroine is a funny girl at the head of comic fantasy romance.
The humor is what surprises me about Kiss of the Rose Princess Volume 1. Creator Aya Shouoto has a funny “straight man” in Anise, who plays the grown-up in a reverse-harem situation. Honestly, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this first volume. Where does this series go? Well, there is a lot about Anise's magical destiny and about her father that has yet to be revealed. In fact, I think it is worth coming back at least one more volume to get some answers. Fans of magical/mystical girls will want to try the “Shojo Beat” title, Kiss of the Rose Princess.
B+
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
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