Shoujo Saturday: Ookami-Heika no Hanayome/Bride of the Wolf King by Kauta Mato

This week I’m covering a series similar to Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii, it’s Ookami-Heika no Hanayome by Kauta Mato. Mini-review this week since I’ve only read a couple chapters.

Plot Synopsis: Yuulin, the daughter of a low ranking government officer, came to the royal palace after hearing of a job with higher wages. However, that job is to act as the bride of Haku Reishou, who is feared as being the ruthless and heartless “His Majesty, the Wolf”. In the royal palace where conspiracies swirl, after learning His Majesty’s secret, Yuulin ends up stuck being his temporary bride…?!

Plot: It’s a bit different from Soredemo Sekai, in that Nike is already the wife of Livi, poor Yuulin is stuck trying not to fall in love with Reishou.

Characters: Reishou has a devious side to him and I’m curious to see which of his two very opposite personalities is his true one, as there are hints it could be either one.

Art: The artwork in this series reminded me instantly of Soredemo Sekai, and that’s a good thing since that series has excellent artwork.

Overall: If you enjoy historical Chinese drama’s you’ll love this series.

For those who like: Romance, Drama, Historical Chinese dramas.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Shoujo Saturday: Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Okay so while this is technically a Shonen series, it was written by one of the more well known Shoujo authors Rumiko Takahashi of Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 fame.

Plot Synopsis: The series follows the half demon, InuYasha, and a 15-year-old girl from Tokyo, Kagome Higurashi, who is transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets InuYasha. When a monster from that era tries to take the magical Jewel of Four Souls embodied in Kagome, she accidentally shatters the Jewel into many pieces that are dispersed across Japan.

Plot: For Rumiko Takahashi this is one of her more serious and darker manga, and it’s definitely not nearly as comedic as say Ranma 1/2, although it does have it’s funny moments it’s dispersed enough through the drama that this series has. I love this plot and it’s probably one of my favorite romance stories I’ve read in a Shonen series.

Characters: Kagome is a pretty typical middle school girl and when she’s transported back into the sengoku era and finds out that demons are real she freaks out. Seeing the story through her eyes is a joy to say the least and I love to see her berate Inuyasha.

Art: Amazing artwork and definitely one of the better series in terms of Art that I’ve read.

Overall: Definitely worth reading if you haven’t seen the anime version, which recently got the last arc animated a few years ago.

For those who like: Romance that’s not crappy like Twilight, A kick ass male lead and an even more kick ass female lead, Action and Drama.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above or anything that’s a better read than Twilight ever will be. In which case get the heck off my site cause you’re going to be disappointed!

Shoujo Saturday: Barajou no Kiss by Aya Shouoto

So I recently just started reading this series, only on chapter 5 so far, so Its going to be a mini review thus far since I’m not that far into it.

Story Summary: Anís Yamamoto’s father gave her a rose choker when she was young, claiming it was a protective amulet and if she ever took it off she would be afflicted by a “punishment”. But after a certain incident which caused the choker to disappear, she received four cards. These cards enabled her to summon Kaede Higa, Mutsuki Kurama, Mitsuru Tenjō and Seiran Asagi, her Rose Rhode knights, who told her that she was the Rose Princess.

Plot: I’m assuming it gets better because so far it’s just introduced each of the knights so far. Of them all I like the black one,Mutsuki I think, best as he seems interesting while the others haven’t really gone into too much backstory yet.

Art: The real reason I got into this was that it had a really different style of art than any other Shoujo manga I’ve read thus far. It almost looks like a Shonen series, but it clearly isn’t from the plot thus far.

Overall: Too soon for me to tell, but I’m enjoying it so far. It’s not reached a point where I’ve started tearing through chapters yet though so thats not in its favor.

For those who like: Romantic Comedies(Not sure on this yet),Shoujo series, Magic, Bishonen(Really hot guys as my Japanese teacher would say).

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Shoujo Saturday: Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP

I thought I’d pick the very first shoujo manga I ever read to review for this week’s Shoujo Saturday. I was looking for a present for my baby sister and thought this might be a good series, but had to read it all just to make sure. I was impressed for the content it showed, in particular the relationship with Sakura’s brother and his best friend. Anyways onto the review!

Plot Summary: Cardcaptor Sakura takes place in the fictional city of Tomoeda. The story begins when ten-year-old Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards known as Clow Cards from a book known as the Clow Book, both created and named after half-English, half-Chinese sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own unique ability and can assume alternate forms when activated. The guardian of the cards,Cerberus, emerges from the book and chooses her to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it to seal it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend and second cousin, Tomoyo Daidouji. films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura’s older brother Toya Kinomoto watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on.

Plot: Pretty standard for a magical girl manga, it’s not sailor moon though and no one ever dies that I remember.

Art: Pretty good, it is CLAMP after all and they’ve got some of the best artists in the trade.

Characters: I thought I’d find Sakura to be way more annoying than she actually was, which is a relief. Of all the characters I find Sakura’s best friend Tomoyo to be the most annoying, that or Cerebus.

Should you read this: If Magical girls are your thing or you are a young girl than absolutely read this series, it’s a classic. If you aren’t that’s okay try it out and see if you like it.

For those who like: The Magical Girl genre, CLAMP, Shoujo.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Shoujo Saturday: Kamisama Hajimemashita

For my first Shoujo Saturday I’m going to talk about a series I’ve recently started reading, Kamisama Hajimemashita, or as it’s known in the US Kamisama Kiss.

First off this is for those female readers of mine, as these series tend not to be focused towards males. That won’t stop me from reading them however and if you are feeling comfortable in your masculinity, guys you too can come enjoy the journeys! Secondly I haven’t been reading Shoujo series for very long, only about 6 months, and because of this I won’t go into as much detail as my other reviews. I’m not nearly knowledgable enough about the genre to do more than suggest whether I think you should read it or not.

First off a word of warning, I’m not caught up to release yet on this series so I don’t know whats happened in the latest chapter. Please don’t spoil it for me or others. I’m currently at Chapter 70.

Summary: Nanami is an ordinary high school girl whose mother died when she was young and whose father is a good for nothing gambler with huge amounts of debt. Her father goes off to parts unknown and leaves Nanami with his debt! Of course the debt collectors come and repossess her home, leaving her homeless with nowhere left to go. She meets a strange man being attacked by a dog whom she promptly helps out and he offers her his home to stay in saying she’ll be a better owner than he ever was. Esctatic she heads towards her new home and discovers its an old Shinto shrine and not just that, she just inherited the role of being the local God of the Land along with a not so happy familiar to serve her.

Characters: So far I’m enjoying the characters immensely and finding that Nanami doesn’t abuse her power like I probably would if I was just turned into a living god(dess).

For those who like: Romance, drama, some action, and good old religious mythology.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or Shoujo series in general.

Should you read it: If you are just stepping into the genre for the first time, this is probably a decent enough starting point. For those already familiar with the genre they will probably find it good, but not spectacular.