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- BirthdayMay 1, 1998
- LocationKouka, Clarines or Fiore
- JoinedOct 27, 2018
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Mar 23, 2019
I think this manga is very promising. It has a beautiful plot that really captivates the reader's heart, thanks to its wonderful characters and mysterious context.
Let's start with the characters. Our two protagonists, Saliphie and Leo, started on a "sacrifice-to be sacrificed to" relationship (I don't really know how to express it, I hope you get the idea). Saliphie is a human girl destined to be sacrificed to the King of Beasts, in accordance to the pact made between humans and beasts to end their long war. One would expect Saliphie to be scared, but quite on the contrary, she is a cheerful and positive
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girl when she meets the King. That is because she was raised as a sacrifice and thus holds nothing dear in her heart that could make her wish to hold on to life. Young, innocent and carefree, she is an adorable and cute heroine to whom the reader is easily attached to. She can also display great courage and determination. As for her appearance, she is cute but also has a beautiful side that you'll discover if you read the manga.
The King, whom Saliphie will name Leonhart, is the King of the Beast, an absolute monarch respected by his citizens and feared by the humans as a monster. At his side is the chancellor Anubis, his advisor. Yet the King hides a great secret that no one is aware of, and that Saliphie will come to discover. Behind his strong and fierce attitude hides a kind and gentle king, afraid of his own weakness and who cares deepy for his people. He wishes there were no conflict and strives to make his kingdom a better place. He looks like a big brown lion with sabres' teeth protruding from his mouth and has a really fluffy tail. He also has another form, that I personally find most handsome (read the manga to see what it is ^^).
Upon discovering the King's secret, Saliphie having nowhere to return to, decides to stay by the King's side.
This leads us to the story. The King wishes to make Saliphie his queen, but as a human queen is absolutely unheard of and the "beasts" despise humans, this announcement is not accepted by the nobles, and especially Anubis, who will try anything to keep Saliphie away from the King (only because he cares a lot about the King and thinks of Saliphie as a danger). Yet Saliphie will make a few friends and her kindness allows her to look ahead with hope. Of course, our two main protagonists fall in love (sooo unexpected ... but absolutely adorable) and both hold the strong desire to remain at the other's side.
Indeed, both have had a harsh past, making them really close and supportive of each other despite their differences.
Saliphie must now face various apparently impossible trials to be able to stay by the King's side. Of course, she faces them valiantly and with faith in her heart. This makes both characters grow stronger.
If I were to say anything about art, it's that it is quite beautiful. The mangaka has really drawn this manga with a lot of details, but not to the point where it can be suffocating. Other characters than Saliphie and the King have not been ignored and are also treated with care. The art also reveals the tension in the air and general atmosphere of the story. It is most of the time light and gentle, but sometimes you can really feel the tension in the air and there are also some "dark" moments where the reader can feel quite uneasy (you'd think "hmm... something fishy is happening there..."). The author also pays attention to clothing and objects.
Basically, I really enjoyed this manga. It got me hooked in in an instant and I am awaiting the next chapters eagerly. You've got good character development, a nice story with a few twists here and there and beautiful graphism. A wonderful shoujo. To put it in a nutshell, simply great!
I hope that you'll get to enjoy this as much as I did if you're in romance filled but not so kitsch shoujo with a "beauty and the beast" type of relationship!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 29, 2018
This manga is quite different from what I'm used to read, but I really enjoyed and enjoy it.
I really like the fact that this manga treats of something very realistic, and thus I don't get this imagined story feeling I get from other mangas (which isn't a bad thing in itself). The centre of the plot is not school life, love or anything such, but something that's a first for me in mangas: classic ballet.
Since I dance a bit myself (of course as a hobby, I am nowhere near the level of the characters), I can say that the subject is treated carefully
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and the mangaka really put a lot of effort in searching for the different ballets and the different choreographies in each of them. The dancers are also drawn really well, and also the costumes and the pointe and ballet shoes.
You can also clearly see the world of dancers that's hidden from the public. Whenever you watch a performance, you always think "how on earth can they do that as if it's easy-peasy?" But all the professional dancers have hours and hours of training and they suffer a lot to get the level they offer us in performances. You really get the feeling of competition and elitism of this discipline in the story.
But the story still has a clear plot of course! It follows the path of a young girl who wishes to become a dancer. That's why the whole story is filled with ballet elements.
The characters are really realistic, you can see in each of them different aspects of the world of ballet: naturally gifted or training hard, those who failed and those who kept on...
You get quickly attached to all the characters, with their different personalities, their hopes and dreams. I think they really mean something to us, we can relate to them, especially if you're a child or a teenager.
You also get to see the different jobs related to ballet performances: the costumers, the choreographer, the teachers in studios...
What I also find interesting is the fact that since it's taken from the Japanese dancer's point of view, you get to see aspects of ballet you don't when you're in Europe or America, which is the cultural wall that's evoked in the story. Indeed, for us, most of the ballet stories are well-known, since they're part of folklore fairy tales or from famous authors (Don Quixote or Esmeralda for example). And thus, with the ballet, we also get to see a bit of culture (Greek and Latin mythology for example)
I would thus definitely recommend this manga to girls who like arts, but even those who don't will like this story once they get past the different terms used for ballet positions (arabesque, attitude... which are all French terms, thanks to Louis XIV (14th)). It might, however, be a little delicate for boys to appreciate the manga, except if they dance themselves.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 17, 2018
It was so beautiful... and so sad. I don't know how else to start this.
This anime really is something you shouldn't miss if you like animes about music and school life. With a touch of romance in the story, music is what leads the plot and the characters.
"Musicians express themselves through music." There is no better way to sum up what this anime is about. The protagonist, Kousei Arima, is traumatized after his mother's death and in consequence unable to play the piano, he who was a genius. That is, until Kaori Miyazono shows up in his life. An excentric violinist, she awakens in him
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his love for music that he sealed away out of despair and terror. But what secrets does this girl have?
I really liked how, in this anime, music plays a major role in the protagonists' lives. When I finished watching this, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Although I don't really know if the music was well-interpreted, I really liked the way the musicians expressed their feelings through the music and I felt those strong emotions.
In this anime, you find classics when it comes to school life anime: romance, exams, the future (school you want to go to)... But this anime also shows the backstage of classic concerts and competitions: on stage, all you see is performers in beautiful clothes, but behind the scenes, there is tension, pressure, rivalry, fear, admiration... This also allows you to get a thorough understanding of the two main characters' personalities, but also the supporting ones. With 22 episodes, the anime has time to develop a bit on the characters' dreams, hopes and so on.
When it comes to art, I personally liked the way the instruments (the piano and violin mainly) are well drawn, which shows how important their role is. Generally speaking, you can easily see the characters' emotions on their faces and it makes you feel connected to them in a way (I know it's kind of cliché but...).
Furthermore, I think this anime is about acceptance: to come to terms with your feelings, your fate, to accept a part of you that you desperately tried to reject... Although when it comes to that, I think that Kousei Arima's trauma could have been fixed quicker than what they did in the anime. I'm not much into the "psychological trauma that's so hard to overcome" and "oh! someone appeared so I'm gonna be fine" setting. Kousei Arima's trauma was something he more or less inflicted on himself and someone (like the piano teacher) who knew about the whole situation could probably have helped him out sooner and it would have alleviated the pain. But then, I believe the story wouldn't be so interesting. After all, the sudden comeback of the prodigy after his breakdown is one of the main axis of the story. But again, maybe it's me being cold-hearted and cruel. You'll need to watch it to have your own opinion ^^.
So, even though there might be one or two things to say about this anime, I still think it's great and worth watching!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 14, 2018
I think this is one of the best animes I've watched. It's actually the first anime I decided to watch on my own and I absolutely loved it.
I think the plot is really good, because we have an unexpected twist right at the beginning of the story, although you can notice something feels off in Yona's Edenic life.
The whole story is set around Yona's travel throughout the country, which is the occasion for her to grow up and better understand the world. I think it's really amazing the way she goes from a sheltered princess to a strong leading female figure.
We can find
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the classics of the shoujo in this anime, like the love triangle between the childhood friends, but there are also some unexpected elements.
Another very interesting aspect for me is the fact that you can't bring yourself to completely hate Soo-Won (according to me), because he obviously cares for Yona. That feeling actually grows when you read the manga. He really has the country's wellbeing in mind and isn't just the bad guy who destroyed Yona's life.
We don't really see a prominent antagonist in the anime, but they actually show up later on in the manga. Although you can think Soo-won is "the bad guy", I think that title goes to the advisor Kye-sook (I'm also influenced by the manga, so...).
I think that the characters' background could be a bit more developed, but with all the action taking place there wasn't really the time to do that. It was actually the lack of information on Zeno's past that made me read the manga and I'm very thankful because reading it is a pure delight.
It's nice that each character has a particular personality and the story doesn't just focus on Yona/Soo-won/Hak, but also on the four dragons (Shin-Ah is my favourite). I also find the touch of cuteness with Ao/Pukyuu the squirrel adorable.
I'm not really good at judging art, but I think that the characters show nice expressions, such as Yona's burning eyes, Hak's dark look and I find Shin-ah's golden dragon eyes mesmerizing.
I think that the sound and music were really nice, especially the first opening and the second ending. It gives a "traditional" feeling, like we're in an ancient time (which is the setting). The instrumentals are really good, even when it's a background music to heighten the tension in a fight or such. I think they fit the time and place.
If we're going to talk about something I'm not satisfied of in this anime, it's that there is no sequel! When you look at the manga, there is way enough to write a second season, with new characters that Yona's group befriends and dangerous enemies.
This anime really follows the beginning of the manga and I actually think of it as a really nice way to incite us to read it. Of course, the anime is still great in itself, but I really, really hope they're going to make a new season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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