May 12, 2024
It's pretty criminal something like this has no reviews and only 143 people have this on their lists, especially for how popular the source material supposedly is in Japan, and even more so the fact that it has an official translation.
This thing is GOOD, probably one of the best things I read in the last few years aside from Man Without Talent, and I read a lot of trash, so I mean it. It starts out pretty innocuously, but every chapter it starts to ramp up the tension, and you'll really want to read the next chapter. The length is almost perfect, you can finish
...
it in one sitting. My one gripe is I wish it were a tiny bit longer.
It's a Heian-ish period court drama that drapes itself in the possibility of being a romance, and then gradually reveals itself to be an intrigue plot that weaves the worldbuilding into your experience from the point of view of the main character. The initial framing for the plot is a very simple fish out of water thing: There are four main noble houses that compete for power by marrying off their eldest daughter to the next emperor, and the story takes place during this courting event, where you are placed in the point of view of the princess of the east, called Asebi, who has a sort of naivety from being very sheltered that allows for her interactions with everyone to teach you about how the world of the court actually works; however, as the story progresses, you start to see people aren't all they seem to say they are, and that there's more going on beyond the words they speak. Each named character (and many characters, no matter how side they seem, will be named) has their own motives, often selfish, and they all end up acting in ways that affect everyone involved, for better or for worse.
I don't want to write any more because there are some genuinely interesting twists and turns throughout the story, many of which will cause you to question what each person's true motives really are in the end. It's all killer, no filler, like a tight 100 minute movie, with none of that slice of life crap, just pure plot paced in a way that will get you to read the next chapter immediately.
My only issue is perhaps the pacing of the ending, it's sort of whiplashly, but that hardly hurts the overall experience.
The art is the reason I originally read it, because the plot is from the book, so if you're reading an adaptation you want something to really draw you in on first glance. For most of the things I read, the style is very important for me, and the stuff I really like tends to be 60-70s era Gekiga or Shoujo, if just for the linework.
The linework is great in this. Each character is drawn stylistically slightly different to accentuate not just their beauty, but also their character, and the princesses are beautifully drawn with such a strong attention to detail that it paradoxically reveals and hides who they really are beyond their words.
The princess of the east is drawn in this perpetually blushing or crying state, with mostly lighter shades that give her a certain "airiness" you get from that innocent shoujo girl style.
The princess of the north is highly detailed, down to the eyelash, like a porcelain doll, with a very strong black & white contrast to accentuate her "perfect" appearance
The princess of the south is rugged and masculinely handsome, with very strong angular linework and strong attention to the sheen of her hair.
The princess of the west has a round, plumpness to her and is always drawn with a lot of varying shades of black which sort of shows her attention to her appearance and style
Every panel that features them is absolutely gorgeous, and even if you're not into the plot, you should just look at the pictures.
All of the attendants are given more plainer, lighter linework, especially the older ones, who have a sort of scratchy, mapping pen, look to them, and background characters have a more conventional look to them.
I purely rate on my personal enjoyment, so for me it's a 9, probably objectively 8-8.5 for most people. You can read it in a day. Do it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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