| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Art |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
At first, I thought that this would be the typical fantasy manga with some palace intrigue and classical romance plot (I mean, even the countries are named after single letters), but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a GOOD politica manga.
First the story. I'm surprised by how many things have happened in the 10 chapters I've been able to find. Chapters are long and straight to the point. Character's actions have serious consecuences, and there are no lore dumps in the middle of it. Flashbacks resolved in one chapter, rarely more. Good rythm and exposition, what happens and why it's pretty clear. Don't expect much
physical action tho, it's all conspiracy. Until now, at least.
About the art, it's somewhat basic for manga nowadays. It's mainly realistic, avoiding crazy hairs and dresses. It goes for the purely historical feel. Backgrounds are detailed, the drawing is clean and dynamic. Not much to say here. You won't be surprised nor disgusted. It's functional for the story they're telling.
Characters are well constructed. ALL of them flawed. You won't find OP main characters with saint-ish personalities here. Everybody watches and fears everybody else to certain point. The main characters, Aruna and the Prince, have both good and bad character traits and a nice relationship, and secondary characters are instantly recognizable. For such a restrained and "realistic" art, character design is plenty varied.
About the enjoyment, I'd give it an 8. I wanted to read some serious political - court intrigue manga and I was looking for something new. This is a good finding, if you like that kind of thing. I really want to read more about this story, but updates seem to take long. I'll keep an eye on it tho.
Overall I'd give it a 7 (Good, meaning GOOD), although I've thought of the 8. Had some doubts, I'll need to read some more to decide.
As recommendation (Not on this site), there are some manhua and manwha with similar themes (The fight amongst the queens, the court is a lethal game), like "Surviving as the Hero's wife" and "The lady with the Lamp". Shounen oujo is somewhat similar as well.
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