Oujisama to Haiiro no Hibi
The Prince in His Dark Days

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This was a good read, basically this poor girl that is so bullied at her school she breaks in hives when people touch her comes across three rich boys, among which the richest is Itaru, a bratty heir that feels trapped due to their gender identity; they disappear, and the one closest to him, Ryou, contracts her to be a stand in until they find them for their coming-of-age ceremony, after this she truly needs to go through many tribulations: Ryou is aggressive and dismissive of her because of her status, she needs to change her physical appearance and personality so people don't suspect her, ... so she even takes up smoking (to deepen her voice) and exercising (to gain muscle mass and build), and she's caught in the crossfire of family problems in the Nogi household. Despite the plot being this interesting, the author failed to pull their weight at times so it truly felt like most of the story didn't live up to the plot, like it could have been so much more. Though you understand a bit of Atsuko's pain from the get go (see it more than feel it), when it's time for Itaru and Ryou's pain to be shown, it comes all over the place and at a very surface level, which leads to barely any sympathy for both these characters: the author tells us their issues as facts at a surface level, but you can't get us to feel bad for them by just telling us they're trans or an illegitimate child and so they had it rough. The pacing in this manga, both narratively and in the story, is also quite poor, you never know when things are happening or for how long, and it may focus on one character for entire chapters only to not bring them up again until later on, so it feels like we are watching two stories develope instead of one cohesive plot. The storyboarding is also quite confusing, so some panels and shots might not deliver any emotional significance or impact at all at narrative points you may want them to. I could also point out the inconsistency in the characters personalities and actions at times, but I'd like to think of that as a good (although not well developed) point. Overall, it's a bit of a waste, considering how interesting the plot is, how much potential the characters had and how truly engaging the main couple of Ryou and Atsuko is (i did squeal once or twice lol), however, considering this was the author's first shojo work, coming from exclusively making yaoi (where stories are usually shorter and a bit more hollow on the narrative side of things), so it was plenty promising as a debut, which also makes it a bit sadder that they haven't ventured in this genre ever since.

This isn't your typical romance shoujo manga. I loved the beautiful art and how the author closed everything off. What makes this manga so beautiful is the fact that they don't romanticize the trauma. Everyone in this manga has their past and the author does a well of not making it "I met my love, so all my trauma is gone". The manga shows them slowly getting out of their trauma and becoming the better person.

Another thing is that it doesn't only focus on romance, it also focuses on a group of young people who are struggling. It shows how even though Itaru is ... rich, he has his problems and how he overcomes them. It shows that not everyone is perfect and how there will always be someone there for you.

On the other hand is the MC, Atsuko, She struggles with rent and surviving. She doesn't care about her looks and only cares about staying alive. Her problems slowly start to change when she met their main characters.

I'm not going to go too far because it's for you to read I would recommend this manga and I hope to read more manga like this.

Ninjanime's Manga Reviews:

The Prince In His Dark Days

Author: Hico Yamanaka

Status: Completed

Length: 4 Volumes/21 Chapters

... Released: Spring 2011-Spring 2013

Genres: Romance, Gender Bender, Drama, Shojo

Serialisation: ARIA

Cross dressing as someone else because they're also cross dressing?!

So recently I finished reading a Manga series called The Prince In His Dark Days. I didn't plan to review it but after finishing it I had a huge smile on my face, a feeling of completing a really good story. One I haven't had in a while. You know I love my Romance and Shojo stories and this series very loosely fits into those categories. Yet it tells such a good tale one that would make you not want to put down the book.,

Plot: Atsuko's father is a drunk, and she's shunned by her classmates as the poor kid. Walking the streets in a dark fog of despair, Atsuko cons perverts out of their money to survive. Then, one day, she meets Itaru, the heir to a wealthy family, who happens to look exactly like her. Itaru hatches a plan: Atsuko will live his tedious public life for him, and she will get a taste of the luxuries enjoyed by the 1%. Everybody's finally happy. Right?

Characters & Story: The main character is the only one I really wish to talk about here. Your standard Shojo protagonist with no mother and a alcoholic father. Taken in somehow to lead a new life but in this case it's only temporary. The main character Atsuko is an interesting one as she follows the Shojo formula well. Throughout the story she's very humble, comes to terms with her own emotions when they get the better of her, fights for her new found happiness and in the end she does get the good ending she's been searching for all along. The other characters were pretty good and although they didn't get as much development it was enough to make them key factors of the story. I really liked the idea of the cross dressing/standing in being the plot. It's not something you typically see in Shojo stories and I think that what the draw in factor of this Manga is. On the surface it doesn't sound that interesting but when you begin reading it you become invested really quickly. It's definitely a habit of mine to get invested in Manga quickly so after the first chapter I was riding right till the last stop.

Art & Author: Being my first story from Hico Yamanaka I thought it was fantastic. Much like when I read Happy Marriage by Enjoji Maki and Cross Account by Date Tsunihiro, I already have high praise after just one series. A little research tells me Yamanaka is a Yaoi author as all of her other works fall under that category. Maybe I'll check some of those out but I just can't imagine a Yaoi from her after reading The Prince In His Dark Days. To write a Shojo while specialising in Yaoi is quite something because the genres are extremely far appart. She's done such a good job if I were to delve into any of her other works right away, it may mess up the good view I currently have about her. I think her artstyle is fantastic. It's not super pretty like most Shojo but it just works and feels nice and simple. It's like a fruit on a tree that has a slightly different shade to the others but still tastes as good. It wasn't rough or overly details, it wasn't overly pleasing on the eyes either. It was just a pleasant read throughout.

Conclusion: I'm not sure who I'd recommend this too but if your looking to try something new and a little different, go for The Prince In His Dark Days. While it isn't the greatest Shojo out there it successfully presents an unconventional plot and for what it is it's fantastic. It could even open up a door to a new type of story you may not have known about. I give it an 8/10. Finishing it in one sitting, the experience I gained and satisfaction of finishing it said it all. Not the satisfaction you get from winning or beating something, but a happy feeling because your so glad this was what you choose to read.