Truly a hidden gem amongst Manga. Akagami no Shirayuki-hime is like another modern rewrite of the Cinderella story, except fairy tales has never had so much sensibility, or such a well balanced relationship between the main couple (as opposed to one simply sweeping the other off their heels).
I never thought I'd see so much rationale in a fantasy shoujo manga. I mean not only is the entire cast (all of them that matters) likable, but they're all intelligent and hard-working people, whose actions are logical, and whose emotions are balanced, considered, and developed only in response to other character's actions (rather than any plot device).
This is especially the case of the main heroine Shirayuki - she's not perfect, she's not strong, but she tackles everything with smart thinking and an iron will. Meanwhile, Zen is content to watch carefully from the sidelines and let Shirayuki do her thing, putting his faith in her strength of character and coming only to help when necessary. He might be the hero, but he certainly doesn't overshadow the heroine.
The story is well paced. Unexpected things may come and go, but nothing jumps out of the blue. The relationship is slowly developed from pure friendship across series of trials and challenges, with feelings and decisions that come gradually but not too slowly.
The art style is great — simplistic yet elegantly beautiful, cute without relying on chibi-esque proportions, all-fitting yet unique on its own.
Its even more amazing that this seems to be Aizuki Sorata first ongoing series! I sure see some amazing works coming out of this mangaka’s career!