“Nina the Starry Bride” is a hidden gem that I stumbled upon almost by mistake; and what a fortunate mistake it was! It is one of the best josei/shoujo fantasy manga I have ever come across. It does seem criminally underrated, though; so here I am with a review, to make it justice!
STORY - 10
Nina is a girl that lives with her family, like any other girl her age. Well, except for the fact that her “family” consists only of two poor children, which she calls her “brothers”. Their sole chance to survive is to steal— be it jewelry or other valuables from rich people. Even so, their lives are quite enjoyable, and they are actually having fun, all because they are together. And when you are together with the people you love, you are happy, right?
Well, yes, that's true. However, one day, the little brother gets sick. Life may have been hard until this point, but now it was hard and painful. After all, they could do nothing to help the boy. At least, until the older brother found a solution to get the money he needed for the medicine: to sell Nina to the slave traders. Luckily for her, though, instead of being sold into slavery, she becomes the replacement of the recently-deceased princess of the kingdom, as to cover the mistake of those who failed to save her.
It is a great story, always managing to somehow keep you on your toes. As much as I want to tell you even more about it, this is supposed to be a spoiler-free review; so I'll hold back. What I can say, though, is that it won't disappoint; and be ready for some pure, strong, real romance.
ART - 9
The art is amazing, it is such a good fit for the style and atmosphere of the story. It is rather lovely and adds a lot to the charm of the manga. The covers, especially, looked very nice, they had starry, fantasy-like ornaments, and the beginning of the chapters had those as well.
CHARACTERS - 9
Great characters, they are surprisingly complex and feel real. I could probably meet some people with a number of their traits in real life. Also, the chemistry between the main characters is off the charts, really. I don't even know them personally (and it is not like I could ever do that), but I can see how strong their bond is, even if all I know is from some chapters of a book.
The protagonist, Nina, has a very strong, unpolished personality; at the beginning, she is a stubborn brat and remains that way. Make no mistake, though, it is quite the positive trait in her case; for she is unafraid and ready to do anything for the people she loves. Nina grows a lot as a person and as a princess, and we love to see it! She is honestly such a nice character, a very caring and strong girl; and I admire her devotion.
Also, she reminds me of Yona from Yona of the Dawn.
ENJOYMENT/OVERALL
Nina the Starry Bride was definitely one of my most fun, thrilling reads in the past few months. I was actually really surprised myself by how much fun I had while reading it. I strongly recommend it. 20/10 for enjoyment
