Manga Review – Kiss of the Rose Princess Vol 1 by Aya Shouoto (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Manga/Contemporary Fantasy/Shojo
Length: 180 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Release Date: November 4, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1421573663
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Kiss of the Rose Princess series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars
“Anise Yamamoto has been told that if she ever removes the rose choker given to her by her father, a terrible punishment will befall her. Unfortunately she loses that choker when a bat-like being falls from the sky and hits her. Anise is granted four cards representing four knights whom she can summon with a kiss. But now that she has these gorgeous men at her beck and call, what exactly is her quest?!”
I read this in my quest to find a couple new manga series to read. This ended up being an okay start to this manga series but was a bit too fluffy for me.
Anise has a mysterious rose choker she is never supposed to remove. Unfortunately, one day at school it’s stolen by a strange bat-like creature who her gives her four cards. Each of the cards has a knight on it and when she kisses the cards that knight is summoned to do her bidding. Sadly (or maybe not), the knights end up being the hottest boys from her school.
The illustration in this one was very good. Shouoto does an amazing job with detail and with drawing beautiful male characters.
The background behind the knights and the rose princess is somewhat intriguing and I enjoyed the personalities of the knights Unfortunately I found Anise really, really annoying. She is really immature and drove me nuts. The story was pretty immature in general and I have no idea where it’s going.
Overall this wasn’t really for me. I thought the illustration and concept behind the story were good. However, the characters were a bit immature for me and the story was a bit too light, silly, and fluffy…I have no idea where it’s going. I’d recommend to those who enjoy high school boy drama with a magical twist to it. This is a well done manga, just not my thing.
