Anis is a typical high school student with one annoying problem: her father has threatened to punish her if she ever removes her rose choker, but it’s against the school uniform code. She doesn’t expect anything more exciting to happen than her daily sprints to escape the school dress code monitor or her yearnings for the remote and untouchable school president, Mitsuru Tenjo. But after a startling incident, her rose choker disappears and she discovers that it was protecting her from her true identity as the Rose Princess. She receives four cards from a mysterious creature and finds out she can summon each of the four Knights of the Rose with a card and a kiss. Despite her worries about her father, it seems like being able to summon the knights might not be all bad… until she finds out who they are and how they feel about the arrival of the Rose Princess!
To be completely honest, most manga art looks about the same to me, so it’s difficult for me to judge subtle nuances in style. Each of the characters seems to be a manga stereotype: the wide-eyed, innocent girl with out-of-control emotions and hair; the dark, brooding “night stalker” with a non-human side and cat-like pupils; the romantic attraction who turns out to be a little different; and the sweet but sickly younger boy. The theme of roses pervades the book in swirling rose petals and the inclusion of roses in various decorations and plot lines. Although the first book is primarily an introduction to the characters and plot, darker future events are suggested by ominous fog and the cute-yet-sinister appearance of the mysterious creature Ninufa.
This series was originally published in Japan in 2008 and it is currently being released in the U.S. There are five volumes available and another three will be released through the end of the year. While there are mildly naughty romantic moments, the only component that is likely to raise eyebrows is one character’s masochistic predilection when Anis yells at him, accidentally hits him with her rose vines, and so forth.
Romantic comedy manga seems to have fallen out of favor over the past few years, at least among the teen readers of my public library, but I still have a few dedicated fans who enjoy any and all manga and a lot of readers who like fantasy romances. Fans of light romantic manga with a topping of fantasy and comedy will enjoy this relatively new series. There are hints that the storyline might get darker and more involved in future volumes, and parents may have concerns over some of the romantic content, but if you have readers who enjoy this type of romance, it would make a good addition to a large manga collection.
Kiss of the Rose Princess, vol. 1
by Aya Shouoto
ISBN: 9781421573663
Viz, 2014
Publisher Age Rating: T
