PopSyndicate.com

Beni and Kagetora are one of my favorite couples in the manga world. They are perfect for one another and all the obstacles that try to come between them torment me just as much as Beni and Kagetora. When I had finished the first volume I wasn’t really sure where they story could go on from there but now I know. Even though Kagetora knows that Beni isn’t his princess, the social class drama still manages to come between them. Beni’s father see’s how close they are becoming and makes it a point to let Kagetora know that he’s still just a body guard and Beni may not be a princess but her family is still well up on the social ladder. While Beni makes it perfectly clear that she doesn’t care about any of that Kagetora has a lot of trouble with breaking social rank. To make matters worse Beni’s father lets them know that her marriage has already been arranged! Iwatsuru, a quiet classmate and Beni’s future husband, decides that Kagetora is in the way of him getting close to Beni. With a little help from a ninja of his own he plans to take Kagetora out of the picture. With so many obstacles between them how will Beni and Kagetora ever find peace together? Can their love survive all this drama?

I don’t know what it is about this story that gets to me so much but I just love it! The art is gorgeous and Beni is a rich girl that doesn’t make me want to strangle her. She isn’t whiny and even though she can’t kick butt on her own it’s not for lack of trying. Kagetora is a kind of guy you just can’t hate. He isn’t over protective because he thinks he’s stronger and better than whom he’s protecting. It’s just what he does. In his case he has been lucky enough to get to protect two women that he actually cares for which I’m sure is what keeps him at the top of his game.

The villains are very real to me in that their reasons for what they do make sense to me. The seven deadly sins seem to come out a lot with these bad guys. I doubt it was intentional though. Just lots of greed, lust, envy, pride and wrath for sure. Hitaki even gets some sloth vibes going on. No wonder everyone from the past wanted him to be more like Kagetora. He sits around in filth when he doesn’t have work to do.  All of this makes you root for Beni and Kagetora that much more because their intentions shine with luminescent purity. The scenes of them alone together are pure magic!

The paper quality annoys me but you can’t see too much through the pages except when you’re actually flipping to the next page. Which, looking at volume 1 and 2 they both do that just volume 2 is a bit worse. I’m actually more afraid of ripping volume 2 than I am of volume 1.  When I really love a story I’ll read it a few times and even though I know what’s going to happen I’ll still turn the pages too fast and get little tares at the top. I had to remind myself to be extra gentle. The cover art from this series is gorgeous. I usually don’t care much for flowers but mixing it up with the shurikan I’m game. The actual manga pages are awesome as well. I love good shading and this artist really knows what she’s doing. Every panel is gorgeous and the chapter pages would make great art pieces. The Chapter 7 page is my favorite! I recommend this series even with the higher price and the lower quality paper. I loved volume 1 and volume 2, so for me it’s totally worth it.

5