Princess Hanaka by Kayono

Ahoy again,

So, it looks I still don't have any readers... :( Sad, but very true. I don't know what to do to start getting some readers, but I know it's probably because I currently have zero advertising tactics! At least I enjoy ranting and raving about manga. It's my stress reliever in my very busy pre-college schedule. Okay, I should probably stop moping about my lack of internet popularity, and get reviewing. Since we reviewed a manga about a prince last week, let's review a manga about a princess... 'Princess Hanaka' by Kayono. Unfortunately, I didn't really like 'Princess Hanaka', but it will be fun to review something awful (wow, I sound terrible).

'Princess Hanaka' is about a girl named Hanaka, who is used to traveling frequently with her fortune telling grandma. When her grandma announces that they'll be leaving again, Hanaka is upset because she's in love with a popular boy who barely notices her. The next day, Hanaka is confronted by a group of cross dressing thieves who address her as Princess Hanaka and demand an object called the Laga Star. Hanaka doesn't know what they're talking about, but finds herself being rescued by an other-worldly boy of her past, who professes his love for her. Hanaka learns that she is a princess from a world called Oz, where she is wanted for the jewel she carries on her belly. On her way back to Oz with her new lover, she is followed by her love from earth, whom she didn't know loves her back. The story continues with a rescue of Hanaka's kidnapped grandma, but more importantly, a duel between her two lovers. Hanaka tests their love by measuring the amount of flowers that appear from her Laga Star jewel, which shows how much she is attracted to someone (weird, right? o_0). The story ends abruptly without resolving who Hanaka likes more, but concluding that she has two lovers in Oz.

I am usually not as adamant about how much I hate a manga series, because I usually love just about anything, but 'Princess Hanaka' is probably the worst thing I have ever read. Kayano's artwork is beautiful, and her bishounen boys are simply marvelous, but her plot was ridiculous. This would have been okay if her ending had not sucked so much! The story uses a great big lover's duel between her two lovers (who are so pointless aside from their looks, that I can't even remember their names!), but ends up making them share Hanaka! I really love Kayano's drawing style, but that's all I can giver he kudos for. I can't honestly say I'll never read another Kayano manga, but I can at least advise everyone not to read 'Princess Hanaka'!

Enjoy the week,

~Pseudonymous Jayne :3