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You see, Mako has a sister, Shoko, who has recently married the man of her dreams, Shin. Shin is perfect...charming, caring, loving, respectful, and a hunk to boot. And he has a habit of calling his wife, Shoko, "princess". Well this positive married couple role model has rubbed off on Mako and she is now convinced that only a man that calls her "princess" and treats her with the utmost of respect could possibly be her boyfriend. This seems like a lofty and noble goal, however not everyone is so sure that this is an obtainable scenario; most of all Mako's childhood friend Yo.
You see, Yo has come to realize he has a thing for Mako, but she just doesn't see him as her "perfect man". Can he possibly compete with a make-believe figment of Mako's imagination and youthful longings? But if Yo thinks convincing Mako of his worth as a boyfriend is his biggest problem, he is sadly mistaken...there is another piece that is trying to find its way into this puzzle.
But still Mako is intrigued, perhaps because of his similar appearance to Shin, who she admires so much, or perhaps because she senses something within him that others do not...
Either way, Mako has a lot of things to sort out before she can rest easily. Will she ever find a man that will fulfill her dreams? Yo? Ryu? Someone else entirely? Or will she simply learn the lesson that you don't always get your hearts desire and some things are not worth waiting for, because they can't possibly be real? And what of the feelings of the two boys? Do they matter at all to her, or are they just on the sidelines of an internal struggle within Mako?
And readers of that target audience (girls of any age that know the stomach knot feelings of a "crush") will certainly be impressed with not only the subject matter, but also with the finese with which Tomoko Taniguchi has woven this story. I would swear that Tomoko was still in high school because she gets the drama down so correctly. This is in large part due to the fact that she writes about tales from her own life quite a bit, as evidenced in the included notes.
Overall, this is a fantastic example of the shoujo genre. The rest can be drawn from there. If you are a fan, snatch this one up immediately, and if you are not, then you already know what you will think of this one.
This is actually the second time around that CPM Manga has distributed this fan favorite, but lucky for you the original retail has been dropped from $14.99 down to under $10 Bux. Now there is really no reason for a shoujo collector to be missing this essential manga!
-aaron-
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Makoto
Takenouchi (Mako) knows exactly what she wants. Most people
are lucky to know what they are looking for in a partner anytime before
they die, but Mako has it all figured out, and she is still a freshmen
in high school! The best part, is she can sum it all up in one
phrase: "I want someone to call me princess".
It
seems Shin has a younger brother, Ryu, who looks an awful lot like
him, and has just moved into the area and will be attending Mako's
school and staying (of all places) with Mako and her family!
Rumors abound about Ryu's rough nature; tales of fighting and disruptive
behavior are spreading through the school faster than wildfire.
The cuts, scrapes and bruises that seem to remain with Ryu are doing
nothing to dispell such rumors either.
The
great thing about this release is that you do not have to wait between
installments as the original readers were forced to. This is
a one shot graphic novel, so you get the whole story the first time
around. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of shoujo
manga or anime (being a 29 year old male), but even I was forced to
read through the manga in one sitting, just to see how things wrapped
up. I would imagine that for a reader of the target audience,
the pull to read on would be even greater...and as such, so much nicer
to have the entire story at once.