March 31st, 2009

Hello again! I realize that I haven't posted in a while, though I'm not sure anyone noticed. Schoolwork is sucking the life out of me!

Luckily, I found time to read - yes, a BOOK (the thing with the paper and words). I decided to dive into the world of manga for the first time. So yes, my first manga had the word 'princess' in the title, let the jokes begin.

And stop.

I've got to say, reading from right to left is odd, but after a while, it seems quite natural to do so. Additionally, reading something with lots of pictures does wonders for the imagination, as opposed to textbooks. (I think they can learn something from this, don't you?) I truly enjoyed this novel from start to finish - though my only regret is that the library doesn't carry the other volumes, so I'll either have to buy them or neglect reading the rest of the series.

On to the review!

Scrapped Princess is about a princess who was scrapped. (Wow, creative, eh?) Basically what happens is that a set of twins (boy & girl) are born to the king of Linevan; however, the 5111th oracle (yes, 5111th) claimed that once the girl turned 16, she would bring about the end of the world. Well, obviously the king can't have that, so she was scrapped/disposed of. Of course, the guards can never do their job properly and thus, she lives to this very day....

The book chronicles her adventures with her brother and their older sister as they evade capture (and death) by guards and other citizens who want to collect the bounty on their heads. They, of course, meet all sorts of... interesting... characters, get into trouble, and get rescued by mysterious forces, but the story is still compelling, and the artwork is amazing - influencing me enough to redesign some of the characters in my comic.

Hopefully I'll find volume 2... or actually buy the set, as the story is quite engrossing - enough to where I'd read it again. (Which, if you know me and my memory, it's hard for me to go back through things I've read before.)

Anyone have a recommendation for a manga to read?