Himitsu no Himegimi Uwasa no Ouji by Kauta Mato

Himitsu no Himegimi Uwasa no Ouji (Secret Princess Rumored Prince) by Kauta Mato
        
            Genre: Shojo
            Length: 2 Volumes - 9 Chapters and a oneshot at the end of the first volume

Art and story (c) Kauta Mato

            The art has an amateur look to it, but not in an off putting way just the proportions are a little shaky at first. The faces have variety and the expressions are easy to read, the eyes are a little simple but show up well under the chunky-spike type hair. The hair itself flows and falls well and has excellent shape through out. Clothes are medieval-esque, at the most part simple but the details are nice to look at when they catch your eye. Body types are thin with wide shoulders for the men and just thin for the ladies, but clothes fit well on the frames. I don't recall too many blank panel backgrounds, either, most had at least some half tones. Once in a while hands looked a little awkward but it wasn't even noticeable after the first two chapters.
            In a world where princes run around with their shirts open to the second button and princesses are allowed to go any where they want with a one person escort, lives princess Aldina of the kingdom of Roochen. Recently rumors have been springing up about her getting engaged with a prince of a small country who has such a terrible reputation that people have begun to take pity on their sheltered princess. Taking the initiative for the first time in her life after hearing her maids gossip, Aldina cuts her hair short, dresses as a merchant's son, and goes to visit Galnia, her fiancee's kingdom, to see for herself if the rumors about him are true. Despite the fact that she is only supposed to see prince Izzy and leave before she is caught, Aldina finds herself literally falling into the prince's lap. He seems very unlike a prince, but can that mean the rumors of his wild nature are true?
            At two volumes this manga is perhaps stretched a little, but it has a solid ending so it makes it hard to mind the several chapters that used the same plot. I almost categorized this as a cross dressing manga but the cross dressing parts are really only surface deep so I'm not going to count it. Prince Izzy is the strong and quiet type while Aldina is the easily flustered type and that is a good combination for cuteness. I, despite the very vague nature of what exactly these people are prince and princesses of, thoroughly enjoyed this manga. I've never minded vagueities though. Art is solid, shojo fluff is solid, and the couple is solid. I've read way worse royalty getting married manga (and books) in my time. Its not heavily dramatic but there's plenty of action and what not to keep one amused through out. I'd read it again, for sure. The included one shot is even good, and some times just skimming those things are enough, I wouldn't skip it next time, either. It wasn't a long or deep read but for what it is, a fluffy shojo about royalty, it is of high quality.


5/5 Very Recommended