Sakura must accomplish a dangerous mission to prove her loyalty!
Creative Staff
Story: Arina Tanemura
Art: Arina Tanemura
Translation/Adaptation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
What They Say
Sakura, on the run after Prince Oura’s attempt on her life, is taken in by the ninja Kohaku. Prince Oura summons a demon to lure Sakura and Kohaku out, and then turns into a wolf himself to steal Sakura’s Blood Cherry Blossom Sword. Now Prince Oura has the power to kill the immortal Sakura with her own blade…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Tanemura-sensei mentions in one of her author’s notes that Prince Oura’s popularity is “very, very low” as of this volume of the series, and I find that no surprise. Unlike many shojo manga heroes, who are either fully in love with the heroine or warm up to her over time, Oura constantly swings from the extremes of love and hate. My guess is that Tanemura-sensei’s intent is to show him as torn between his loyalties, but his actions come across as perplexing; it’s difficult to tell exactly what is important to him. To be fair though, he’s not the only double minded character; there’s quite a few of them, including Sakura, who inexplicably gets into her mind that Oura will get mad if she confesses her love to him.
Much of the plot confusion stems from the as of yet unanswered question: is Sakura an asset or liability to the kingdom? Again, we have references of how Sakura is revered because she is a person from the Moon. At the same time, should Oura take Sakura’s life, he can apparently do so without compunction. One of the more puzzling scenes is when Sakura gets bitten by a poisonous viper as she protects Oura’s life. That sounds like something that would put her firmly on his good side. Instead, Byakuya scolds Sakura for delaying her mission by getting injured and tells her that unless she fulfills this mission, Oura “will be after [her] life again.” So much for gratitude.
Another aspect of the story which is getting more complicated is the nature of the Youko. Having gained Chizakura’s favor, Sakura has little trouble defeating Youko. All she has to do is pull out her sword and SLASH! they’re gone in a cloud of cherry blossoms. But as this volume reveals, humans can be turned into Youko as well. We also discover that both Sakura’s mother and grandmother died ominous deaths, but for some strange reason, Sakura makes no effort to further investigate the circumstances surrounding those events. However, I have a feeling that more on that matter will be revealed later, especially because it sounds like Oura’s father was somehow involved.
I should mention Tanemura-sensei does a good job of depicting action and emotions with her artwork, and there are a few illustrations, like the one of Sakura and the Togu, that are breathtaking. But while the flow of the artwork is easy to follow, the plot, unfortunately, is not.
In Summary
Sakura Hime contains lovely shojo-style artwork, but as far as the plot goes, it’s just confusing. The majority of the cast are hiding their true emotions and motivations, and that combined with the kingdom’s fickle attitude toward the Princess of the Moon makes the story too convoluted to enjoy.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
