Creative Staff
Writer/Artist:Miyuki Kobayashi / Natsumi Ando
Translated by:Satsuki Yamashita
Adapted by:Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
What They Say
Najika came to Seika Academy to find the boy who saved her life. She thinks her “prince” might be either Sora or Daichi – the super-cute brothers who are the most popular boys at school. That is, until one of the brothers warns Najika that her mysterious prince may not be all he seems! Will this revelation put an end to Najika’s life-long quest?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Najika has finally found her Flan Prince! Now she can fulfill her promise to make him the most delicious dessert in the world. And when she learns of the National Western Confectionary Competition she enters the contest to prove herself and her cooking worthy of her prince. Meanwhile, Akane’s jealousy gets the better of her once again as she interferes in Najika’s relationship with the Kitazawa brothers. However, this time Akane’s meddling goes too far. Najika confronts Akane about her lies, culminating in a catfight in the middle of the school cafeteria!
Our Flan Prince is finally revealed, but it is hardly a shocker. After three and a half volumes, that outcome is fairly predictable, and it seems silly that Najika didn’t recognize him sooner. However, Volume 4 does have some interesting bits. The events of Volume 4 solidifies the inevitable love square between Najika, Akane, and the brothers, but with Najika’s and Akane’s relationship on the upswing towards the end of the volume, it will be interesting how that works itself out. Also, now that Najika is entering an actual culinary contest, we may possibly see her skills put to test in an objective arena, where her competition is actually interested in her abilities and not just trying to get rid of a rival for a love interest.
Extras include table of contents, an explanation of honorifics, story thus far summary, cast of characters, closing remarks from the manga’s writer and artist, a 39-page special Kitchen Princess side story, recipes for five foods made in the manga, two pages of cultural notes, an untranslated preview of Volume 5, and ads for other Del Rey releases. Regarding the five recipes, however, the formatting gets a bit crowded for the lengthier recipes (fruit agar and omrice), and some of the diagrams don’t quite line up with the corresponding instructions which make them a little confusing.
Content Grade: C+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: October 30th, 2007
MSRP: $10.95