Sometimes, you hope something is finally translated into English, only to find it wasn’t nearly as good as you remembered. And sometimes, it’s the opposite! In Milk Morinaga’s The Secret of the Princess, we split the difference – it weathered the last two years since I first reviewed it relatively well and ended up being a more decent read in English than I expected. ^_^

Miu’s mother has told her repeatedly that the most important thing a girl can do is to devote her energies to being attractive to “her prince” – whomever that may ultimately be. But in the meantime, Miu’s stuck in an all-girl school without so much as a guy to be asked out by. Fortune puts her in the way of some mildly damning information about Fujiwara, the school sports star and, once in a position for some light extortion, she jumps to it. She asks Fujiwara to become a practice prince for her. And, as uncomfortable as the idea makes her, Fujiwara is in no position to protest. So, Miu and Fujiwara begin “dating.”

With a set up like this, in a single-volume Morinaga series, there can be little doubt that the two girls will come around reasonably quickly to having actual feelings for one another. And so they do. Despite the fairly obvious path the narrative takes, it’s not a terrible story. Miu, who might easily have been exceptionally unlikable, changes considerably during the course of the story and Fujiwara, who begins the book as a cipher, ends up equally as sympathetic. For a one-shot, this is a pretty enjoyable read. Even when the tables turn and Miu could easily become a one-dimensional sympathetic bad guy, Morinaga’s writing finds a happier path for the characters and the readers. ^_^

The production is, as one expects from Seven Seas, clean and easy to read. Translation and adaptation by Jennifer McKeon and Shannon Fey give us a pleasant, authentic reading experience. Just what one hope from Yuri manga from Seven Seas. 

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7 Problematic in the beginning, by smooths out over time
Characters – 7 
Yuri – 7
Service – 3 bits here and there

Overall – 7

Miu’s mom, though, phew. What crappy advice to give to your kid!

Many thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy!