Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!, Volume 1 / 崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせた has a great title. Honestly. ^_^
Gakepucchi means “on a cliff’s edge,” that is to say, someone pushed to desperate straits. And so, we meet Clarice, the eldest daughter of a failing minor noble household. Her sister Charlotte is ill and her parents have sold everything they can to pay for her treatment. In order to save her family and her beloved little sister, Clarice accepts an offer of marriage from the infamous Black Knight Frost.
And this is where I really kind of like the way the English and Japanese play in the title. Because Frost is a Marquis or Marquess (depending on your language of origin,) which is to say a rule of the March…the very edge of the land. So when Clarice goes to Frost’s home, she is literally on the very edge of the civilized world, where she finds that the edge is not that civilized after all.
Frost is a huge, black-armored creature who, when a monster attack during their wedding, dispatches it with ease, but seems antagonistic toward Clarice. Clarice is not a shrinking violet – she has committed to this relationship and she’ll be damned if she fails. When she discovers that Frost is a still-huge, angry and fearsome creature, she is also a very attractive women. While Frost shuts her out, Clarice rallies the few maids left in the household and bring Frost the best dinner she can muster and seeks to win her heart.
Frost clearly has some ancient trauma she is avoiding, so is spending her energy keeping Clarice at a distance, but her new wife is energetic, dedicated and a really kind and competent person. When a visiting merchant is attacked, Clarice defiantly saves teh merchant and his daughter, proclaiming herself of you the wife of the famous Black Knight, Clarice von Galeria! By the end of volume one we are merely waiting for Frost to…defrost, if you will. There’s a lot of road to travel before that will happen, however, Clarice is showing herself to be a very determined heroine. I really like her!
The art by sometime, creator of Superwomen in Love! is fun, energetic and provides us a lot of near-naked, Frost bulging with muscles and covered in scars, both physical and emotional. suoh’s story is adapted well buy this veteran artist.
Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – Clarice is 9, Frost needs some work
Service – 1 Mild semi-nudity only
Yuri – 4 Actually, very little as of yet. Something tragic in Frost’s history, but it’ll be there in a bit
Overall – 8
Of the several fantasy stories running in Comic Yuri Hime, this one, along with Muryoku Seijo to Munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukokuki (~無力聖女と無能王女～魔力ゼロで召喚された聖女の異世界救国記～) are my favorites, with this one leading, simply on the force of Clarice’s personality. ^_^
