Sea Princess Azuri Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "YOU NEEDN'T WORRY, GENERAL..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Azuri is the mermaid princess and the only royal heir of the Orcans, a race of whale-merpeople that lives in a fantasy environment deep within the ocean. Azuri is betrothed to Prince Unagi, leader of the Eel people. Their marriage is arranged as a means to bring peace to two kingdoms. But soon Azuri falls in love with Thalo, a royal Orcan guard, and her world falls apart! Soon, Princess Azuri is faced with the most difficult decision of her life: Should she save the world or follow her heart?!

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598164015
• ISBN-13: 978-1598164015
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #967,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Manga my Tween can Read!, March 15, 2006

By	Tina Anderson (Texas) - See all my reviews

I stumbled upon this title quite by accident-it's certainly nothing I'd pull off the shelf on my own. My daughter became addicted to it after seeing it in Tokyo Pop's mail manga magazine, and so that meant I had to listen to her read it out loud. [An 8 Year old girl's favorite pastime.]

If Disney were marketing domestic manga, Sea Princess Azuri would definitely be it. The story revolves around a species called the Orcans, not mermaids in a traditional sense...they're killer whale/humanoid hybrids. No, there is no deep back-story to explain their existence; this manga should be enjoyed on a story-telling level and not for some deep scientific analysis. Azuri is an Orcan Princess, and one of her main duties as Princess is to marry Prince Unagi of the Eel people. Since childhood she resigned herself to this fate because she's loyal to what's best for her people...but then she grows up! She meets a handsome, albeit nerdy, royal guard named Thalo.

Drama ensues when jealous Unagi discovers Azuri's fondness for Thalo and arranges for Thalo to be sent to *gasp* live on dry land. Now this is when my daughter stopped reading to explain to me just how cruel it all really was [!!], and that's when I realized I'd spent only $5 for one of the best afternoons with my child involving a shared passion of manga reading.

Seriously, if you're looking for a manga title for your daughter that doesn't contain sexually androgynous boys or nightmarish dreamscapes, Sea Princess Azuri is your best bet.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sea Princess Azuri, January 10, 2006

By	Engelus (Staten Island, NY) - See all my reviews

Erica Reis is a new name to the manga world. Having seen this artist before hand in various places on the web, I bought this as soon as it came out. It actually has 96 pages, though shorter than the average manga, the art is beautiful and its price is good, Well worth the buy.

The story is about a Mer Princess, Azuri, who hangs out with her guard, Thalo, and gets into mischeif she should be avoiding as princess, she is upset about her betrothal and doesnt want her marriage to get in the way of her having a good time, she'd much rather be a normal (Mer)girl, than have to marry the prince.

good for all ages and genders in my opinion, don't let the pink frighten you off.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Under the sea..., March 7, 2006

By	J. Alford (Atlanta, GA. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Another of Tokyo Pop's original American manga titles. This one however is fully anthropomorphic!

Taking place in an undersea kingdom, you might think this would be your standard Little Mermaid ripoff. But, the merfolk here are actually half-orca called Orcans. They have had an unsettling peace with the Eel people for a while, and both kingdoms wish to settle their differences by having the heirs to each throne get married. The pricess Azuri wants to live a more carefree life though, and spend time with her best friend Thalo who is in the royal guard.

On the day that she is supposed to meet her future husband, Azuri befriends an orphened unicorn seal and takes it as her pet. She then encounters the Prince Unagi of the Eel people and starts to recongnize his charms. At the same time, Thalo is confessing his true feelings for Azuri to her.

This was a pretty short volume for your average Tokyo Pop graphic novel, at only about half the size of their standard publications. But still the artwork is very good, and the story is enchanting. It's one you have to buy into a little at first though, otherwise you might get lost in the inner-workings of this self-contained little world. Great fun for anthro-fanatics!