5.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent Natsuna Kawase manga, September 23, 2009
This review is from: A Tale of an Unknown Country Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Natsuna Kawase herself admits this once started as a standalone series; but A Tale of an Unknown Country is one of those unique series that is so rich in story that even though it grew from a standalone one shot tale it works as a series. The tale itself is set in an alternate world that is very European in the stylistic nature of the two kingdoms we are introduced too as being home of the hero and heroine of this story.
I think one of the more unique aspects to this tale is how different each kingdom is, and while it is obvious that Princess Rosemarie (the heroine) and Reynol (the hero) will fall in love, the difference between their two kingdoms allows for many funny moments and a good interplay between the two characters as they start to grow closer together. For example while Princess Rosemarie's Ardela, is rich in nature, valuing it highly, it is also a very tiny kingdom which is so cash poor that Rosemarie is out selling bread to tourist, the castle is open to the public and her older brother Mache gives tours of the town. Some spoilers might follow:
Reynol meanwhile lives in Yurinela, a large country which is so immersed in technology they even have artificial weather. Also unlike Rosemarie whose unique position of being a bread selling princess has given her a lot of friends and understanding of commoners, Prince Reynol being in such a technological country is very cold and never really seems to understand the people around him, withdrawing a lot and working himself very hard.
When Rosemarie hears that her brother, in a claimed attempt to bring more wealth to their own country, has set up a match for Rosemarie to marry Reynol, Rosemarie is more then a little upset and decides to disguise herself as a maid to see what Reynol is really like and if possible destroy the marriage plans.
At once differences between the two are seen and here starts a lot of the comedy between the very closed uptight Reynol, and the natural open Rosemarie, though some jokes such as Rosemarie dressing like a maid are repeated throughout the volume, the interaction between the two and those around them is at times very innocent but also that of Mache is interesting because it is never quite clear where he stands on this match that he set up.
For fans of Natsuna Kawase and those just looking for a great story, I highly recommend A Tale of An Unknown Country as a great escape, and a good story which has me eagerly waiting for volume 2.
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