Backstage Prince, Vol. 1

The titular prince of this manga is Ryusei, high school student and heir to a Kabuki theater dynasty. While a very popular and technically proficient actor, he is cold to everyone around him and only feels close to his cat, Mr. Ken. (Kawaii!) Into this world stumbles fellow student Akari - very normal by her own admission - a newbie to the world of Kabuki but attracted to Ryusei just the same. Fate obliges her to become an assistant to Ryusei, where she discovers the boy beneath the cold exterior, and their relationship slowly begins to deepen... I feel like this series has a lot of potential - Kabuki is a fascinating art and the romance between Ryusei and Akari is very sweet. (Oh yes, and Mr. Ken is adorable. I like cats; I can't help it.) My biggest problem with Backstage Prince is that the characters all seem a little flat, fulfilling basic roles (gossipy classmate, stern traditionalist father, seemingly perfect tarento, etc.) and not having lives of their own. This is possibly because the book is pilot of sorts for the series, focusing on establishing plot more than illuminating characters; I hope so. At worst this is a sign of storytelling in the vein of Mayu Shinjo's Kaikan Phrase: uninspiring bishonen, female characters who are either boyfriend-stealing snakes or easily manipulated, and a meaningless, soap-operatic plot. Here's hoping the upcoming volume clears the air.

Ever wonder if famous actors are really as cool and calm as they appear? Well Ryusei certainly isn't! He is so painfully shy that he claims to hate people in general. Akari is the exception to that rule. She's sweet, happy and always eager to help. After accidently clobbering him with her heavy bookbag, Akari becomes Ryusei's backstage assistant till he heals from the major bruises she inflicted. Before the black and blue fades, (with the help of his pet cat, Mr. Ken) the young kabuki actor warms up to the lovable and kind high school girl and she falls head over heels for him. Now the only things standing in the way of cute lovey-bliss are his strict kabuki heritage, the fact that they can only see each other while he's backstage, and his rabid fangirls. This story was origially released in America in the Shojo Beat magazine, and I'm so happy its been put out as it's own manga. I highly recommend it for the romatic-comedy sap in all of us! My only complaint is. . . I have to wait till June for vol. 2!