 |
▪ | RELEASED BY: | VIZ MEDIA | ||
| ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: |
NAOKI URASAWA |
|||
| ▪ | FORMAT: | JAPANESE / B&W | |||
| ▪ | PAGES: | 210 | |||
| ▪ | RATING: | OT | |||
| ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | 10/21/2008 | |||
| ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | 10/20/2008 | |||
| ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
The girl who dreams of skating, Maya, must put all her efforts on the line in the upcoming skating competition in order to save the rink she’s come to love in the final volume of Sugar Princess!
The manga comes from the creator of Hana-Kimi and has a lot of the same heart in this too brief tale. In just a short period of time, Maya’s skills have come a long with. She has raw talent and an amazing capacity to learn. Under the reluctant Shun’s coaching, they prepare to perform in the pairs division of the upcoming competition. If they don’t place high enough, the new and stingy owner of the skating rink will close the establishment down! But nothing is ever as straight forward as it seems. Shun still must overcome his own feelings over the loss of his sister and reclaim his joy of skating. Also nefarious others work in the background to sabotage the couple. By couple I refer only to their skating as a pair. Although there might be potential for these two romantically, the manga is too brief to touch upon it unfortunately. The story builds to the climax of the skating competition and what happens. It does come to a satisfying close. However, it is easy to see how this manga story could have been a much longer and more fulfilling series. There are various interesting secondary characters like Reina, the manager, Shun’s best friend, and more. The areas of drama and compelling story telling are abundant. Unfortunately the story is too short to be able to explore that to a more satisfying degree. Instead Sugar Princess proves to be a very light and entertaining shojo piece that is undemanding and pleasant.
The art style is lovely. The movement implied in the illustrations of the skaters in action is filled with a lightness of air and motion that is beautiful to look at. It makes imagining the moves easy.
IN SUMMARY:
Sugar Princess comes to a conclusion in the final volume of this light and pleasant manga series.