Review: Reimei no Arcana

It's a shame that this next manga isn't very well known especially in comparison to the other two. If you haven't heard of it then you're not alone. Hopefully this review might give you the incentive to look into this hidden and new-ish series especially for those of you who are tired of reading those over popular manga series.

Reimei no Arcana

Alternative names: Dawn of Arcana

Ratings

Plot: 8/10 

Art: 9.5/10

Characters: 8/10

Overall: 8.5/10

Recommend? Yes 

Reimei no Arcana is an, at least at the moment, ongoing series which currently only contains just over 20 chapters. I just found it a few days ago so this review won't be able to really encompass the series as a whole yet (it's a rather young story with only 6 volumes so far. I call it young since it's a story that is just beginning). 

A bit of a summary: Our story starts with the Royal marriage between Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat. A seemingly peaceful marriage brought about in order to stop the history-long war between Senan and Belquat, we soon find out that the marriage doesn't begin smoothly. Why? Because the Royal families of both Senan and Belquat pride themselves in their beautiful black hair while all others are inferior. Princess Nakaba, born of Royal blood, does not have the prized black hair: she has red hair. Facing overwhelming discrimination based on petty physical appearances, Nakaba must somehow preserve the peace between the nations by accepting this marriage even if it means putting up with Caesar who makes it clear that he despises her red hair. Will Nakaba be able to change Caesar's attitude and solidify their marriage, or is the peace between Senan and Belquat but ephemeral?

To be honest, my tiny summary above doesn't do the series justice (I'm only 23 chapters in and I can already say this!). For fear of giving any spoilers I simplified it quite a bit. Despite what is written above, you'd be mistaken if you believe this is a another series simply about an arrange marriage turning out well. The story's true purpose is to not only explore the relationship between our two main antagonists, but also examine the struggle they face even as royalty to go against rules and limits, explore various forms of relationships and why they developed that way, and solve the mysteries surrounding our main characters: their pasts aren't spelled out from the start and for good reason. This series gets good really fast for you are given a variety of problems and mysteries the characters face that keep the story interesting and suspenseful. Throw in the fantasy element (can't reveal what this is! Sorry! You'll see if you read!) and you have a well rounded series that gives you everything from actions scenes with swordplay to romantic scenes that will make any good fangirl go "kyaaaaaa!" 

I've got to say: I've had a good streak on finding good art. Lately I've found a good number of series' that contain beautiful art, and this series is no exception. The faces are drawn beautifully and consistently. Thankfully there are actually differences between the characters -- aka you can't just change the hairstyle and get a new character. The clothing is also quite uniquely drawn and it matches the atmosphere of the mange very well. I also quite enjoy the shading in the series. There are some series' that I've seen contain "awkward" or  weird shading, but that doesn't happen here: it all works and it looks great. I have no complains about proportions or anything about the art in this series aside from the fact that it's not the most unique style out there. Still, it's wonderful artwork and good art helps make a good series. 

What ends up making this series one heck of a well-rounded series would be it's enjoyable cast of characters. The characters are cute, funny, lovable and give the manga the "magic" that makes it a great series. The contrasting personalities of certain characters give a nice variety of character types to deal with (it's appealing to know that not EVERYONE is kind, caring and warm all the time). The chemistry between some characters is quite amazing and all of the main characters start to grow on your rather quickly (again I cite the fact that I've only read 23 characters and yet I'm already so attached to the characters). What keeps the series as lovable as it is would be its awesome set of characters. 

Overall, this series is quite a good read and it gets good real fast (no waiting 5 volumes for something to start developing and happening). It contains nice plot twists and keeps you thinking about what will happen next and what they'll do about the current situation. It's misleading to think that because this begins with a more typical Royal family marriage scene that it'll end with them falling in love and thus all other things magically fall into place. Their marriage does play a large part in the story, but doesn't ever become the whole entire point of the story. And if it's the kind of series you'd like, you'll get hooked real fast. 

One minor warning though: although, as I said, it's not a love-centered series, that isn't to say that it doesn't have a good quantity of romanic scenes. So, if you're the kind of person who can't stand romance in their manga, either try to ignore it or steer clear of this series (though you're missing out). 

Well, this concludes my review of Reimei no Arcana. The series is, as I've pointed out numerous times, still ongoing (you're probably tired of hearing this huh?), so this review doesn't encompass all that Reimei no Arcana will have to offer. I may or may not revise/create a new review on the series once it's finished (hopefully in a long time) depending on if I've lowered or increased my opinion of it. 

Either way, I hope you find this useful! Enjoy!

Feel free to comment~~~~~! (or rant/fangirl about a series. I love it when that happens seriously)

Chang'e