Pro tip: If you don't care about people looking over your shoulder (trust me, even if they do see it they won't judge, they're too stressed out about their own lives) you can read manga before lecture starts. It's pretty impossible to enjoyable watch anime before class starts unless you get there super early, but it's possible to get some chapters of manga in before class starts. This goes more for college than high school, unless you're a second semester senior. Then you should just go ham and watch seasons in class tbh.
{Spoilers}
Honestly speaking, since I reread a lot of it and it was pretty familiar, there wasn't a whole lot of shock factor in reading it again. I think most of the enjoyment for this particular series is from the transformation of the Amars and the quirky comedy that happens at Amamizukan.
The story revolves around a group of all female NEETs and their home at Amamizukan. They live their lives peacefully, living off of the fruits of their baby boom generation parents. Everything was fine until their home was put in danger. Their sanctuary was going to be fall prey to the predatory land sharks. And so their genius idea was to start a clothing line with the jellyfish motif. Well, it was mostly Kuranosuke's idea, the strange, cross-dressing son of a politician. And they go through ups and downs while trying to keep their new line afloat in the risky world of fashion held together by a motley crew of Amars.
This is very much so a manga that you read when you're looking for something light. This manga is a very slow burn, with only a few arcs. And I think the time that the creator took to build up those arcs makes them very solid and a fluid read. There's no random things thrown in, perhaps because the whole political sphere aspect was a bit strange to begin with. Or maybe it seemed like nothing was random because it was well thought out and weaved a net of its own into how a story should play out.
If you enjoy humorous and ridiculous antics I think that this would be a good read. Each of the Amars has their own interest, with Tsukimi's being jellyfish, Banba's being trains, and Jiji's being older men. Each one of these has its moments as a kind of strange gag that's both amusing and distinctive of Princess Jellyfish. I think this kind of feeling stems from the creator's personal experience. I get that feeling through her bonus pages. Many times authors will doodle in a little margin with a little blurb, but in this manga Higashimura put in interesting personal stories that made it easier to get to know her and understand her comic more deeply.
If you're wondering if this was a serious manga, sorry I'm not explaining it very well hehe I guess you'll just have to read it for full effect, it very much is so with the idea of being a princess. At the beginning of the story, Tsukimi sees Kuranosuke and her first thought is how beautiful and confident of a princess she is. She had this unfulfilled dream that one day she would grow up and be a princess, however she felt like that was never actualized because of her obsession with jellyfish, understated mannerisms, and unfashionable qualities. And realized before her was Kuranosuke, her princess. However, through time the readers, Tsukimi, and Kuranosuke are able to go through this princess transformation together and learn what it really means to be a princess starting from the inside. It might seem kind of cheesy and overly cliche, but I think we all need a reminder sometimes of what it means to be a princess and to be beautiful on the inside. I think this fairy tale quality that Kuragehime has is what sets it apart. Like it says at the end of the manga, it's not a definitive happily ever after because this is a neo-fairytale in the 21st century.
If you were looking for a modern day Cinderella story, look no further than Kuragehime. It's a great manga to read in your spare time with great pacing and easy to understand motivations. It's got eccentric characters and plot twists and even some spicy political drama (not really the last one, the politics in this are highkey a joke, I just wanted to throw that in there).
I don't know why, but I really like when this happens. It reminds me of the creation of the universe memes. Do you know the one I'm referring to?
It's kind of interesting how at the beginning Kuranosuke's all about changing your outward appearance, but in the end he's able to see and appreciate inner beauty as well
Ah, did I mention the understated love triangle? Admittedly when I was younger that's the main reason I read along with this manga hehe
We can't forget about Hanamori, our favorite human trash. JK in any other context he'd be such a sleazebag tbh
Look at this beautiful princess T^T
But why? Why does it need to be this way?
The movement in these three panels is honestly breathtaking. Reading through it and seeing and experiencing the motion that Tsukimi's feeling is really powerful
I don't know whether I should feel sorry for Kai, or for Hwayoung, or for both of them? It's a hard call, but definitely worth pondering.
And Clara our favorite little narrator :')
No comments:
Post a Comment