KATSUAI NO OUJI-SAMA

Prince of Parched Love is a smutty shoujo romance with cluttered art that feels a little too 90's, and relies heavily on the aforementioned smut to really delve into intricate storyweaving.

It consists of 6 chapters, the first four revolving around a particularly horndog working-class couple who don't know how to keep it in their pants and the rest are high school based romances.

Who should read this: Smut-o-olics and those in the mood for abruptly melodramatic settings leading to prosaic lovemaking. Seriously. I didn't even raise my eyebrows, that's how uninspired the surprisingly detailed smut was!

Who should avoid this: Pretty much any self respecting shoujo romance otaku who wants to read an absorbing tale with character development and interesting dialogues.

As the first story starts off, some elements just don't seem to fit it and seem far too dramatic or serious to be part of such a small series. And then all of a sudden, the crazy drama build up just ends and gives way to explicit sex! O_o Despite getting enough validation and plenty of orgasms, the heroine Kiyouki (if you can call her that, I would prefer 'female in a much luckier circumstance than is necessary') seems annoyingly insecure/needy. It's interesting since it's setup in the office rather than at high school, which maybe makes it a titillating read for gossipy secretaries. The male lead isn't all that bad, just normal, but hot damn, you get fed up with that wimpy ass Kiyouki soon! The first four stories about this office going couple feel mostly like a lot of filler before surprisingly unfulfilling lovemaking scenes. Dialogues and story are seriously the last thing on the mangaka's mind here.

Fifth story had a bit of a redeeming character with a slightly sensible heroine who held her own for most of the story. Helped that the hero wasn't a brute as much as just hopelessly besotted with her ^^ Cute enough premise and funny in bits. Not too witty in terms of repartee or execution though.

Sixth story starts out funny with a bit of an attitude, I may have enjoyed myself a little too much at how the token rebound treated Haruka the heroine! Most girls tend to keep all their ugly thoughts to themselves, but she lets it all out, and boy it works well for her! This story is actually pretty decent since it shows surprising character growth through the use of clever flashbacks. By now you'll have gotten used to the art and may enjoy the story a bit more than it probably deserves!

Overall B: I would recommend the last story in this anthology to diehard shoujo romance nerds who appreciate a bit of smut in their manga, and would caution those embarking on the entire volume to leave your expectation of a riveting storyline at home!