Reimei no Arcana

Starts with a marriage of convenience between feuding royal families, complicated with racism and bigotry (about hair color and half-human half-animal "subpeople"). The main characters are both stubborn and really hate each other, but what else can this lead to but sweet sweet awkward jealousy. Who should she choose? The enemy with the grand gestures or the loyal friend? You'll be pulled apart, just like our heroin.
This manga is wonderful! A real hybrid of the Shojo and Shouen styles, a complicated romance for the not-girly reader. A really addicting read, and more than the average shojo has to offer. Rei Toma (the author) has created a really fantastic and colorful world to have her characters push back against. Looking forward to the next chapter each week.

I found this story while waiting for the next chapter or Akagami no Shirayuki-hime. I wanted to find another like it, and thus stumbled upon Reimei no Arcana.

ART: 100000000
First off, love the art. It's amazing. Simple and beautiful. All the guys are handsome (and that little sub-human boy ((his name starts with an R)) IS FREAKING ADORABLE)) and the girls are beautiful. The art was one of my favorite parts in the story.

STORY: 8
Princesses and Princes getting married... very typical. I didn't expect much out of the story. BUT. Once I started reading it,, I started warming up to it. The blood and fighting helped out ^_^ (action manga fan here). Whenever there is action and comedy in a shoujo manga I tend to like it. Comedy... not a ton, but action, YES. I love it. The love triangle is driving me crazy. Poor Nabaka... wouldn't want to be in her shoes, my gosh. Both of the guys are so loveable. The light-hearted parts where Nabaka smiles and Ahkil is making fun of them and stuff are probably my favorite parts.

Characters: 7
Which leads me to the next part... the characters. I don't really know where I stand with the characters. They all have points I love and points I hate. Thus, I give characters a 7.

Enjoyment: 7
It was pretty good and I'd recommend it. If you're looking for a laugh, maybe a different manga would suit you, but if you're looking for a deep manga with kickass action, this is the one for you.

As far as shoujos go, I thought this had an interesting premise.

Story: 7
The basic storyline is that a red-haired princess (Akage) is married off to a prince of another country for a peace treaty. She is shunned because she, a royal, has red hair instead of black hair. Yeah, that's right. And not only that, but throughout the story kings and royalty make crazy freaking decisions based solely on the fact that this girl has red hair. It's a puzzler to me...and despite all of the clearly corrupt, lazy, and plain stupid royals, the citizens don't complain or rise up even once. The background for either of the three countries that are presented is not really developed beyond what the climate is. But the plotholes and lack of storybuilding aside, the plotline was fairly linear, though some major elements are left undeveloped (the swords made of ore, the Arcana, etc.).

Art: 7
The characters all had lovely designs (Loki and Ahkil were my favorites), though they weren't all that diverse. Pretty much all the guys look female, too. The action scenes were a bit silly and awkward.

Character: 3
Meh. Main defining traits of characters were hair color, whether they were an Ajin or human, whether or not they had Arcana, and who they had a relationship with. The main character, Nakaba, was quick to cry or lash out.

Enjoyment: 6
I didn't hate it. It's definitely worth reading just for the ending and also Loki.

If you're looking for something to read through quickly but still enjoy some nice pictures, then Reimei No Arcana is for you.

At first glance, Reimei no Arcana may seem like your oh-so-clichè romance and shoujo manga set in fairytale land. Thankfully, this isn't the case. Reimei no Arcana has a more deep, almost depressing story behind everything. There's blood. There's violence. There are characters that actually develop instead of just act the same throughout the story. This really isn't the typical romance manga directed at young girls.

Story: 8/10
While it's not the most original plot in the world, Rei Toma executes it beautifully. The princess who has been shunned all her life is in an arranged marriage with a prince that she finds disgusting. After spending some genuine time together and going through certain events, however, they come to understand each other more and more as time goes on. Of course, they then develop actual feelings for each other. However, don't be fooled-- the story doesn't magically lose its grittiness for the sake of turning everything into an upbeat romance.

Art: 9/10
The art is simply gorgeous. The girls are beautiful, the boys are handsome. The clothes are wonderfully detailed, and the settings fit in perfectly with the theme. My only complaint is that, like a lot of other manga, the heroine's eyes are way too big for her face. I understand that it helps to add expression, but it just looks silly when everyone else has normal sized eyes except for the main character.

Character: 8/10
At first, characters seem like they're nothing very special. Loki is the sweet, caring friend to Nakaba, whereas Nakaba is a princess who's slightly depressed due to her situation, but still attempts to have a somewhat good outlook on life...until she meets the tsundere prince Caesar, that is. Thankfully, Reimei no Arcana has wonderful character development. After some certain dramatic events happen, you can see how much each character in this manga has grown up. They feel like their own fleshed out person rather than a mere stereotype.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I simply love romance manga that are unique. I enjoy my romance/comedy/school/shoujo manga from time to time, but they get boring very quickly due to a lot of them having nearly identical plots. Reimei no Arcana is a wonderful hidden gem of romance manga out there.

Overall: 8.5/10 (rounded up to 9/10)
If you're looking for a typical cheesy romance where no character development takes place, I advise you to pick up one of the various one-shot shoujo manga out there. If you're looking for a deep romance manga that actually has an interesting plot and well-developed characters, by all means, read this.

Not the best fantasy/shoujo manga out there, but I would say it's pretty good and worth giving a try!

Although the romance is cliche and quite cute, it's definitely not shallow as some of the fantasy shoujo's I've read before. I think that there is an underlying issue of discrimination against difference races/classes that we have to deal in our world today, that the mangaka tries to symbolises in this mythical world and she does it pretty well. The art style is also very beautiful and it's fun to be taken to another world all together. The lead female is completely badass as well and you keep rooting for her.

The only thing I would say is that prevented this from being any better is the pacing, I feel it would have been better if it was just slightly longer, where you really get to see the lead characters grow in more depth. It would have also been better if we got to explore the world around them and side characters a bit more too.

But overall, I would say it's definitely worth giving this a shot. It's still a fun read if you're looking for a cute romance with an underlying heavier plot!

----Story 8/10----
I read Reimei no Arcana expecting a cliche story where the girl falls in love with a prince who basically hates everything, something big happens, she cries, he cries, blah blah blah, the end, they live happily ever after. Yeah!

I couldn't have been more wrong. Reimei no Arcana is one of the darkest and deepest shoujo manga I've read, making it very unique and interesting. This story is not your typical happy shoujo manga where the most trouble they have is the rejection of the other person. There is a lot more in this manga then it seems.

----Art 9/10----
There isn't really much to say about the art. It's great and it's nice I guess. The characters are all nicely drawn, both Caeser and Loki are good-looking and Nakaba's quite pretty too.

----Character 9/10----
At first, I absolutely hated Caeser. He seemed so much like a jerk that I couldn't really stand him but further into the manga, you get to know about his troubles and he just becomes a much better person. Loki is a different case though, I absolutely loved him from the start to the end. He is so caring to Nakaba and just seems like a really nice person generally.

Nakaba herself is another thing. She isn't happy-go-lucky like a lot of girls in shoujo manga, she isn't mean or selfish in any way, she isn't really clumsy and weak, in fact, she's very strong-willed and one of my favourite shoujo female characters. The character development of this manga is really good and it allows you to really understand the situation and the characters behind it along with their pasts and history.

----Enjoyment 9/10-----
I really enjoyed the manga and read it for hours straight. It just kept me going and interested in the next chapter. Good thing I read it after it finished or else I don't know how I could have waited.

----Overall 9/10----
Overall I think this is a good manga and my favourite to be honest. This manga gave me happiness, sadness and well, a lot of tears in the middle of the night. As I said, this manga is not just happy moments and comedy. It is quite dark and deep. So don't expect them to go to the beach and like kiss under fireworks or something.

The STORY... The POTENTIAL... SUCH WASTE!!! SUCH WASTE!!!
And now with less drama.

Reimei no Arcana or The Dawn of Arcana at first glance reminds about a dozen similar manga. A sad heroin has to marry a bastard prince of the enemy country. There's the loyal dog (literally) and she's not very well liked in that country. But everything is ok, because, of course, the prince turns a new leaf and falls madly in love with princes, who (oh surprise, surprise) has a mystical power. Everything's well known and familiar.

BUT, now I will talk about the reason for all the drama in the beginning. But, the story isn't just that, it's much much deeper. We have the racial discrimination and species discrimination, we have imminent war and genocide. Which are heavy and dark topics. And we have the wish to change the broken world and to bring happiness and safety to those we love. These are typical topics but they are presented quite nicely. But why the drama?

The idea is not very fresh, but it is solid. The surrounding context has so much potential you could build an epic poetry piece around it. And then comes along the editor who decides to push everything into fewer chapters that it is humanely possible. Or maybe the author doesn't have the skills for exposition and everything just like deflated balloon flops on the ground. Something that could have flown has to flop (dramatisation). My point is that it could have become something really good. For example, a character dies, it's death heavily affects main characters both emotionally and story wise. But the reader can't possibly feel this emotion because the *ing story is rushed. What do I care if that bastard dies, I never knew him anyway. Wasted... The moments, key points in the story are wasted... Everything feels unnatural and flat. No depth, no feeling. It brakes my heart.

Overall, a less sensitive (or less crazy and bored) reader will enjoy this manga immensely. It's a fair read certainly not the worst I have read (not even close). The art is cute, the characters lovable though underdeveloped and the story is ok (if you don't analyse it at all). I recommend to read to both casual readers (for enjoyment) and fanatics (to know what can happen to good ideas).

As a disclaimer, I quit this series after only one volume. But I thought some people might be interested in knowing why, considering I don't do that very often.

Story:
I'm not necessarily adverse to political marriage plotlines if done well, or at least if it avoids sensationalizing it. Which is exactly what the author seemed keen on doing.
Caesar is verbally and physically abusive to Nakaba from first meeting, and by the end of the first volume there's a distressingly long forced kiss scene which is obviously meant to be ~sexy~ and if you're into that, perhaps you'll enjoy it. But for me, the sexualizing of the removal of agency to Nakaba's character was concerning at best. Caesar simply crosses too many lines with Nakaba before "becoming a better person," which is what I'm assuming is the inevitable conclusion of his character.
To add to the discomfort, there are elements of romanticizing slavery in Loki's plotline, so unless you're into that: AVOID AVOID AVOID.
As far as the protagonist herself, Nakaba, there's a reason I haven't really discussed her. She's utterly unremarkable and reads like a collection of tropes meant to illicit sympathy. Loki is possibly the best developed character, if you can get past the romanticizing of a master-slave relationship. And Caesar shows hints of complexity, but it's obscured by so much awfulness it was hard to appreciate.

Also, as a debatable nitpick, the world-building in this first volume is mediocre at best, completely awful at worst. The costume and setting designs are uninspired, which is passable in a modern school-set romance, but unforgivable in a fantasy.
And related to the world-building, the rules of her fantasy setting are just inconsistent? illogical? As an example, Nakaba comes from what is described as a cold country with very little farming, and yet when she wears what is apparently her cultural clothing, it is thin, loose material with sandals. SANDALS. Instances like that occur several times throughout the volume.

Art:
As the cover shows, Toma does know how to color. But covers can be deceiving.
The problem with Toma's art is that while it's put together enough to pass in a modern school-set romance, it is not sophisticated enough for creating completely new backgrounds or for displaying action scenes. And since this is a fantasy, THAT IS A BIG PROBLEM.

Plagued with a power to see the past and future, Nakaba (the protagonist) is a princess of mixed blood that was given to her country's enemy to wed their prince.
Then they fall in love and yadda, yadda, yadda.

Actually, the story wasn't that dreary however that is the outline of the plot but it did have circumstances which the reader had to get their heads around of to continue reading. What actually livened up the story was the art and the characters.

The characters weren't the very over-used kind, maybe the kind that was used OFTEN but still not over-used. I generally liked the characters of the main characters except well, for the most important main character which is dear Nakaba; she was the lost, confused, highschool-girl-like personality but she was also the trump card and what a waste for such a powerful character to have the complete antithesis of the appropriate personality.

The art had enough detail to make me mention it but it didn't have the kind of detail for it to soar above the average and expected. It was not bad but not good, it was no man's land. And as usual, the characters had those abnormal eyes; does anyone believe that normal human beings have those kind of eyes? Or is it just so hard to draw normal, no, make that realistic eyes? Anyway, I'd have really liked the illustrations to have had some more details because it's just vague, not very, but enough to be qualified as vague.

Overall, a very 'okay' story. A rainy day type of story which gives you just enough to keep you going but if you like suspense or something to get your blood-pumping, look for something else because this story is very lukewarm.

Wow...... I thought it was going to be really different than how it turned out. I was expecting something more like Niehime to Kemono no Ou, it was a lovely surprise! The romance was beautiful and really make you think about the concept of love and being loved.

If i had to say something i disliked, i could say the story tends to lean to the sad side, its like tragedy after tragedy. I wish to have been able to explore the worlds more and understand the countries better.

Overall I loved this story, i'm sad i dont get more.... The ending made me cry! This story is a must read, the beginning is slow, but it really picks up! I was trapped and read the entire thing in one night!