Time Stranger Kyoko, Vol. 03

時空異邦人KYOKO [Time Stranger Kyoko] #3

by Arina Tanemura

Kyoko Suomi is the princess of Earth in the 30th century. Kyoko lives among the commoners, unwilling to reveal her true identity and ascend the throne. The king will allow Kyoko to live as she pleases if she can revive her twin sister Ui, who has been trapped in time since birth.

As Kyoko's 16th birthday approaches, crowds are rioting as Kyoko refuses to present herself to her subjects. But in order to revive Ui, she must find 12 holy stones and 12 telepaths to move the clock that has stopped time for her sister.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Time Travel, Shojo, Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2001

About the author

Name in Japanese: 種村有菜 (Tanemura Arina)
Western Zodiac: Pisces

Arina Tanemura was born on March 12, 1978. She's the author of Full Moon O Sagashite, Time Stranger Kyoko, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, Sakura Hime Kaden, and more.

Her favorite hobby is Karaoke. One song that she sings is Smile, originally by Myco. She has two cats, named Riku and Kai. She has one elder and one younger sister and one brother. She's the type who hates to lose in anything. She also likes Ribon.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Band 3 ist der letzte und finale Band in dieser Reihe und enthält 4 Kapitel, was sich leider auch in der Geschichte widerspiegelt - leider. Ich weiß nicht, ob Arina Tanemura von vornherein nur 3 Bände bzw. 13 Kapitel geplant hat, aber irgendwie scheint es so, als ob sie zum Ende der Serie hin noch ganz viele Ideen hatte, die sie noch alle irgendwie in die Geschichte mit einbringen musste. Da das aber nicht so klappte wie sie wollte musste sie viele Sachen kürzen und so gut es geht zusammenfassen.

Trotzdem ist der letzte Band schön zu lesen und hat wieder viele tolle Zeichnungen. Das letzte Kapitel bildet einen tollen und süßen Abschluss zur Serie.

Lieblingskapitel-Bilder: #10, #13

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! But I am bummed the mangaka chose to cut it short. It would have been nice to see more of the motivations behind Hizuki besides jealousy. Also doesn’t make sense to me why that’s an acceptable answer, child or not.

[Tinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread!

So, that’s the end of my reread of Time Stranger Kyoko and I will divide this review in one for this volume and one for the whole series.

Volume 3 Review

I‘m trying to be clear here from the beginning, I‘m giving this 4 stars because of my emotional attachment to series, but it probably should only be 3.

The volume starts with Kyoko inviting (more or less) the other Clan Leaders to the castle, because she figured out the must be the missing Strangers and is proven true. At this point only the mysterious Ice Stranger is missing.

It’s a smart move for Kyoko as a character to figure out how to find the Strangers without actually having to go looking for them and I appreciate her being smart like that, though it also sadly takes away from potential adventure, world-building and getting to know these characters. And I really wanted to get to know them, because those characters we previously met are all fun and interesting in their own right.

But since this is the last volume, the story needed to be wrapped up and there were further mysteries to uncover and loose ends to tie up. Way too many if you ask me.

First off, it’s revealed that Hizuki is the one secretly kissing Kyoko and not Sakataki as she hoped for. I don’t think any reader will be surprised by this though. It’s one of the plot points I‘m very uncomfortable with. Kissing a sleeping woman without her consent is a form of sexual assault and it’s the second time Arina plays this for laughs, more or less. He claims to love Kyoko and is almost killed for kissing her without consent (honestly yeah never do that to a woman) but she saves him for Sakataki‘s sake only for it to be revealed as some elaborate shame to get Sakataki to kill him, because Hizuki was the one who murdered the Dragon Clan once in a moment of rage.

But it’s okay, they get over the assault and genocide pretty quickly. Wait what? It’s the storyline that really brings that volume down for me. It’s too big, too emotional to cram in with all the other stuff and the resolution just doesn’t feel earned. Kyoko and Sakataki are way too forgiving, but only because there is no time to process anything that has happened. Because that’s not the main event of the plot. Ui still needs to wake up.

When that happens it’s revealed that Kyoko is really the daughter of Time God Chronos and only inhabited Ui‘s body until she is old enough to take over from her father. The memory of her is erased from everybody’s mind, but Sakataki‘s love for her is so strong that he eventually remembers and brings her back. Kyoko gets the body of the King‘s dead wife, that Chronos has frozen in time and everybody is happy. Wait what?

Now, I love the reveal of Kyoko‘s origins. I love the conflict the Earth King has and his love for his adopted daughter. I love the message that it doesn’t matter if you’re blood related or not, because family is family. I also love that it’s Kyoko’s and Sakataki’s love that ultimately brings her back, because those two are just adorable.

What I don’t love is the power of convenience. Chronos gives in way too easily. He doesn’t really put up a fight and let’s Kyoko go, despite being previously very threatening. And the thing with Kyoko’s body... yeah it’s creepy af that the King kept his wife‘s body for all those years. Creepy and convenient.

I still adore the ending with all my heart. We get glimpses into the Stranger‘s personalities due to little short comics and Kyoko narrates some future events. And of course Kyoko and Sakataki finally get their happy ending. It is very satisfying despite all the weirdness.

Arina added a Chokora short story which I could’ve done without. Personally I rather would’ve had a chapter more dedicated to the Hizuki reveal, but we can’t have it all, I suppose.

Overall Series Review

Time Stranger Kyoko used to be one of my favorite Manga series, and while I see way more flaws than I did in my teenage years, it still holds a special place in my heart.

The artwork is gorgeous, the chapter titles some of my favorite Arina drawings. The characters are fun, quirky and likeable, with Sakataki and Widoseek being my favorites. I also adore the romance between Sakataki and Kyoko.

The story is interesting and has so much potential, it’s rather frustrating that it didn’t get more volumes to explore this world more. It easily had the potential to become one of the greatest fantasy adventures of it’s time.

Arina herself explained that she suffered from mental health issues while writing Kyoko and asked her publisher to end the series earlier as originally planned and it shows.

Now, taking care of your health should always come first and I completely understand the reasoning behind it, I just wish she would have explored the series again some time later.

If one series deserves a reboot or an Anime adaptation with more time dedicated to it, it’s this one.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



In the 30th century, Princess Kyoko lives among the commoners keeping her identity a secret. When her sixteenth birthday draws near, her father the King insists she prepares for her first public outing - or otherwise, find a way to awaken her twin sister Princess Ui who has been trapped in sleep since their birth. For her sister to wake, Kyoko must find the twelve Time Strangers who, when combined, can shift the clock which holds Ui captive.

Time Stranger Kyoko will leave me sad forever. Although set in the 30th century, the world seems more like an alternative universe. They have technology beyond what we know today, but most elements of this world seem more of a medieval-fantasy setting - a mixture I quite appreciate. This world does not only include powers to shift time but also holds fantasy creatures such as demons, dragons and shape-shifting humans.

Now add to this world the solid cast of the spoiled, stubborn but kind-hearted Princess Kyoko, her bodyguards the two Dragon Prince brothers who couldn't be more unlike, a giant-snake-riding thieving gang, and another lot of enigmatic Strangers to find. The author plays with humour which can sometimes go way over the top but works just right with these characters and their quest.

So what went wrong? I have no doubt that this story was axed. We are introduced to two of the twelve strangers within the first volume, three more in the second volume and - well that leaves the third and final volume to introduce the remaining seven characters. And all of that happens on hardly a page. I just can't imagine that this story, of which the first two volumes had great pacing, was meant to be wrapped up in three volumes. The Strangers are all unique in personality and design and I am sure the author had more in mind than just whacking them in the way she did.

As a result, the whole of the final volume is rushed. After quickly throwing in the rest of the Strangers, all open questions are tied up much faster than one would like and often brushing off serious incidents just in order for the plot to move on. Time Stranger Kyoko could have easily been one of the author's best works had she but had the time to let the characters and plot unfold - but as it is, the story is cut short when it would have needed far more than twice the amount of volumes it actually had.

Although I still love this - there is just so much fun in it - I will never get over thinking about how great it could have been.

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that all the Strangers, except for one, have been found, Kyoko is putting all of her strength into finding the last Stranger. But little does she know that he may have been by her side the entire time... Meanwhile, Hizuki can no longer control his burning feelings for Kyoko and kisses her lips in her sleep! The King has him arrested for assaulting Kyoko, and now his only way out of being executed is for Kyoko to marry him! So she becomes betrothed to him, but little does she know while doing it that this was all Hizuki's plan to win her as his lover, but when Hizuki executes his grand plan and reveals a secret kept for sixteen long years about the Dragon Tribe's demise and his own birth and origin, love affairs may no longer matter...


Aww, I'm so glad I reread this! Although it certainly did take me a while just to finish three volumes... Especially compared to when I first read it! It only took me one day and night!! Or was it one day, one night, and one morning? Hmm. Anyway, my rating would have been five stars back then, and it is most definitely five stars now! After rereading this series, I've come to realize that it has played a large role in my life and even my own personality and character. Hell, even one of the lines from volume 2 I've always kept with me, saying it over again to give me strength, even though I thought it was a line Tamaki from OHSHC said... (I was so wrong!)
But there could never be a better Princess fairy tale written in this century than this one. It's truly a shame it isn't very popular, but then again, a lot of now deemed great literature books were not so popular back in their day, were they? (Actually, most of them were. They're considered great literature because of the role in society, future literature, and history they've played. *Sweatdrop*.)
I am also very glad that when I read Time Stranger Kyoko, it was back when my mother and grandmother were buying all my books. I don't think I had started using the library yet, or perhaps I just started. But anyway, because when I read books back then, you could never tell I even touched them (hell knows what happened between then and now. *Cough,*a lot,*cough*.) So I can always retain my very own copy that originally, and will hopefully always, tell me this beautiful story again and again. Because every single book is different, I can tell when there is even a slight change. Because every single bit of a book, the print, the paper stains, the font, the color, the lighting, all of it plays a role in the atmosphere of said book, or any book, and they may be hard to try to distinguish them apart, because I can only feel it. But perhaps that is something rare, I don't know. Or perhaps that just goes to show how much I truly care about books and fairy tales. Oh, fairy tales... I don't know about these copies, I kind of want to always have them to myself, but one day when I have a child, I'm going to pass down to them some copy or other of Time Stranger Kyoko! Even though we'll all be European, they'll still have to read backwards. LOL. I'll probably give it to them when they're in a stage of their life where they can still be heavily influenced, but are not terribly confused by the reading concept of manga versus European (or Korean) comics.
But on to the actual story... I don't know why, but it didn't really touch me very much this time I read it. All I could feel was the reminiscent of my memories when I read it before. Perhaps I've just become that jaded in these (few months from being) four years. A lot of hardship has come my way during that time, so I can understand why I would be so different. But truly, it makes me sad. Oh, but look at me. I said I was going to talk about the story now and I'm still talking only about myself. LOL.
Even though Arinacchi chose to rush the ending since the end of volume 2, this story still somehow has a magnificent conclusion. I remember back when I first read it, I was very, very sad while reading her sidebars, thinking "she's ending it because she didn't think this through fully? Well, I can understand why she wouldn't want to wing it." But now I understand that she probably lost the spark she had for this story, at least she didn't have enough not to let her new story idea spill over into this one. Even though it was terribly rash, I think Arinacchi made a good decision.
Oh, but I have fallen in love with all of the main characters again. (Not the side characters? I did last time! What was happened to my personality!) I still don't like Princess Ui very much. Why did I ever like her back then? I suppose I thought she was funny, being grown but still like a baby and all. Hmm, so I read this story when I was 13, but now I've reread at the age of 16, close to 17, the same age as Kyoko and Ui in the story... Hehe! Perfect, peerfect timing!
Oh, and man even though I knew it now, back then Hizuki's identity and past was such a shocker! A total twist! It kept me just hanging! If someone had yelled my name in my ear while I was reading, I would have never heard it. You know what's funny though? There are some things in this story here and there that I don't understand at all anymore. But I used to understand it... What happened to me..? I was terribly smart as a small child, near child prodigy, as I got a little older, I got a tad dumber but I also became more knowledgeable. Once I was 13 and part way into 14 I was SUPER SMART, but now, the older I get the dumber I get. Huh? What is that? It's been that way since my 14th summer... *Sigh*. I always turn into a drama queen in the summer too, come to think of it! What will I do now? I screwed things up bad last summer, maybe I can turn things around this year. (NOT! I may as well commit seppuku now before I ruin anyone else's life.)
WOW, did I just get off track!! Anywho, I looove the love triangle, and honestly, I did want Sakataki and Kyoko to be together when I was younger, and I thought Ui and Hizuki's relationship would be good for Hizuki, but now I'm not so sure... I really like Hizuki, maybe more than Sakataki, whereas it used to be the opposite... Hehe, but Kyoko and Sakataki are so happy, does it even matter? I love this couple. I've been in love like that, but after I read this book.. OOHH, maybe that's why I'm so jaded on this now!! I've experienced this kind of love now... but right now, I'm going through some... tough.. love.. with it... If any love left at all... Ah, and on a different note, is it just me or does Toba look and act a lot like Eiichi from Full Moon? HEHE, I think that some of Arinacchi's ideas already /did/ spill over! But that's okay! That just means there is more Eiichi to go around! <3

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aaarrrrgghh! Sumpah deh! Aku berkabung buat serial ini. Seri ini beneran penuh potensi, tapi endingnya terburu-buru coz serialnya di-axed. Hiks! Bisa-bisanya fansnya Arina Tanemura lebih suka tokoh cewek letoy kayak di Full Moon wo Sagashite daripada tokoh cewek sekuat Kyoko!

Banyak kejutan di sini. Misalnya Hizuki yang jadi biang kerok hancurnya klan naga karena iri sama Sakataki sang penerus takhta! Dia terlalu mudah dimaafkan di sini. Ya jelas aja wong plotnya di-fast forward. ARGH!!! 😫

Lalu Hizuki ternyata Ice Stranger. Emang dia pemimpin klan apa? Kenapa diadopsi kepala suku naga?

Kyoko ternyata anak Dewa Kronos. Ini menjelaskan kemampuan Kronos memanipulasi waktu. Selama ini rupanya dia meminjam tubuh Ui agar bisa tumbuh dewasa karena dewa tak punya tubuh. Konsep yang aneh. Tapi ya sudahlah. Begitu Kyoko kembali pada ayahnya, Ui terbangun. Semua memori Kyoko jadi memori Ui dan semua orang melupakan Kyoko. Hiks. Tapi karena suatu hal, Sakataki akhirnya ingat pada Kyoko. Dia pun mengumpulkan kesebelas Strangers lainnya untuk membawanya menembus dimensi Kyoko. Hhhh....

Raja lalu memberikan tubuh istrinya yang diawetkan Kronos agar Kyoko bisa punya tubuh. Lah? Aneh banget gak sih? Tubuh istrinya sekarang jadi anaknya dan jadian sama cowok lain. Sementara raja malah sama Chocola yang dia bilang mirip istrinya.

Uaneh!!!

Dan tentu saja plot kehancuran Kerajaan Bumi dan musnahnya manusia karena dimakan Mazoku lima ratus tahun kemudian jadi terlupakan begitu saja.


Duuuuuh! Ga di-remake aja kah cerita ini??? Aku sedih!!!

[✮Octjillery✮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this is a series that Tanemura really could have done a lot with, if she had been willing to continue with it. There's a lot of potential with the characters, setting, and plot. Even though it had a good conclusion, a lot of that potential went to waste. Also, the character designs felt much more varied compared to some of her other works.

I understand how she was feeling though, and, having read later works before reading this one, I'm glad she created the new series that came after. It's just a little disappointing that this one was so short.

I'm happy enough with how things turned out, though we didn't end up seeing much of Ui, and there was a translation error with all of the new Strangers introduced in the first few pages. Setsuna, Toba, and Fuuma were all switched around with the speech bubbles indicating who they were. I figured out Toba's was wrong by the next page because he was directly addressed and had a bird with him, but it wasn't until the bonus comic strips at the end that I saw that Setsuna and Fuuma had also been mixed up. Not a big deal, and they didn't really get much page time anyway.

I'm gonna continue with Full Moon after this, since I still haven't read all of that. Then I think I want to reread GAC at some point, because that's my favorite of her series.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like how the author had the anti hero character use sexual assault to make him appear heroically tragic. Also how did the older brother destroy the dragon village? Why did she have to destroy the clock? Why is the god father getting weaker? UI’s dreaming of kissing hizuku but wouldn’t that just be memories of him kissing her body while she was asleep? Poor Ui she got such a raw deal. The queen died the same day she gave birth, so it’s assumed she just of died from child birth, but it’s the future with advanced technology and magic. That while thing with chocola and the king is just creepy, she looks like a child, says she’s the kings girlfriend, and the king says she remind him of his wife. Karen was in love with Kyoko and had tried falling in love with a man to get over her but it didn’t work. Later she learns kyoko is definitely straight and has a sad shot of her crying over it. Then in the last volume she’s shown dating a boy.

[Sarah Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series started strong enough for a shojo manga, with an intriguing setup of a ruler in the distant future attending public school for socialization. Alas, most of this cast is swiftly disposed of for a "Fetch the Macguffins" plot, which still was interesting enough but by the end of the firt volume seemed to strain under a need to move at a haphazard clip.

Revelations and exposition are suddenly dropped randomly without foreshadowing (primarily the princess main character's identity and the wuestion of who kissed her in her sleep, a plot point that has not aged well), it feels very much like a story cobbled together. But the art is very pretty to look at, so I can't entirely say this is a series to pass on, either.

There are WORSE shojo manga out there, ultimately I think this one is fine enough.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

God, what a mess. Creepy sex pervert manipulating women into loving them by forcing themselves upon her? Nope. Turning your wife into your daughter or your daughter into your wife? Nope. This is some gross love triangle stuff at the heart of thr story's climax. I liked Kyoko (the character)! She takes charge, she's funny, she has a strong compass to do what needs to be done to get what she wants while stopping having an element of sadness to how much she doesn't fit in.

But the world of the series itself feels shallow, the Strangers are underdeveloped and a weak plot device, and really the "Time" element is so underdeveloped! I wanted cool time travel magic adventures, some slice of life shenanigans or something!

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally managed to finish this trilogy. Overall, it's really a degree of weirdness to which I'm not sure how I feel about it, and it definitely could have been better fleshed out, but it's very par-for-the-course as far as an Arina Tanemura series goes. It still manages to be cute, silly and somewhat emotional (though these days as far as the "emotional" part is concerned, I'd say it's a case where your mileage may vary.) Still, I'm glad I finished reading it. I've been planning to return this and the rest of my sister's Arina Tanemura manga to her as a gift, since she was originally in a position where she had no choice but to get rid of them. At least I finally finished reading Time Stranger Kyoko before returning it.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non mi è piaciuta neanche la fine e son finita di aver finito questa serie! Forse io e Arina Tanemura non siamo proprio fatte l'una per l'altra.

Non mi ha preso la straziante dichiarazione di Kyoko per Sakitaki, né il modo in cui l'autrice ha giostrato la fine e i dodici personaggi che ha creato per niente. E anche il modo in cui viene presentata Ui, come una mangiona che non pensa ad altro. E l'incontra tra Kyoko e il suo vero padre...

Sigh, avrebbe potuto essere molto meglio. Ma capisco che l'autrice abbia voluto concluderla così alla svelta

Va beh, passiamo oltre.

[~Avi Ward~]

Overall, stinking cute. The more I read manga, the more I realize I'm just a little kid who wants to be a princess in a pretty dress. >///<

I LOVE Arina's art!!!! Also I love how she has so many ships in her series, no matter how short. It makes me really happy.

CONTENT NOTES: One character had a brother complex (that she got over). The main character is the daughter of the deity of time. (Also, Hizuki kissed Kyoko in her sleep a few times which I thought was just weird lol)

[Betz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mir blutet bis heute das Herz, das Arina Tanemura diese Geschichte so frühzeitig abbrechen musste und darunter leidet auch Band 3 sichtbar - dennoch hat die es geschafft, die Geschichte zu einem wunderbaren Ende zu bringen.

[Summer Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun and more plot twists! I am very happy with the outcome of the romantic relationship between Kyoko and her love interest! The last panels are so beautiful! Ahhhh! So sweet. I really enjoy reading manga from Arina Tanemura. My favorite mangaka!

[Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relectura de mi infancia, manga cortito, bien dibujado, y con su dosis de humor y romance.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series felt too rush to be appreciated. The time travel
aspect also doesn’t make any sense. By the end I was still unsure if I liked Kyoko or not.

[Noura · Rating 2 out of 5]

this series was so rushed idek where to start

[Devinne W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end didn't really make sense and it focused too much on the romance :/

[Koorihime-sama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought from Amazon, and I still own a copy.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2012 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5

Ease of Reading Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5
Art Touch-Up: 5 out of 5
Translation: 4 out of 5
Design: 5 out of 5

Kyoko has found 11 out of the 12 telepaths, but where is the last one? As she tries to find the last telepath, more problems begin to arise. Will Kyoko ever be able to find the last telepath? And what about Kyoko’s and Sakataki’s feelings for each other?

Side Story 1: Leave it to Chocola: It’s Chocola’s birthday, and she’s throwing a party. However, when the King doesn’t show up, she runs away to Witzig’s gang. When she remembers how the King saved her, will she go back home?

Bonus: Comic Strips: A lot of 4 panel comic strips about the characters, with the last one being a penchi de shakin (something that this manga-ka does to share something personal with us) and freetalk section. ;)

Bonus: Chocola VS Iyo! A Surprising Battle: When the King and Chocola are playing hide and seek, Chocola meets up with Iyo. Together, they show off their skills and even fool the King…

Bonus: Behind the Scenes: Arina and Ryo (both manga-kas) their version on how Chocola VS Iyo! A Surprising Battle came to be.

There might be a few slight spoilers, nothing really major. ;)

The drawings and artwork still look wonderful, so I’ll go on to the plot. ;) It goes from finding only 4 strangers to having 11 found, but I don’t really mind missing the detail for those strangers. :D Everything becomes much more interesting in this volume, and you finally get to see the truth behind Kyoko, Cane-chan, and Ui. ;) And you get to see Chronos; and I love his character design and personality. Another thing I like is Ui’s personality — it is so amusing. :) Also, you get to see Sakataki become more dominant — and you get to see a kissing scene. And the ending feels satisfying and complete. :)

Now, for VIZ’s part. :| They did an average job on it. The art touch-up was still pretty good — nothing really noticeable popped out. VIZ also did okay on the SFX translations and placement of text. ;) However, they had a little problem with the general translation. Or, someone didn’t put the text in the right bubbles. On the page where all the Strangers are, they kind of mixed up the boys. It is supposed to be Leaf Stranger Youju (has leaves in the panel), Wind Stranger Fuuma (has the 140 cm in the panel) , Snow Stranger Setsuna (the guy with the dead looking eyes), Fire Stranger Rin (girl with her tongue sticking out), Wind Stranger Fuuma (panel with the bird and feathers), and then Dark Stranger Yami (cat girl panel). Why am I saying that? Because if you look on the next page, the person with the bird is called Toba. Then in the comic strips, the silent guy (dead eyes) is called Setsuna and the short guy (who is blowing up skirts) is called Fuuma.

Overall, the story and everything on the manga-ka part was great. However, I’m not too happy that VIZ made such a mistake on that translation.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Kyoko will noch immer die Göttertseine und deren Besitzer zusammen sammeln und Prinzessin Ui aus ihrem ewigen Schlaf befreien, auch wenn sie nicht die leibliche Tochter des Königs und somit nicht die Zwillingsschwester von Prinzessin Ui ist. Durch eine Idee lässt Kyoko alle Clanoberhäupter der jeweiligen Kirit-Clans ins Schloss bringen, da diese die Träger der Göttersteine sind. Doch ein Träger fehlt ihr, um die große Uhr in Ui's Zimmer zu aktivieren. Gerade, als sie es gar nicht gebrauchen kann, küsst Hizuki Kyoko und wird somit ins Gefängnis gesperrt. Auf ihn wartet die Todesstrafe, wenn Kyoko ihn nicht zum Verlobten nimmt. Doch dabei hatte sich doch Kyoko bereits in Sakataki verguckt, den Bruder von Hizuki. Und wäre das alles noch nicht kompliziert genug, hat der König Kyoko nicht die ganze Wahrheit um das Erwachen von Ui erzählt.

Eindruck:
Der finale Teil von Time Stranger Kyoko wartet mit einem spannenden, aber auch emotionalen Abschluss auf. Während Kyoko in einem Strudel von Gefühlen gefangen ist, gilt es nicht nur Hizukis Leben zu retten, sondern auch ihre Liebe zu Sakataki zu bewahren. Doch das ist gar nicht so einfach, wenn das eigene Schicksal einem einen Strich durch die Rechnung macht. Denn was Kyoko erwartet, damit hätte ich nie und nimmer gerechnet. Umso interessanter ist aber die Idee der ganzen Geschichte. Arina Tanemura hat es in diesem Teil noch einmal geschafft neue Charaktere einzubringen und deren Schicksal ebenfalls mit dem von Kyoko zu verbinden. Alles ist weiterhin in sich schlüssig und mit viel Liebe zum Detail gezeichnet. Dass der Manga ein Happy End hat, finde ich ebenfalls sehr schön. Genau das mag ich an den Werken von Arina. Es wird noch einmal sehr dramatisch und dann findet sich doch für alle eine Lösung. Das lässt nicht nur Mädchenherzen höher schlagen. Zu süß. Im Anschluss gibt es noch eine Zusatzstory, in der Chokola, der Katzen-Android des Erdkönigs ein Abenteuer der Extraklasse erlebt. Es ist einfach nur zum schießen komisch. Sehr schön.

[Oberhuu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natürlich finde ich, dass drei Bände zu kurz sind. Die Geschichte hätte durchaus noch Potential zur Erweiterung gehabt, gerade wenn es um die Suche der Stranger ging. Mit einem Mal waren sie alle plötzlich da... Sehr schade. Es wäre schön gewesen, noch mehr Abwechslung durch die Charaktere zu haben, aber so sind es nur Randfiguren. Die Geschichte kommt teilweise etwas gehetzt und überrannt rüber. Aber man kann nicht alles haben, nicht wahr?

Kyoko finde ich ganz toll. Sie unterscheidet sich charakterlich deutlich von ihrer angeblichen Zwillingsschwester. Ich finde es auch schön, dass der König zu seiner Tochter ein solches Band und so viel Zuneigung entwickelt hat, dass sie für ihn praktisch wirklich zu seiner Tochter geworden ist und er ohne sie auch nicht mehr in dem Schloss leben möchte. Die Bindung und späteren Gefühle zu Sakataki sind sehr süß.

Schon damals war Arina Tanemura für mich die beste Mangaka. Ich habe ihre Werke geliebt. Der Stil hat mit den größten Wiedererkennungswert und steckt voller Liebe zum Detail. Allein deswegen war ich von ihren Arbeiten und Geschichten immer fasziniert. Es ist schon eine Weile her, seit ich TSS gelesen habe. Es kann wirklich gut die 10 Jahre her sein, wo er in Deutschland 2003 erschienen ist. Aber dennoch gehört die Reihe für mich zu den Besten und meinen Lieblingen, weswegen ich sie auch nach so langer Zeit auch noch im Schrank stehen habe.

[Hikari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allgemeines zur Serie: Time Stranger Kyoko ist eine liebevoll gezeichnete und gestaltete 3bändige Serie von Arina Tanemura um die Prinzessin der Erdnation im 30. Jahrhundert.
Band 3: Ein würdiger und wirklich toller Abschluss der kleinen Reihe. Tanemuras Stil gefällt mir bei TSK mit am besten. Klar und verspielt zur gleichen Zeit, mit Liebe zum Detail - aber nicht überladen. Das Ende der Geschichte ist wunderschön und vor allem der Brief regt sehr zum Nachdenken an. Die Charaktere sind einem alle ans Herz gewachsen und manchmal finde ich es etwas Schade, dass einige von ihnen nunmal kaum Platz hatten, um ich zu entwickeln, da die Reihe ja auf nur 3 Bände angelegt wurde. Trotzdem zählt es mit zu meinen liebsten Geschichten.

[Nick Sweet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final volume of Time Stranger Kyoko attempts to satisfy the conclusion of what up to this point was a fully fleshed out story of magic and enchantment in one volume. And it barely succeeds. By Arina's own admission, she had lost interest in the series and had other ideas she wanted to follow and flesh out besides the story of Kyoko. One has to wonder what the series would have been like had she chosen to really flesh out the stories of Kyoko and the Guardians in this volume. But to Arina's credit, she does give the series a definite conclusion, and I have to commend her for doing so rather than ending it abruptly, as some manga series do. So while it is a conclusion that some will find satisfying, others will be thirsting for a little more.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Stejná recenze u každého dílu)
Moc hezká kresba a krásně vykreslené detaily. Občas se mi ale nelíbily obličeje mužských postav, to se zde avšak objevovalo jen výjimečně.
Příběh mě moc nebavila a ani nijak nezaujal, a tak si z něho už ani moc nepamatuji.
Chování některých postav mi přišlo vážně nelogické a zdálo se mi, že se jejich osobnost někdy otočila o sto osmdesát stupňů.
Jediným větším plusem této mangy (když nepočítám kresbu) je celkem originální nápad, který oceňuji. Ale myslím si, že nebyl plně využit jeho potenciál a některé věci nebyly dovysvětleny. Neřekla bych, že se k této manze někdy vrátím....
Obálky vypadají všechny moc hezky, nejvíce se mi asi líbí vzhled třetího dílu.
Hodnotím 48% Jazyk: angličtina

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting series with several great characters and a plot that really drew me in. This volume also had several unexpected twists in it. I would have liked a bit more of an epilogue about some of the different characters but everything was wrapped up enough. This volume also had a cute bonus chapter as well as some cute Bonus Comic Strips at the end.

Contains Chapters 10 - 13
Chapter 10: Prince of Light, Prince of Shadow
Chapter 11: And Then You Awoke From Your Dream
Chapter 12: Who Are Those Tears For? Who Is That Smile For?
Final Chapter: For One Second, A Blinding Flash Of Light
Bonus Story: Leave It To Chocola

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... this had a classic Tanemura-san ending - she sets you up for an ending that looks to be not so happy, but then somehow, magically things fix themselves, work out, and everyone is happy. So that's always a little disappointing.

This was a cute short series, and by far her most hilarious series. I enjoyed it.

Have this fantastic picture of Kyoko and Sakataki

[Jody Mena]

This was pretty good as far as manga in this genre go, a cute and funny adventure/love story. I really like Tanemura's artwork, it's very celluloid, round and cartoonish, but still somehow whimsical and lovely. The plot was pretty unique, lots of twists, but the pace was a bit too fast for my taste, and I'm pretty sure this story invented deus ex machina. Still, cute and light hearted, a very sweet love story with some rather comical action to pass the time.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Fushigi Yugi, Vol. 1 and wonderfully drawn! Short and cute, and the main character is totally adorable. It was a bit predictable, but that didn't bother me so much. I really enjoyed the plot as a whole.