Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura, Vol. 2

桜姫華伝 [Sakura Hime Kaden] #2

by Arina Tanemura

Sakura is the granddaughter of a mysterious moon princess who slew demons with her Blood Cherry Blossom sword. All her life Sakura has been forbidden to look at the full moon without knowing why. Then one night, unhappy over her impending marriage, Sakura gazes up at the moon, only to see a demon attacking her...

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Comics, Historical Fiction

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

To my relief, already we've largely dispensed with the daffy pratfalls and other broad humor from the first book, and are much more focused on melodrama, horrible misunderstandings and tragedy.

As mentioned in my review for volume 1, I appreciate the focus on relationships between girls in this story. With Oumi, I very much get the feeling if it weren't for their individual circumstances, she and Sakura would get along well, and Sakura would inspire the same loyalty in Oumi that she does in Kohaku, Asagiri, et al. The youko Oumi transforms into having long flowing hair is a truly bizarre way of showing the monster was transformed from a human. In general, I feel like the tensions in that situation weren't explored deeply enough before she was destroyed. I didn't get a strong impression of what motivated Oumi to do anything she did, or the motivations we were given were too simplistic.

I'm also thinking about including all the ideas I've always wanted to write about, but most of them are things that I really can't do in Ribon.

This quote from a sidebar makes me really curious about what those ideas are, especially since--and Tanemura would have had no idea of this, at this early stage of Sakura Hime--this ended up being the last series she had serialized in that magazine.

By the way, for Sakura Hime I've started to hold back on the amount of screentones I use, but what do you think about it? Is it easier to read??

Well, *I* certainly didn't notice that. Her art feels just as overwrought as usual. I mean, I like it, but restraint with the ol' screentone is absolutely not something I associate with this series.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly kind of a subpar story that doesn’t seem to go anywhere and doesn’t make much sense. Not much redeeming about this - while the art is pretty, it’s nothing special.

[DonutKnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprise, surprise Aoba can be nice! 😲😭😂

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'll decide how I live my life!"

I know it's still early in the series, but I feel I should brace myself to never know what is going to happen next because thus far, that is exactly how I have felt!

Seeing Sakura's dedication and determination in this volume was really inspiring! I love seeing her take control of her own fate and not let fate itself dictate her life's choices and actions. She's an inspiring character and admire how despite all the twists and turns happening in her life, she is out there giving her all for the people she cares for. And not just that, she still has her bright smile and fights with all she has. She truly is amazing! <3

But goodness if my heart didn't break for her with that ending!! What another twist in this story I didn't see coming! I wouldn't say this series is dark per se (at least not currently), but it doesn't mean the creator shies away from dark or hard topics. Seeing Sakura in pain and knowing the price she pays for being immortal really pulled on my heartstrings and left me feeling worried for her.

I think the only thing that had me sighing a little bit was the tension and turmoil with the romance. I wish both she AND Aoba would be open and honest about their feelings rather than trying to bury them or use other people to bury them. I totally understand what Sakura is TRYING to do but it's obviously not making her happy and appreciated the fact that the creator had her be open with Aoba in an unexpected way. Now if Aoba could just get on that train next that sure would be great. And oh, if this new guy and the Togu could please not interfere, that would be great as well!

Oumi was an interesting character that left a bad taste in my mouth originally, but all that definitely changed with this volume.

The art continues to be absolutely breathtaking and I spent plenty of time admiring a variety of pages!

Onward to see what else is in store for this series!!

[Elizabeth Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

I like the character development in this volume.

[Maria Bazarte-De La Luz · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good!!

[Romi (likes books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is so lovely. And the art. And the tension. And all of it, really. Because even drama can be wonderful, apparently.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Prinzessin Sakura hat akzeptiert, ein Wesen vom Mond zu sein, doch dass Prinz Ora sie abgrundtief hasst, belastet sie schwer. Diesem ist jedes Mittel recht, um die Prinzessin zu vernichten, doch mithilfe von Kronprinz Fujimurasaki kann sie einen Pakt mit dem Kaiser schließen: Wenn es ihr gelingt, den Yoko, der in den Bergen von Uji wütet, zu vernichten, wird der Tenno seine schützende Hand über sie halten. Voller Zuversicht macht sich Sakura auf den Weg.


Nachdem die vierzehnjährige Prinzessin Sakura in den Vollmond geblickt hat, hat sich ihr ihr wahres Wesen offenbart. Als Nachkommin der Mondprinzessin Kaguya ist sie ein Wesen vom Mond welches gefürchtet und geehrt wird. Mit Hilfe eines magischen Schwertes ist sie die Einzige, die die menschenfressenden Ungeheuer - Yoko - besiegen kann. Doch anstatt sie dafür zu ehren ist ihr Verlobter Prinz Ora darauf bedacht die junge Prinzessin endgültig auszulöschen. Als es erneut zu Verwicklungen zwischen Yoko, der Prinzessin und dem Prinzen kommt, ist es der Thronfolger Fujimurasaki, der sie rettet. Er hat ein Angebot für die Prinzessin, wenn es ihr gelingt einen bestimmten Yoko zu töten, dann will er sie verschonen und unter seinen Schutz stellen. Ein Ziel, welches Sakura unbedingt erreichen will. Zwischen ihrer vermeidlich hoffnungslosen Liebe zu dem Prinzen und Kämpfen gegen die Yoko sowie Intrigen bei Hof, muss Sakura sich außerdem fragen, wer Freund oder Feind ist und wie sie sich Ora gegenüber verhalten soll. Denn dieser folgt ihr, um sicher zu gehen, dass sie den Yoko wirklich beseitigt und nicht selbst zu einem dieser Wesen wird.


Im zweiten Teil rund um Prinzessin Sakura spinnt Arina Tanemura die fantastische Geschichte der jungen Prinzessin vom Mond weiter. Dabei schickt Arina Sakura durch schwere Prüfungen. Man selbst als Leser weiß nicht so recht, wie man zu der Beziehung von Ora und Sakura stehen soll. Einerseits wünscht man sich, dass die beiden doch irgendwie zusammen finden, aber auf der anderen Seite sieht man noch immer, dass er versucht hat sie zu töten. Für Sakura ist es gut Freunde zu haben, auf die sie sich verlassen kann. Dass es schließlich zu einer Intrige kommt, bei der Sakuras Gutmütigkeit auf eine harte Probe gestellt wird, ist fast schon zum heulen schlimm. Und dann taucht eine völlig neue Figur auf, die scheinbar ihre ganz eigenen Pläne mit Sakura hat. Der grausame Enju schreckt vor nichts zurück, nur um die Prinzessin in seine Fänge zu treiben.
Der Manga liest sich sehr flüssig, auch wenn einige Szenensprünge sehr abrupt kommen. Die Zeichnungen sind, wie man es von Arina gewöhnt ist, sehr elegant. Jedoch stört es noch immer, dass die Charaktere in jeder Manga-Serie gleich sind. Es fehlt einfach das Neue. Jedoch sind die Kostüme wieder einmal der absolute Hammer.
Was mich ein bisschen an dem Manga stört ist, dass Sakura trotz dass Ora versucht hat sie zu töten, ihn noch immer liebt. Da muss man sich schon ein bisschen fragen, wie dumm sie ist... Jeder normale Mensch hätte die Beine in die Hand genommen und hätte zugesehen, dass dieser Mensch nicht noch einmal zu nahe kommt.


Empfehlen möchte ich den Manga allen Magical-Girl und Arina-Tanemura-Fans. Wer von den gleichen Designs und einigen Szenensprüngen absehen kann, der bekommt hier wieder einmal eine ganz tolle Fanatsystory präsentiert. Sehr schön.


Idee: 5/5
Zeichnungen: 4/5
Charaktere: 4/5
Logik: 4/5


Gesamt: 4/5

ISBN:9783842032811
Sprache:Deutsch
Ausgabe:eBook (Download)
Umfang:180 Seiten
Verlag:TOKYOPOP
Erscheinungsdatum:21.07.2016

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Princess Sakura is a descendant of the creatures of the moon whose hand has been promised to the Imperial Prince Oura. To hide the powers that lurk inside her, Princess Sakura has been raised in isolation. But Sakura is unwilling to enter a marriage without love and chooses to run away - even at the risk of her true nature being exposed.

Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura is everything wrong with The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross done right - it includes the best of all Tanemura's previous works. After the mess that was The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, I was really worried that the then newest series of a long time favourite mangaka of mine would disappoint again. Luckily, that was far from the case!

The setting of the Heian Period allowed for interesting folklore and absolutely gorgeous designs for the characters; all those beautiful kimono and long flowing hair! Just the art alone makes this a pleasure to read. And thanks to the fantasy setting, many story elements that fell flat in The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross unfolded beautifully; there certainly was drama, but it suited the circumstances and we are, after all, talking about an Imperial Court. And I was so pleased to see her old humour, which I so love, return.

Although I felt that the romance developed very rapidly, I can't say that it bothered me. The first volumes do revolve around Sakura and Oura, but the plot focuses on so much more than just the two once the story gets going. Thanks to the romance not being the only focus, this story was rich in wonderful characters who all had their share of spotlight. There were wonderful friendships, family bonds, court intrigues, action and a plot that keeps you guessing. It was just such a beautifully well-rounded story from beginning to end.

This is one of those stories that has so many great characters, I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for a favourite. Although I am tempted to say that it is Sakura's little spirit friend Asagiri, there are so many others that are equally lovable. Sakura herself is also a nice character, I loved how she was sincere and naive yet would also simply be lazy and childish. There is a lot of character growth - not only for her but for the majority of characters. As there are so many characters to love, it's so easy to get emotionally invested and there's a lot of sadness the cast needs to overcome. It is also great how, as the story progresses, the line between good and evil dims more and more.

The only thing I would criticise about Sakura Hime is how conveniently everyone seems to be connected. Every character is related to someone else one way or another. After a while, it felt like a repetitive plot twist when yet another character was revealed to be someone's long-lost lover, friend or sibling. However, given all the wonderful elements of this plot, it is a small matter that can easily be ignored.

A delightful surprise through and through - I am utterly in love with the setting, characters and plot and after this am inclined to believe that Tanemura's stories work out best if there is at least a hint of fantasy involved! Now if only there were an artbook...

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Sakura learned of her heritage and powers in the first volume, now she’s adjusting to a life with these powers and everything that comes with it. Including feelings. Lots of them.

Review of the Finnish edition.

This book first deals with the cliffhanger of the vol. 1: prince Aoba (aka Oora but everybody keeps calling him Aoba still) tries to kill Sakura because he considers her a monster and a threat but I think I can reveal he doesn’t do that, hah. After that Sakura takes on her first monster hunt assignment but this volume is actually very light on fighting/magical girl-ing and instead focuses on Sakura’s and Aoba’s mixed feelings for each other and their inability to communicate on the matter. Drama it is!

And Tanemura is great at woving complex relationship drama. I’m all for Sakura getting her romance because that’s what she wants but Aoba seems like the worst boyfriend material ever, but that’s a troupe, so let’s go with it. I still think Aoba is the least compelling character of the bunch (nobody knows what’s his deal!) but it’s only book two, so...

Other characters more than make up for it though. Sakura’s very determined and active heroine, which I appreciate, but she’s also young and inexperienced and can’t always handle everything which makes her quite human character (or moon-person character, hah). Sometimes her angry bursts don’t feel authentic because they are played for comedy.
Asagiri is too cute for words, I really really wanna know more of her. Kohaku is sidelined in this volume but I’m happy Sakura has another female friend too and I hope their relationship will get panel time too. Crown prince looks too good to be true and looks like he has his agenda on Sakura too? The new villain also steps up!

The story is a bit all over the place, it’s setting up so many things at the same time (Sakura’s mission, her and Aoba’s will-they-won’t-they, Fujimurasaki’s interest in Sakura, new villain...). But the last chapter is really good and touching (Oomi!!!). And it’s still good on the whole but story is written less tightly compared to the first volume.

And the art is of course 100/5. Tanemura is really at the top of her skill here. Characters are expressive and the clothes are so detailed. Dramatic scenes is where she excels at but her comedy is cute too. The panels are very full but I like a style with a lot to look at. There’s not much action in this volume but what there is looks fine too.

Highly enjoyable, quality fantasy drama that loses a little cohesion with many plotlines stuffed into only a few chapters.
No colour pages but this time the print looks great throughout the book!

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kohaku vows to protect the princess even if she's protecting her from Aoba. Aoba transforms into a wolf and attacks Kohaku. Aoba reveals to Sakura that Kaguya turned into a youko and was impaled by the sword that Sakura wields. Togu comes to stop Aoba from trying to kill Sakura per the order of the emperor. Sakura must return to Izumi, but she doesn't want to leave Aoba. Fujimurasaki kisses Sakura in front of Aoba and says he wants her even more than being the Togu. Lord Enju wants Aoba to be killed. Byakuya is angry with Sakura for stepping in the way of Aoba and the viper and getting bit by it. Sakura tells Aoba that she first fell for him after he told her he was going to kill her. Oumi sees the councilor releasing the viper and sending it on another mission. Oumi's resentment of Sakura comes from the fact that both her parents were killed by youko. Oumi turns into a youko and goes to attack Sakura until Lord Enju stops her. Lord Enju tells Sakura that he turned Oumi into a youko to be a diversion.

[Filia Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Arina Tanemura's artwork is gorgeous, but the story and characters are lacking. I think Sakura herself is stupid for still wanting to be with someone who wants her dead, the male lead is generic (I can't remember his name right now, he just reminds me of the last Tanemura generic male lead, Shizumasa Togu), the alternative guy has no character development, and the plot is ok. Just a lot of 'we want her dead'. I really wish Tanemura would stop it with the automatic bias towards one character in a romance that supposedly HAS more than one possibility, it makes her works predictable. A solid 3 stars, not bad, but nothing special.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do most of Tanemura’s series have the main character and her love interest fight a lot but they are both so insta in love with each other??! Lol. It has to be her thing.
I’m a little confused by this story but I do like stories set in this time frame with demons and magic so I’m going to read on…

[Katie Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first volume was okay (great introduction to characters and plot), but I really love the character development of this second volume <3 It's been quite a few years since I read this series, and I'm so glad I decided to pick it back up this morning!

[Carmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enju is too cool

Ahhhh! That's such a mean place to leave the story! I'm so glad I dont have to wait for the next volume! No idea about Enju's story, but he definitely intrigues me. The Togu acts more like a brother than an uncle to Aoba. Anyone else think so?

[Aleshia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has a rough jump to how the two leads feel about each other after the events of the first volume. Other than that, though, it does a nice job in developing the story to get me more invested in the outcome.

On to the next volume...

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars.

[Niina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edellistä osaa liikkuvampi ja parempi, mielenkiintoisempi ja ehkä tähän oli vähän helpompi jo päästä sisälle.

[Emily Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art and a good story.

[Nadine Schaffner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, this series was so good.(Slight spoilers, but not the actual plot)
I'm probably going to buy the books and read them all over again, even though it was very emotional.

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Des réactions parfois un peu immature de mon point de vue mais bon, l'héroine a 14 ans donc je comprends.

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story-telling, enjoyable.
Characters, great.

Cliffhangers suck though.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is progressing nicely.

Oumi was turned into a Youko by a new character.

Sakura confessed her love to Aoba.

Pretty good so far.

[Libby Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeh im not gonna continue this

[Carli FriesJr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5-3. I liked this volume more than the first one. I’m glad I gave this series another chance

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thoughts:

This is a good continuation of v.1. I'm really getting into the series and I pretty much adore Sakura even though I think she's pretty weird for falling in love with Aoba when he declared that he was going to kill her. Those are some really wrong words and intent to fall in love over. Otherwise, I think she's pretty awesome. I can't decide if I feel like perhaps she's a little too good of a person, though. She will do anything to protect the people that think ill of her or mean to do her harm. At least there are some people that are definitely on her side. That's what's awesome about Asagiri, Byakuya, Kohaku and Hayate. I'm not sure how I feel about Fujimurasaki, yet. He seems to have good intentions towards Sakura, but at this point, you never know.

There are some people in this series with big secrets. I wasn't expecting the double-cross and I wasn't expecting someone else from the moon to show up. Oumi's past wasn't unforeseeable, but it was still sad. So is what happened to her. She didn't always treat Sakura the way she deserved to be treated, but in the end, she was brave.

Aoba gives me mixed feelings. On the one hand, he did what he did to Sakura and it's hard to forgive a hero that does things like that to the heroine. Yet, on the other hand, he does love her. He's pretty twisted up emotionally. I don't envy him. I just hope he picks one side or the other soon.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, much thanks to Aerandria for scanslating this volume. I had read Vols. 9&10 of this series previously, for VIZ, so I wanted to go back and read the rest of the story now, so I decided to turn to the scanslations.
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The frog, Hayate-San, who I loved so much in the much later volumes, barely makes an appearance in this volume. So, this volume is focused alot more on Sakura.
I find myself liking Sakura, but feeling more drawn to Aoba actually. These two seem pretty well-suited for one another as they both seem to have alot of inner turmoil going on, and each seems scared to admit they love one another. I liked that Sakura did actually admit such, while she though she was dreaming, and that confession seems to throw Aoba off into dreamland for a little while.
But, I must say that I am not sure it will continue focusing on the romance aspect as much.
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The reason I read V2 before V1 was that I accidentally deleted V1 from my eReader, and couldn't put it on again till after returning home. I will be reading V1 next then V3 and so on. I do hope my reading this series way out of order will not throw my comprehension of the story off all that much.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this 4 stars. Love the illustrations. Easy to understand story.
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Spoiler
Note to Self: Heian Era Izumi
Princess Sakura(14yo,sis,Princess Kaguya's(moon princess)granddaughter,orphan,immortal(mixed blood),pal)+Prince Oura(Aoba,17yo,betrothed,nephew,transforms to wolf,pal2),Fujimurasaki(Togu(next emperor),uncle),Asagiri(mononoke(spirit),mini,snow spirit,blood cursed,companion pal),Priestess Byakuya (old,mononoke(spirit),immortal,pal),Kohaku (ninja,8th ninja village leaders daughter,pal2)+ Hayate(frog,human ninja, pal2),Oumi(Sakura's lady-in-waiting,minor rank noble,new youko),Enju(youko maker).

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, in the second book, turns out the Prince Oura intended on killing Princess Sakura because he had someone steal her soul symbol and he didnt like the fact that its "destroy" and he wanted to make sure she was really immortal. (Princess Sakura lived though)cuz two ninjas named Kohaku and Hayate tried to help heal her wound. But it also turns out that Prince Oura wasn't finished with the princess yet. He turned into a giant white and stole chizakura from her. Yep, he stole the mystic Cherry Blossom Sword from Sakura. But she got it back. And Ima tell you the rest later or NEVER, (laughs) cuz I dont want to tell you the whole story, so just read the book.

[Hikari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der zweite Band von Prinzessin Sakura schließtn nahtlos an den ersten an und führt die Ereignisse fort. Gewisse Charaktere nerven mich hier ein bisschen, aber das muss wohl für die Geschichte so sein ;) Ganz logisch fand ich einige Sachen nicht, aber das wird in den Folgebänden definitiv besser. Dennoch macht der Re-Read mir wirklich Spaß und es ist auch angenehmer, der Geschichte zu folgen, wenn man die Bände direkt nacheinander liest und keine zu großen Pausen lässt.

Die Zeichnungen sind weiterhin wunderschön. Ich liebe Arinas Stil, auch wenn sich ihre Protagonisten gerne mal ähnlich sehen im Vergleich zu anderen Reihen.