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The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls #1
The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls, Vol. 1
SERVE TO PROTECT
Rosa dreams of taking up arms as a courageous knight! To be one, she must first be a squire. Those duties around the castle are much less glorious. One moment she’s caring for the horses in the stable. Next she’s battling the task of chopping firewood or conquering a mountain of laundry. She must be ever-ready to assist the knight she serves! Her role may seem small and the tasks mundane, but each is an important step to becoming a knight. Rosa will face every challenge with the heart of a hero!
Rosa dreams of taking up arms as a courageous knight! To be one, she must first be a squire. Those duties around the castle are much less glorious. One moment she’s caring for the horses in the stable. Next she’s battling the task of chopping firewood or conquering a mountain of laundry. She must be ever-ready to assist the knight she serves! Her role may seem small and the tasks mundane, but each is an important step to becoming a knight. Rosa will face every challenge with the heart of a hero!
162 pages, Paperback
Published January 10, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 17, 2023
Cute and fairly well-researched, though it doesn't go into SUPER deep detail about medieval life.
Definitely reading the next one, and I hope at some point that Rosa can
Definitely reading the next one, and I hope at some point that Rosa can
April 29, 2023
2.5 stars for a decent little story of a girl disguised as a boy training as a knights' page, mainly as a vehicle for lots of historical trivia tidbits about knights and life in a medieval castle. I just felt the lack of a strong guiding storyline (this is more slice-of-life, with no main plot driving events) and I didn't form any strong connections with the characters.
It's unclear for awhile whether everyone does or does not know that Rosa is a girl (her name is Rosa, after all, which you would think would be a clear indicator), but it seems maybe some people know but lots of people, including the knights, don't. There are light hints of Rosa having a crush on one of the knights, who views her as a little brother, and of a girl possibly getting a bit of a crush on an oblivious Rosa (believing she is a boy), portrayed in an 'aww what a cute misunderstanding' kind of way, rather than a 'this is going to be angsty' way. The story so far is very cosy in tone, suitable for middle schoolers/tweens.
Not my cup of tea (I need more plot, or at least stronger attachment to the characters), but I would recommend it for tweens interested in a little of the day-to-day life in medieval European castles and castle-towns.
It's unclear for awhile whether everyone does or does not know that Rosa is a girl (her name is Rosa, after all, which you would think would be a clear indicator), but it seems maybe some people know but lots of people, including the knights, don't. There are light hints of Rosa having a crush on one of the knights, who views her as a little brother, and of a girl possibly getting a bit of a crush on an oblivious Rosa (believing she is a boy), portrayed in an 'aww what a cute misunderstanding' kind of way, rather than a 'this is going to be angsty' way. The story so far is very cosy in tone, suitable for middle schoolers/tweens.
Not my cup of tea (I need more plot, or at least stronger attachment to the characters), but I would recommend it for tweens interested in a little of the day-to-day life in medieval European castles and castle-towns.
September 11, 2024
Summary:
Rosa has a grand dream - to become one of the best and most courageous knights around! She’s managed to land a position as a squire, which is hard work, but she loves doing it. There’s just one problem - having to keep her identity a secret.
Despite her need to keep such a large secret, Rosa enjoys the challenges life brings her way. She even enjoys the menial tasks that come with being a squire because she knows they’ll eventually lead to her dream coming true.
Review:
The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls Vol. 1 is a light, cute, and humorous introduction to the world of knights and fantasy. It’s very much a slice-of-life manga, with Rosa’s story told through various little interactions and events.
If the description doesn’t make it obvious, Rosa is hiding her identity and pretending to be a boy. There are things I enjoyed about this and things that felt…tired. For example, it overall has a more refreshing take on the world, as this is essentially Rosa trying to tackle historical misogyny.
On the other hand, her whole disguise thing is repeatedly the butt of jokes, and it quickly makes the series a bit of a one-trick-pony type of tale. So that got old, fast. In truth, it’s the main reason I wouldn’t be willing to continue the series (unless somebody could promise these changes in the next volume).
Highlights:
Slice-of-Life Manga
Knights and Squires
Secrets and Aspirations
Will I continue the series? Nah
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
Rosa has a grand dream - to become one of the best and most courageous knights around! She’s managed to land a position as a squire, which is hard work, but she loves doing it. There’s just one problem - having to keep her identity a secret.
Despite her need to keep such a large secret, Rosa enjoys the challenges life brings her way. She even enjoys the menial tasks that come with being a squire because she knows they’ll eventually lead to her dream coming true.
Review:
The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls Vol. 1 is a light, cute, and humorous introduction to the world of knights and fantasy. It’s very much a slice-of-life manga, with Rosa’s story told through various little interactions and events.
If the description doesn’t make it obvious, Rosa is hiding her identity and pretending to be a boy. There are things I enjoyed about this and things that felt…tired. For example, it overall has a more refreshing take on the world, as this is essentially Rosa trying to tackle historical misogyny.
On the other hand, her whole disguise thing is repeatedly the butt of jokes, and it quickly makes the series a bit of a one-trick-pony type of tale. So that got old, fast. In truth, it’s the main reason I wouldn’t be willing to continue the series (unless somebody could promise these changes in the next volume).
Highlights:
Slice-of-Life Manga
Knights and Squires
Secrets and Aspirations
Will I continue the series? Nah
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
October 7, 2025
This is a very lovely slice of life manga about a young girl named Rosa who wants to become a knight. So she dresses as a boy, and despite the very feminine name manages to become a squire at a nearby castle. She sleeps in a very cramped upper tower where she's able to hide the fact she's not a young boy and get some privacy. She's not very strong but at lest she has a hard head and is eager to learn!
Each chapter in this first volume deals with lots of little tasks that she can't at first see what has to do with becoming a knight. But everyone likes her and tries to help her along the way. Her only main trouble is with the castle lord's young son, who seems to be a year or two younger than her and is always a trouble maker, shirking his lordling duties. He may or may not have a crush on her as he bullies her or tries to. He also has an older sister who Rosa looks up to because of her beauty and smarts and grace.
It's all very sweet, even though there's hints on how Rosa got to this castle and how practically no one has guessed she's not a boy. I also really enjoyed the research the mangaka went through and adding tidbits of that to each chapter, like the kinds of food Knights would eat, the different types of weapons, and even a little visual history of how a castle and small town comes t o be.
I also really adored the art style in this. It reminds me a lot of earlier Ghibli movies and other manga art from the 80s/90s. Everyone looks very unique and it's not the same generic body and face types that you get in most modern manga. And the attention to detail in the castle, the horses, the garments! You can easily spend time just soaking in the artwork.
I want to thank Edelweiss for sending me a copy of this to review. I'm definitely going to buy this series which seems to be just a trilogy.
Now the cover shows the art style perfectly! It's a bit busy for my tastes, but with the random items and the cutaway of the castle really showcases that this is truly a slice of life historical manga.
Each chapter in this first volume deals with lots of little tasks that she can't at first see what has to do with becoming a knight. But everyone likes her and tries to help her along the way. Her only main trouble is with the castle lord's young son, who seems to be a year or two younger than her and is always a trouble maker, shirking his lordling duties. He may or may not have a crush on her as he bullies her or tries to. He also has an older sister who Rosa looks up to because of her beauty and smarts and grace.
It's all very sweet, even though there's hints on how Rosa got to this castle and how practically no one has guessed she's not a boy. I also really enjoyed the research the mangaka went through and adding tidbits of that to each chapter, like the kinds of food Knights would eat, the different types of weapons, and even a little visual history of how a castle and small town comes t o be.
I also really adored the art style in this. It reminds me a lot of earlier Ghibli movies and other manga art from the 80s/90s. Everyone looks very unique and it's not the same generic body and face types that you get in most modern manga. And the attention to detail in the castle, the horses, the garments! You can easily spend time just soaking in the artwork.
I want to thank Edelweiss for sending me a copy of this to review. I'm definitely going to buy this series which seems to be just a trilogy.
Now the cover shows the art style perfectly! It's a bit busy for my tastes, but with the random items and the cutaway of the castle really showcases that this is truly a slice of life historical manga.
June 2, 2023
This was a rather refreshing take on the "girl disguises herself as a boy to achieve something greater" type of historical fiction YA genre take on things, though I felt that some misogyny from Rosa's part (her feeling only complimented when she was praised on being good at feminine-coded things, her mainly having feelings for boys) hindered the story. It's interesting how refreshingly bi/mspec/bispec so many of the characters are; not only does Rosa both have a little schoolgirl crush on her superior, she seems to have a bit of a crush on the princess as well, almost in a similar way. Similarly, although there might be a twist about a boy her age "knowing" she's a girl even though she presents male, he seems to have a crush on her male knight persona as well. I also feel like there's kind of a trans narrative with Rosa that would kind of redeem the whole "obsessed with proving her femininity" thing; her epicene/masculine appearance could suggest she's a young trans girl, possibly experimenting with feminizing herbs or early feminizing medicine, to come to herself and she really wants to come out to the village as a girl, but she can't come out for some reason. I also like the themes of losing one's home, and finding new homes in other places that the narrative seems to be developing. Good read, though not perfect; would give it 4.5 stars but rounded down to a four.
January 13, 2024
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A sweet, slice-of-life adventure that follows Rosa, a young girl with a mysterious past who's training to be a knight. Follow Rosa as she bonds with the knights at Castle Claustra, interacts with the royal family, carries out page duties and mundane tasks, and makes some unexpected friendships.
Throughout the story, there are breakout sections that provide insight into mediaeval life. This includes information about glass making, food and beverages, light sources, and weapons and tools.
I loved the artwork. Reminiscent of Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1. An interesting blend of story visuals, building layouts, and illustrated history tidbits. The breakout sections flow alongside the story, which made for an interesting reading experience.
A really fun style. Nice blend of story and history. Will definitely be checking out the next book.
A sweet, slice-of-life adventure that follows Rosa, a young girl with a mysterious past who's training to be a knight. Follow Rosa as she bonds with the knights at Castle Claustra, interacts with the royal family, carries out page duties and mundane tasks, and makes some unexpected friendships.
Throughout the story, there are breakout sections that provide insight into mediaeval life. This includes information about glass making, food and beverages, light sources, and weapons and tools.
I loved the artwork. Reminiscent of Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1. An interesting blend of story visuals, building layouts, and illustrated history tidbits. The breakout sections flow alongside the story, which made for an interesting reading experience.
A really fun style. Nice blend of story and history. Will definitely be checking out the next book.
April 3, 2023
'The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls' is a fun new series; a young girl trains as a squire, mostly as a framing device for the manga to tell you all about historical European knighthood and daily life. There's a lot of detail to the art, to help illustrate the interesting things it wants you to know, and there's enough interest in the characters to get you gradually attached and caring as it shows the twists and turns their life has taken. (One thing I'm curious about how it'll handle - the girl is pretending to be a boy, and the last chapter is all about trying to hide this during a trip with the adult knights to a hot springs bath. It's light and comedic, but also in a way that makes me vaguely trepidatious about future handling of gender.) It does feel a bit pop-historical, but not inaccurate, just I wish sometimes it could dig deeper into any of the topics. All-in-all, it's worth taking a look; I'll be very ready to read the next volume when it arrives.
November 20, 2025
Overall: 3 stars
This was a cute slice-of-life manga about Rosa, a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can train as a squire and become a knight in a medieval Europe-inspired setting.
Nothing much happens, but that's okay. Rosa goes about her training and duties, learning new lessons each chapter about what being a knight is really about. The reader also learns about life in a medieval castle, as the mangaka includes panels describing a wide variety of subjects, from making candles and glass to the kinds of foods Rosa would have eaten.
There's a teeny tiny hint of something sapphic going on, since Rosa has a crush on the lady of the castle, but nothing really comes of this.
The art is cool (realistic and detailed), the story is thin, and the vibes are cozy. It's an enjoyable read, but nothing to knock your socks off.
I do have volume 2 already, so I expect to read and review that soon.
This was a cute slice-of-life manga about Rosa, a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can train as a squire and become a knight in a medieval Europe-inspired setting.
Nothing much happens, but that's okay. Rosa goes about her training and duties, learning new lessons each chapter about what being a knight is really about. The reader also learns about life in a medieval castle, as the mangaka includes panels describing a wide variety of subjects, from making candles and glass to the kinds of foods Rosa would have eaten.
There's a teeny tiny hint of something sapphic going on, since Rosa has a crush on the lady of the castle, but nothing really comes of this.
The art is cool (realistic and detailed), the story is thin, and the vibes are cozy. It's an enjoyable read, but nothing to knock your socks off.
I do have volume 2 already, so I expect to read and review that soon.
August 15, 2023
Beautifully rendered and informative on certain topics, like cooking in cauldrons or uses of parchment. That information comes without historical real-world context, though, as this is a fantasy tale. Still, it feels like the author had a great time working on this manga and sharing knowledge. The details are gorgeous. The story itself is very slice-of-life, and has a younger perspective and slower pace that suits Rosa's age and maturity level. At the same time, there are hints of larger dramas that escape Rosa's understanding—conflicts within the universe and the threat of injury or death. Still, a light (emotionally) read. The print edition by Seven Seas is also beautiful—I love the cover spot gloss and the gorgeous metallic effects!
May 25, 2024
A fun slice-of-life fantasy about a young female squire? Sign me directly up. This volume establishes the basic premise and characters well and left me curious to see what would happen next in the main character's endeavor to become a knight. The side characters are loveable, there are some cool action sequences, and there was a smattering of historical information. Overall a pleasant read.
October 9, 2025
This manga is very cute and funny, with surprising inclusions of basic everyday historical knowledge. I appreciate the research the mangaka put into this. I am a bit bored with the common trope of a girl dressed as a boy to experience life roles not normally open to her. That said, I like how klutzy and loveable Rosa is. It's funny that no one has noticed that 'he' has a girl's name.
January 23, 2023
"The daily life of a knight in training without fighting." A great cozy read, with historical information about nutrition, customs and ways of life in the mix. I'll be picking up the next volume in the future.
May 20, 2023
Very charming. Rosa is a great character.
July 6, 2023
A cute setup, but mostly exposition. Hopefully the story takes off in volume 2.
September 13, 2023
I like it so far. Still don’t quite understand the situation, but I take it that’s intentional. I’ll just have to be patient.
April 22, 2024
Cute and educational!
October 23, 2024
this was v cute :)
October 31, 2025
Full thoughts can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=youNI...
September 16, 2024
My first Manga ever and I absolutely loved it. Is Rosa a male name in Japan?
June 3, 2023
Reminds me of Witch Hat Atelier but with less plot and more slice of life. Lots of historical factoids (portrayed through a rather rosy lens). I don't like the art or characters quite as much as I do in Witch Hat Atelier, and I also think the writing (or at least the translation) is more stilted here. The name Rosa Scalae is also ... unfortunate. It sounds like a medical condition. It was a light, charming read all the same! I'm not in a rush to read more, but I might eventually.
June 23, 2024
So cute can’t wait for the next one
February 19, 2025
I received this manga from Edelweiss/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
I loved the look and the sound of this one so of course I had to get it when I saw this one (and many others) on Edelweiss! And boy, this was a lot of fun!
In this one we meet a girl named Rosa, who wants to be a knight! No one knows she is a girl though and she also tries hard to hide it. I didn’t even know she was a girl until we started getting more hints, like the scene when she is changing and comments her growing boobs, or how she misses her long hair, things like that. I love that she is a girl though, that really flips things because a lot of times these books/manga about boys wanting to become heroes, but here is a girl with the same wishes and I just adore it! I do wonder how long Rosa can hide it. I mean, for now she is small, her boobs aren’t too big, but eventually people will start to notice when her body changes more, I am curious to see how that will affect things. Plus, given that there are plenty of hints (she has her own room/toilet, when they go out for a trip she has her own room and doesn’t want to bathe with them which the guys think is odd but they think she is shy) I wonder how long it will be before someone figures it out before the big changes come.
But I loved following Rosa through the days of becoming a knight. For now mostly menial tasks like making sure the horse stables are clean, making sure the horse is happy, getting food and drinks for the knights, clean up, and much more. But as the story continues we see that she is getting more chances and I love that the knights were also kind enough to explain to Rosa why she has to do these tasks. Yes, they may seem meh and not fun, but there is always a reason why.
Along the way of following Rosa we see how the castle works and how it grew to be what it is now, we learn about the knights, jousting, various customs, food, and more. Plus, we meet all the people living in the castle, from the kids from the lady/lord (one quiet and studious girl and one rambunctious boy) to the blacksmith, the cooks, and the washers, and everyone else. I loved getting glimpses in every aspect of the castle.
Rosa is also extremely clumsy and falls over quite often, but no worries her head is made of steel it seems because when she falls over the stones crack. Which just made me laugh. How often did this girl fall before having a skull like that?
I loved that in the sides/margins of the pages we get information about the time period, items like weapons, food that is often eaten during this time, and more. It really brought something extra to it all.
The art was quite pretty and I love how well the style fits the medieval setting. The author definitely did their research and it is fab.
All in all, I definitely would love to read more of this series because I would love to see Rosa get to be a knight! I am rooting for her~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I loved the look and the sound of this one so of course I had to get it when I saw this one (and many others) on Edelweiss! And boy, this was a lot of fun!
In this one we meet a girl named Rosa, who wants to be a knight! No one knows she is a girl though and she also tries hard to hide it. I didn’t even know she was a girl until we started getting more hints, like the scene when she is changing and comments her growing boobs, or how she misses her long hair, things like that. I love that she is a girl though, that really flips things because a lot of times these books/manga about boys wanting to become heroes, but here is a girl with the same wishes and I just adore it! I do wonder how long Rosa can hide it. I mean, for now she is small, her boobs aren’t too big, but eventually people will start to notice when her body changes more, I am curious to see how that will affect things. Plus, given that there are plenty of hints (she has her own room/toilet, when they go out for a trip she has her own room and doesn’t want to bathe with them which the guys think is odd but they think she is shy) I wonder how long it will be before someone figures it out before the big changes come.
But I loved following Rosa through the days of becoming a knight. For now mostly menial tasks like making sure the horse stables are clean, making sure the horse is happy, getting food and drinks for the knights, clean up, and much more. But as the story continues we see that she is getting more chances and I love that the knights were also kind enough to explain to Rosa why she has to do these tasks. Yes, they may seem meh and not fun, but there is always a reason why.
Along the way of following Rosa we see how the castle works and how it grew to be what it is now, we learn about the knights, jousting, various customs, food, and more. Plus, we meet all the people living in the castle, from the kids from the lady/lord (one quiet and studious girl and one rambunctious boy) to the blacksmith, the cooks, and the washers, and everyone else. I loved getting glimpses in every aspect of the castle.
Rosa is also extremely clumsy and falls over quite often, but no worries her head is made of steel it seems because when she falls over the stones crack. Which just made me laugh. How often did this girl fall before having a skull like that?
I loved that in the sides/margins of the pages we get information about the time period, items like weapons, food that is often eaten during this time, and more. It really brought something extra to it all.
The art was quite pretty and I love how well the style fits the medieval setting. The author definitely did their research and it is fab.
All in all, I definitely would love to read more of this series because I would love to see Rosa get to be a knight! I am rooting for her~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
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