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Auf einem einsamen Berggut weitab der kaiserlichen Hauptstadt lebt die 14-jährige Prinzessin Sakura. Von Kindesbeinen an ist sie dem kaiserlichen Thronfolger versprochen, doch Sakura pfeift auf diese Heirat. Als eines Tages der Gesandte Aoba auftaucht, um sie zum kaiserlichen Hof zu geleiten, nimmt Sakura die Beine in die Hand und flieht. Doch in den dunklen Wäldern ihrer Heimat lauern ihr die Yokos - menschenfressende Monster - auf!

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2009

42 people are currently reading
2946 people want to read

About the author

Arina Tanemura

183 books1,016 followers
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.

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5 stars
1,783 (44%)
4 stars
1,057 (26%)
3 stars
792 (19%)
2 stars
269 (6%)
1 star
90 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
Profile Image for Megan M.
354 reviews12 followers
August 5, 2012
A mix of Sailor Moon and Fushigi Yuugi, Sakura Hime has demons from the moon, a princess in a short skirt fighting them and a conflicted love story, all wrapped in a gorgeous Heian Era fantasy. Arina Tanemura is a favorite for fans of shojo manga and she does not disappoint. The artwork is amazing and detailed. Although I wasn't captured by Sakura immediately, I definitely felt for her by the end of the volume. She's annoying in an early series Usagi sort of way and I want to give her a few more volumes to grow. The cliffhanger at the end guarantees that I'll be reading future volumes.
Profile Image for Stacey.
46 reviews
December 9, 2012
In my words, I think Sakura Hime Kaden is the best manga book I have EVER read! Its very funny, adventurous, and sometimes disturbing. But I LOVE this book. Its about this princess(her name is Princess Sakura) who is actually from the moon and is immortal. She has been bethrothed since birth by her future fiance' Prince Oura. Not wanting to get married, she runs away. Then she gazes up at the full moon and a Youko appeared. (Youko, is a immortal man-eating beast) As suspected, Prince Oura comes save the day I guess along with a priestess she knows. Then Sakura finds out that she is the granddaughter of the legendary Princess Kaguya, the princess that defeated Youko, along with the mystic Cherry Blossom Sword, CHIZAKURA. And also she finds out that her soul symbol is "Destroy"(soul symbol is a way of predicting your fate). So Princess Sakura I guess transforms into her battle form and summons Chizakura. And then and there she defeated the Youko.

The End
Profile Image for Briar's Reviews.
2,316 reviews579 followers
February 20, 2020
Quick Review:

This is an epic, female lead fantasy that will be loved by readers if they enjoy books like Sailor Moon, Vampire Knight and Wedding Peach.

Girls kicking butt with an epic love story, what more can a girl want from a cute manga? Especially one with a Princess! The outfits are cool, the plot lines are cooler!

Three out of five stars.
Profile Image for 和泉美優.
67 reviews
September 21, 2011
This story takes place in the Heian period in Japan. It is about a princess named Sakura who is about to be married to the Imperial Prince Oura. An emissionary is sent to escort her to the capital, and Sakura who doesn't want to go and marry the prince decides to run away in the woods with her magical friend Asagiri. Sakura looks at the full moon, forgetting the fact that she is forbidden to look up at the full moon. Suddenly, a demon appears, and Sakura is forced to fight, discovering thanks to the priestess Byakuya that she is Princess Kaguya's granddaughter, and that she must fight the demon with the legendary sword Chizakura.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes Arina Tanemura's series. Though I find lots of similarities between The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross and this book, but if you like Arina Tanemura's art, then you should read it.
Profile Image for Sesana.
6,287 reviews329 followers
May 14, 2012
I honestly know nothing about Heian era Japan, the setting of Sakura Hime, so I can't say if she did the era justice or not. But I did like the art (the kimono are so pretty) and I was a lot more interested in the characters and the story than I had been in Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne. Sakura herself has a pretty good set up, and there's a really surprising twist halfway through the first volume. I'm actually really interested to see where this goes.
Profile Image for Jen.
3,475 reviews27 followers
didn-t-finish
September 17, 2021
Not sure why, but this book didn’t do anything for me, which surprised me as I am on a HUGE manga kick right now.

Still a happy memory from my Ohio Book Trail trip though. Ohio has ROCKIN book stores and I highly recommend going to visit as many as you can! My friend and I went to more book stores than I can count and the car ride home with a car FULL of books was a true happiness.

Love you Ohio and going to go back again when we can!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro.
1,488 reviews241 followers
July 5, 2022
It's a Greek Tragedy, but in Heian Japan.

Don't let the cutesy character design, the magical girl transformations, the slapstick comedy, the Ribon magazine publication and the age of the main character (14) fool you: this is a brutal tragedy and there is a lot of despair, death and gloom.

There, you've been warned.






I remember this series had absolutely abysmal reviews in Japan, but not in Germany, probably because Germany is the last bastion of Arina Tanemura hardcore fans. That's why we got all the *hardcover deluxe editions* *cardboard slipcases* *glow in the dark embossing* *whole series box sets* and the artbooks of course.

I'm a hardcore fan too, so, I don't mind.

I bought the box set of the complete series! Couldn't resist, the art is just too pretty. I actually own the first 8 regular volumes anyway, but the art on the box???? It's just so pretty. Now I will read the entire series in one go.
Profile Image for Laura Tenorio.
5 reviews2 followers
Read
April 15, 2012
Sakura is a princess; and she is engaged to a prince whom she has hated.

As I read this, I became interested in how Sakura must deal with everything. Such a burden... the person whom she learned to love and said that he loved her, trying to kill her. But then later on, they make up; and they are deeply in love.
It is a very sad story, but then an unexpected person(presumed to be dead) shows up and tries to tear them apart. He kidnaps Sakura; But Sakura finds out that he is actually her brother that died years ago.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Luke Reynolds.
667 reviews
August 12, 2015
The art in this series is absolutely breathtaking. Here's an example for your viewing pleasure.

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Even though I could rave about Arina Tanemura's drawing for days, let's talk more about the manga. It's definitely an interesting start to a historical fantasy series, with romance (a complicated one, though), action, and of course, a magical heroine who undergoes some nice development. Let's see how this goes!
Profile Image for Dva.
1 review
December 10, 2018
First let me say that Arina Tanemura's art style is incredible. The artwork in this Manga is really really pretty. But I had a really good time reading this manga, I don't know anything about the Heian period but I really liked that this manga takes place in it. I loved Sakura's character as well. Also Arina's notes were adorable. If you like shojo manga, I highly recommend this one. I really wish there was an anime of it.
Profile Image for DonutKnow.
3,346 reviews48 followers
November 8, 2018
Wow, I feel totally betrayed by that prince.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sondra.
141 reviews
September 17, 2020
Minusta on ihan ok, että jotkut asiat on vain nuorille itselleen, eikä tädit tajua niistä mitään. Niinku vaikka Tiktok ja manga.

Manga-sarjakuvat ovat nuortenosaston lainatuinta aineistoa. Siitä huolimatta en ollut tähän päivään mennessä lukenut yhtään osaa yhdestäkään sarjasta. Korkea aika siis, vaikka ennakkoaavistelinkin, että ei olisi välttämättä ihan minun juttuni.

Kun ei tuota taustaymmärrystä ole tarpeeksi, niin en anna tälle tähtiä mangana, vaan ihan henkilökohtaisen kokemuksen perusteella. Kaikenlaista vauhtia ja juonenkäänteitä on, mutta en minä jotenkin saa kiinni kerronnasta, jossa selvitellään ensin jotain ihmissuhdeasiaa, mutta sitten kohta mennäänkin tappamaan hirviöitä, koska niin nyt vain tapahtuu...jostain syystä. Juonen seuraamista voi tietysti myös hankaloittaa se, että sekoitan hahmoja keskenään toisiinsa. Eniten tykkäsin tekijän välikommenteista, joissa hän kertoo hyvin satunnaisen tuntuisia asioita esimerkiksi lempimusiikkikappaleistaan.

En oikein osaa edes sanoa minkä ikäisille tämä on suunnattu. Lapset itse tietää senkin paremmin.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
481 reviews38 followers
July 14, 2023
Rounded up to 4 stars because I adore Arina Tanemura's art style.

This first volume is..... wildly confusing, to say the least. I don't know if it's because of the online scans/translations not being the best, or just having Way Too Much Plot shoved into the first volume, but boyyyyyy, people keep switching back and forth in their decisions and motives! But while it is too early to judge the story as a whole, I certainly like the concept: the granddaughter of the famed Princess Kaguya is tasked to defeat demons on Earth, but also must deal with the fears and prejudices of humans who view her as a monster as well....
Profile Image for Katri.
120 reviews37 followers
February 11, 2018
Taattua Tanemuraa. Söpöjä tyttöjä, yliluonnollisia hirviöitä, monimutkaisia rakkausjuttuja, maailman ihanimmat palstat joilla Tanemura fanityttöilee musiikista... tässä on myös aivan ihana tyttöjen välinen ystävyys syntymässä <3 tulisipa seuraava osa jo!
Profile Image for Ananas.
4 reviews
June 25, 2025
very good I read it twice (read it!!!) :3
Profile Image for BlipBlop.
91 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2012
I really like Arina Tanemura's work. I know I shouldn't, since it's the same formula, book after book - but isn't most manga?

Anyway.

The art is good. It's pleasing, and I enjoy looking at is while I read the speech bubbles and move along with the action. But, true to Arina's style, the main heroine is super-thin, petite, has really long hair, and big, expressive eyes. Kind of a negative in my book, but not enough to get me to not like it in any way.

So you move along and start reading the plot, and it's good. Not excellent, not the best, but it's good.

I do like the series and I'll be keeping up with it, though!
Profile Image for Dana.
934 reviews45 followers
August 15, 2022
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk!

Read 12 volumes

Arina Tanemura is my favorite manga artist and it took me forever to start this one! I actually have a German edition of volume 1! Sakura Hime is a pretty good start! I like that the couple confesses and “gets together” fairly quickly as opposed to her other series. I’m curious to see how the overall plot runs!

Edit 8/14/22: I finished the series!! I’m surprised at how it turned out (more characters died than I expected from Arina Tanemura) but it ended well I think! A bit rushed but I still enjoyed it!
Profile Image for Angelina Justice.
602 reviews101 followers
May 15, 2012
The artwork is great AND the story flows well enough to keep a novice Manga reader like me engaged. I love the whole, I hate you, I love you, I love you, I hate you...thing. It kept the first volume from being too predictable.

I often ignore the sidenotes and chibi's in the margins, but found myself reading several in this volume.

My favorite character is Sakura's friend/servant Asagiri. Like the author, I hope she "evolves into a great character."
Profile Image for K.C. Rivers.
Author 2 books22 followers
November 1, 2011
Could it be that I'm actually starting to enjoy shojo manga? It is quite possible. This looks to be a fun, light-hearted series. I actually quite like Sakura's character. Even though she's incredibly spoiled, the author almost seems to poke fun at that. This left quite the cliff-hanger and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Profile Image for Sarah.
892 reviews
February 20, 2012
I was going to give it four stars, but then the second half of it happened, which was so rushed and ill-tempered with cheap laughs that I had trouble enjoying it as much as the first half. Not a bad start to a new Tanemura series, and her art is as gorgeous as ever. Should be a good twist on the typical 'destined girl' shojo story.
Profile Image for Shiori.
14 reviews
July 12, 2011
If only she made her plots more interesting, I would have enjoyed this book. *Sighs* The only that gets me reading this book is because of her art-work. Her characters are nicely done as always. I kind like Sakura being strong but she is also weak.
Profile Image for Candycloud.
177 reviews
July 26, 2012
Okay. I'm seriously new to manga, and I will admit, I like it a lot. But I didn't really like this book.

Yeah, Sakura was cute, as was Asagirl. But the other characters... well, they were a bit... um... strange.
Profile Image for Ichigo.
174 reviews
January 23, 2011
i totally new that he was the prince she left too much clues and i just love this its sooo funny but does he really like her or what
Profile Image for Elsa.
1,092 reviews8 followers
May 22, 2011
The whole transformation thing lost me at first but will pick up more volumes to see how this turns out.
Profile Image for Nara Walker.
Author 35 books4 followers
July 3, 2011
They had me at moon princess, but she also fight demons. Along with the typical shoujo relationship angst. It's magical girl goodness at it's best
Profile Image for Mis_Reading.
Author 4 books7 followers
September 23, 2011
I think it was really cute and the artwork as usual is gorgeous. Story is not as strong as some of her other works, but this was only the first volume. Very remnisent of Sailor Moon, actually.
Profile Image for Jodie.
90 reviews14 followers
May 3, 2012
The plot was confusing,and allot of characters look the same, but I love the artwork.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews

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