Genre: Horror/Comedy
Rating: OT 16+
RRP: $10.95
ISBN: 0-345-49682-9
Hiro is a blood warrior, which means he’s the natural prey of vampires, demons, monsters, and other creatures of the night. Even worse, he needs the help of Hime, the somewhat crazy princess who gave him the dubious gift of immortal life at the price of eternal servitude. One thing remains clear…this is Princess Hime’s world, and all Hiro can do is try to survive it!
The introduction of new characters and a “Universal Classic” monster are the highlights of this volume. But the growing possibility of this becoming a harem manga does dampen some of the fun.
The volume starts with the introduction of another Royal, Sherwood, Hime’s younger sister and her defense android Francisca. She makes a move against Hime, and is defeated, but not before trying to claim Hiro as her own Blood Warrior. Then we meet Reiri Kamura, who seems to take an interest in Hiro. She’s really just using him to get at Hime. She’s a vampire who wants to drink Hime’s blood, but the tables get turned on her. Another attempt is made to kill Hime by one of her brothers, when a group of werewolf Blood Warriors comes to kill her. The volume ends with a “The Thing” scenario when a group of people are trapped in a hotel during a storm, and people keep dying inexplicably.
Horror stories are always better when there are more victims and more monsters, and the introductions offer both. Though, Sherwood is less of a victim than a target, and Reiri turns into more of an ally than foe. Both these characters do something important for the story. They help to flesh out Hime and Hiro’s relationship to her as a Blood Warrior. At first, Hime appears to be cold and uncaring towards everyone. But through her interactions with Sherwood and Reiri, we start to see that she really does have a caring heart. She really does care about her little sister, despite her initial refusal to make an alliance with her. And she doesn’t kill Reiri when she has the chance, claiming she just didn’t think Reiri deserved to die. Hime doesn’t kill indiscriminately, only when she has to in order to survive.
Hiro, on the other hand, is having a hard time adjusting to his role as a Blood Warrior. He believes that being a Blood Warrior means his job is to protect Hime. He is given a rude awakening though, when some werewolf blood warriors come to kill Hime. They are sent by their Royal to fight until they or Hime are dead. They are used as tools to be discarded when they are no longer useful. Hiro can’t believe that Hime would do such a thing. He pledges himself to her of his own free will, and as a result, their bond becomes stronger.
The only real problem I have is the direction the series seems to be going toward. It seems like a harem is starting to build around Hiro. He is Hime’s Blood Warrior, but Riza seems to like him, Reiri keeps singling him out at their school, much to the other boys’ chagrin, and Sherwood tries to make him her own Blood Warrior. Normally I would just dismiss all these as just comedic situations, but the fan service that is subtle but still there makes me wonder. Right now, it looks it could go either way, and I’m really hoping that it stays away from any more harem elements. Everything is funny enough the way it is.
Princess Resurrection is a great series with a lot of campy fun with the occasional serious moments to keep the horror in perspective. If monster movies are a favorite of yours, then this is definitely a series to check out.
8.5