manga: Apothecarius Argentum Vol 2-3
Ok, manga, lets talk. Why is it that, on the rare occasion a shoujo manga has a setup where not do I think endless angst and “Woes! We cannot be together touch! Our love is forbidden!” is not only warranted, but is something that I would enjoy, am I not indulged? Did you have to listen to my complaints about other manga (and such things) having so much of it that it kills my interest? Must your characters be quite this mature and logical?
She is a princess determined to be a great leader! He is a slave and his blood and touch are literally poisonous! She learned how to fight so no one would get hurt protecting her! He’s an assassin and a healer! The potential! Not, mind you, that’s it’s completely wasted by any means. Or that I do not appreciate the fact that Primula will clearly eventually logic and reason Argent’s body into being non-poisonous.
MEEP! More talky!wee!Primula and silent!angry!wee!Argent! Their young not-quite-love is so darling! Really, it’s every trope in the book, but come on, true love means eating a poisoned pie! How do you top that? Well, maybe by attacking assassins sent to hunt down your future True Love and biting them on the neck.
Though we would like to point out that we are not thrilled with Evil Aunt and how she manipulated Primula’s mother figure into trying to kill Primula by making her A Woman Scorned. *stern look*
But I adored Argent hunting for Primula on her exploring her kingdom, and how she put him to work the second he found her. And she plays with his hair! I love that!
And there was one-sided-quasi nekkid hugging and Argent covering Primula when the stupid prince told her to strip if she didn’t want him to have peasants executed. Though I think her proper response to that one should have been a fist to his jaw as she informed him that she could handle her own peasants.
I am deeply amused that we clearly had a Forbidden Kiss just to make sure the quota of kissing isn’t too low. Because, you know, Argent certainly isn’t smart enough to think of another way to make her look dead.
I actually would have rather had the subplot with Primula’s cousin trying to take over the kingdom take longer, though as a background thing, not a main focus. Conversely, I’m not sure what I think of Lorcas, the prince from the enemy nation who’s setting himself up as Argent’s rival. Actually, I think I’d like him a lot more if he weren’t chasing after Primula and trying to trap her into agreeing to marry him for the good of both kingdoms. But I do like his thief/attendant, Infree, and I love Carli’s newfound attentiveness towards people-particularly Argent-having FEELINGS for Primula.
I wish Ubella had hung around, though. This series needs more women. Right now, we have Primula and Primula, and at least half a dozen central male characters. I also approve of Ubella’s crush on Carbeau.