Continuing with my foray into the world of manhua, it is time for the second review of the Chinese manga Real Fake Princess.
Things get a little more travel-orientated in this volume, and Zhi Li gets a little more tempestuous. Fiery heroines seem to be relatively common in shojo manga from all cultures, but Zhi Li is beginning to edge into the moronically determined, into the fact that she gets herself into stupid situations.
Stealing Wu Zhong Lu’s precious horse, she rides off to visit Tang-Hui (after saying that she doesn’t want to see him), but Zhi Li isn’t practiced in the ways of the world, and soon is in dire need of rescuing. Eventually managing to get to the village, she surprises Tang-Hui and the other villagers, but can she admit what she came there to say, when faced with possible separation from Hui?
Back at the palace after a short visit with her crush, politics start to come into play when the emissary for the Emperor turns up to assess Zhi Li’s claim to the throne. A little more comes to light about Wu Zhong Lu’s banishment to the realm of relative-hunting and his relationship with the famous dancer Dai Xuan is also addressed later on in the story.
Overall this volume explores the character relationships in more depth and introduces some more of the background politics and history behind the behaviour of some of the characters. Despite this fleshing up of the storyline (and I mean that in an entirely innocent way), the main focus of Real Fake Princess remains on the romance side of things, with Wu Zhong Li being far more willing to admit changing feelings for the so-called princess (if only to himself) than the eternally dense Zhi Li.
My only problem currently with Real Fake Princess is the somewhat dubious translation from DrMaster, with the occasional grammatical mistake. Whilst I noticed one or two in volume one, this volume really jarred me when somebody ‘falled’ in love, rather than ‘fell/has fallen’.
This second volume consolidated things for me a little, and continuing with the gorgeous Chinese outfits and the interesting setting, Real Fake Princess is turning out to be a real find.
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"Full of squishy feelings and history snippets, you can do far worse than this!"
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