My category: Dramatic Fantasy Romance
Completed: 13 volumes, 65 chapters (including extras), also has a novel. Scanalated by Evil Flowers. Licensed in English.
Synopsis (MU): "On that day, I became the enemy's possession," Nakaba thought as she stood there, knowing her destiny was to be married for convenience to keep the peace between her country Senan and Prince Caesar's country, Belquat; two neighbor countries on an island.
Between the two countries there has been a constant war for 200 years and Nakaba has become a sacrificial lamb for her country despite the discrimination against her red hair and the sub-person (half-human, half-animal) Loki, who is her only friend and attendant at Caesar's estranged palace.
But what will Nakaba do when she foresees an event pertaining to Prince Caesar's demise? Will she save him, or let him die in return to all the hate directed towards her by the people of Belquat?
Story: 9/10
It's a pretty damn good story. The plot and sub-plots are intriguing and entertaining, and I was eager to know what happens next. There's quite a few things in the mix: politics, bigotry, discrimination, equal rights etc. The supernatural part of it was integrated nicely, but is not the main thing. Definitely not a light read, and quite memorable. It can get slightly dark at times, and overall the tone is a bit tense and angsty, but it has its light-hearted moments. I liked all the ups and downs, twists and turns as the story progresses. The only part I felt was a bit lacking was the ending-it could have been done better. I was a bit disappointed and quite sad. It left me feeling kind of empty. It can be kind of considered a historical political romance drama, but it's more than just that, and well executed. Pacing was also spot on. Basically, I can still remember some of it though it's been more than a year, so it's pretty great!
Also, mind you it was a bit of a rough beginning... but it gets better.
Characters: 8/10
Really liked the cast; the minor character have their moments that they shine too, and I can feel that there is depth to them. Nakaba is a great main character in that she is strong-willed, kind, loyal, but also has her weaknesses and flaws. The main three characters Nakaba, Caesar and Loki all develop quite well, but it was in Caesar that was most obvious. He was pretty much a dick at first and forced himself on Nakaba (no rape) but gradually he matured and became likable. Loki always gave the impression of undyingly loyal and mysterious in equal amounts, and I have a thing for knight-like characters so I liked him quite a lot. Actually I don't think he developed as much as the other two, but there were clues and hints about him... oh yeah, and he pretty much stole the limelight for the ending. Other notable characters for me were Cain, Akhil, Lemilia and Vernas. Overall very diverse and well executed characters.
Art: 7.5/10
Overall the art is pretty great, not as awesome as some others but definitely better than most. I read some comments about liking it because it 'wasn't all pretty people like most shoujo manga' but I think actually there's quite a few shoujo mangas where the characters aren't all supermodels. Anyway moving on, you can see the art gets better as it goes on, and is constant. The anatomy is so-so, clothing have quite some details, backgrounds are sometimes a little simple but good. The expressions and storytelling of the art are the highlights; very nicely done. Also, I love all the colour illustrations!
Enjoyment: 8.5/10
I really enjoyed Reimei no Arcana, and always looked forward eagerly to new chapters. Reimei no Arcana's strength lies in character interaction, and most importantly 'humaness'. The author does a fantastic job on portraying a person's spectrum of feelings, warring wants and needs, and I felt quite emphasized on things like greed, isolation, envy, misery and desperation. There's a lot of intense and emotional parts, and the ending... well. I wanted to flip tables.
Overall, 8.5/10.
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