[Manga] Lapis Lazuli Crown Vol. #01

[Chris Beveridge]

Review by Greg Hackmann

Mania Grade: B-
* Art Rating: B
* Packaging Rating: B-
* Text/Translation Rating: C
* Age Rating: 13 and Up
* Released By: CMX Manga
* MSRP: 9.99
* Pages: 192
* ISBN: 978-1401221201
* Size: B6
* Orientation: Right to Left
* Series: Lapus Lazuli Crown

Comments:
The place where Kawase's series outdoes many of its peers is with her characterizations: there's not an unlikeable character out of the entire cast so far, and the chemistry between the Miel and Radi is surprisingly convincing (especially since Miel's reason for pursuing the relationship isn't exactly endearing to the reader). It certainly doesn't hurt that Kawase has managed to sidestep two of my pet shoujo manga peeves: first, putting the leads in different social classes gives her a plausible excuse to postpone the inevitable relationship without making either of them look like indecisive twits; second, she's avoided the gratuitous love triangle that infests almost every other series in the romantic comedy genre. (Too bad, then, that the advertisement for Volume 2 at the back of the book implies that the second point is going to change later in the series.)