You're My Princess

I picked up Kimi wa Boku no Ohimesama randomly, I just needed something to read today in the morning but boy, do I regret it. I don't have any way to describe it other than I felt like I was reading a fanfiction by a 14yo girl obsessed with both disney and gay couples but have no idea of how they actually work, so instead of getting a very bad BL, we got a VERY bad shoujo manga, because it honestly seemed like I was reading a manga about an extremely disjointed straight couple, but gay. Cinderella? Princess? Prince? Really? Like are you 100% forreal right now? There's nothing inherently wrong with the plot per se other than the weird obsession with the "Princess" nickname (and actually carrying Itsuji like a princess when he was clearly uncomfortable?), but that's honestly more than enough. Takajo is creepy, pretty much a stalker, uncomfortably pushy and as a couple they have as much chemistry and depth as a rock and door, which is to say, they don't have anything going for them other than the random personal kinks the author decided to throw in there (I say personal kinks because there's no way to rationally explain some of the things that happened on this manga). The only reasons I can't call it a waste of time is because now I know better than reading something by this author and Itsuji's cat plushy is super cute, I'd absolutely buy one.

The manga follows a misunderstood delinquent Tachibana who loves cats and frequents cat cafés and his love interest Takajou who is a model student president, the usual golden boy of the school. It is a common yaoi trope which is often overused but entertaining nonetheless. From face value, this is certainly a short fun read if you don’t look too much into it. Personally I am a fan of such tropes so it was a somewhat pleasant experience to read this. The plot is predictable and simple, with not too much depth or substance. While I did enjoy Tachibana’s character because I also love cats,he felt very 2 dimensional like his only personality is liking cats….I hoped to see more of him but it ended too quick. Takajou….on the other hand, he is subtly pushy and low-key manipulative. There’s just something off about him yet I can’t put a finger on it. I expected him to have ulterior motives or do something devious but fortunately nothing happened. From their relationship standup, everything was rushed. There was no proper development or attraction shown, Takajou just happened to fall in love at first sight just because Tachibana scared off some thugs? Please this is just lazy writing. The leads had barely any chemistry and Tachibana only seemed to like him because Takajou was so persistent. Something also icky with this manga is that Takajou calls Tachibana “princess” I personally hate it when a gay relationship has straight stereotypes or try to feminize one of the men particularly the uke. It is not that deep but it just takes away the gay aspect of the relationship and it feels like the mangaka wanted to incorporate straight relationships dynamics into a queer relationship, just not for me. If you’re into that, well and good. Final thoughts: Despite all these criticism I did enjoy reading this, because at the end of the day I eat this overused trope every single time. It definitely had potential if it had more chapters but unfortunately it got wrapped up in 5 chapters. If you want a yaoi to pass time, then this is for you.