The book was pretty good, it was a bit funny, and tells a story of a beginner skater determined to learn. ( )

Dear Viz, please don’t buy things with the business model of “The last series by this author sold well, we’ll buy more without investigating it.”

Sugar Princess (and thanks for adding that awful subtitle, way to be… Disney) feels terribly formulaic. As a shoujo sports manga, events play out in exactly the same way they do in a dozen other examples of this genre. As a romance, absolutely nothing happened that would entice the reader to feel what Maya feels. There were literally only two images of Kuno skating, and every single time he opened his mouth, it was to say something harsh, scathing, or just plain cruel. He was incapable of complimenting Maya on a seriously successful jump attempt. He exists as a love interest solely on the basis of being a pretty boy.

I feel that Kuno is endemic of the kind of cold/detached Japanese men that women are often paired up with and forced to live with unhappily their whole lives. I know from past experience that Kuno’s character will grow softer with Maya’s presence and eventually come to love her. However, this story exists, far from realistic. Asking girls to put up with rough men because that’s how it’s always been done is an archaic and outmoded sentiment. Such is not the role that Japanese women should be required to play.

Thus cast in an anti-feminist light, I hesitate to recommend this book to impressionable young readers.

However. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Maya stood up for herself. Her very first line in the book (which initially gave me a lot of hope) was, “Girls have gotta show some guts.” She is definitely likeable (though isn’t quite to the level of spunk) and reminds me of the inner strength of characters from Hana Kimi, although she is written totally different. I’m sure she will turn out to be an inspiration for some people. It is also nice to see the author introduce us to famous skaters and their routines. I have to wonder if perhaps Nakajo-sensei was inspired by Swan. Sadly, this doesn’t hold a candle to it.

The art is well-composed and reminiscent of Hana Kimi, definitely better than many other shoujo manga. Of note, one character, Hikaru, as far as I can tell is drawn identical to Mizuki from Hana Kimi (both their names are also androgynous). I’m guessing this is fan-girl service. But what really hurts my head is that Hikaru is supposed to be in the sixth grade?! I get the distinct impression that Nakajo-sensei is incapable of drawing plain-looking high school boys. ( )