Take one ditzy heroine, add an aloof guy with a secret life and throw them together through some quirky circumstances, and voila! You have the basic foundation of many shojo manga romances, including Four-Eyed Prince, a new series by Wataru Mizukami from Del Rey Manga.
It all starts off with Sachiko confessing her love to her cool and aloof classmate Akihito, and getting her heart broken when he turns her down. Her day then goes from bad to worse as she discovers that he's not only her half-brother from her long-lost mother's last marriage, and now she has to LIVE with him. Can it get worse? Why, yes, it does, as Sachiko discovers Akihito's secret: he's a suave bartender/lady killer once he takes off his glasses.
Okay, hewing to reality has never been a requirement of shojo manga. But does Four-Eyed Prince take this somewhat ridiculous set-up and make readers want to believe that this guy with glasses and this love-blind girl belong together? Check out my review of Four Eyed Prince Volume 1 and see if this near-sighted romance is fun or too far-fetched.
Image credit: Wataru Mizukami, KODANSHA
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