The Bottom Line
When high school hunk Azusa Mizutani gets transferred to mostly-female Jyoshioka Gakuen, he discovers that he's the new 'meat' thrown to the sex-crazed student body. The only thing protecting him from this lusty female mob is mousy, honor student Rise Okitsu, the one girl who doesn't want to seduce him.
Gakuen Prince is an astonishing satire of shojo clichés that gives the term "girls gone wild" a whole new meaning. Its matter-of-fact attitude about teen sexuality and bullying is shocking, but it also gives this shojo dramedy an edge that makes it more wickedly fun than a Gossip Girl marathon.
Pros
- A wicked, whacked-out satire that merrily chews up shojo manga clichés and spits it out with a smile
- Lots of pretty boy eye-candy that caters to fujoshi, while mocking bishonen-harem manga
- This off-kilter female power fantasy shows women as confident, almost frighteningly sexual beings
- Provides enough "oh no they didn't?!" twists to make it compelling
- Translation stays true to Japanese cultural references and provides ample notes to explain them
Cons
- With scenes that depict attempted rape, aphrodisiacs and tasers, this manga is not for prudes
- A fair amount of cursing and numerous references to casual teen sex
- The bullying that the heroine must endure is extremely malicious and frightening
- Requires some familiarity with shojo manga plot and character conventions to appreciate its humor
Description
- Original Title: Gakuen Ouji (Japan)
- Author & Artist: Jun Yuzuki
- Publishers:
- Del Rey Manga (US)
- Kodansha (Japan)
- ISBN: 978-0345508959
- Cover Price: $10.99 US / $12.50 CANADA
- Age Rating:
OT – Older Teens, Age 16+
for violence, strong sexually-charged content
More about content ratings. - Manga Genres:
- Shojo (Girls') Manga
- Bishonen (Pretty Boys)
- Comedy
- Drama
- Fanservice / Cheeky
- Teen / High School Romance
- US Publication Date: March 2009
Japan Publication Date: December 2006 - Book Description: 192 pages, black and white illustrations
Guide Review - Gakuen Prince Volume 1
Azusa Mizutani is the new student in the very elite (and mostly female) Jyoshioka Gakuen. His dark good looks instantly make him the center of attention, but not in the way he expected. At Jyoshi, men are highly-coveted commodity and these raging coeds aren't shy about fighting for their share of the 'fresh meat'. As fellow male student Munechika explains to Mizutani, "We're surrounded by a pack of females in heat. We're completely powerless."
In the hyper-sexual world of Gakuen Prince, high school girls are not blushing wallflowers or spunky tomboys -- they're a mob of mean girls whose cruelty to each other is only interrupted when they're whipped into a man-chasing frenzy. The guys can only give the girls what they want, or fend off their advances by either being too effeminate, too ugly or too attached to one girl. In order to survive Jyoshi long enough to graduate, Mizutani must decide: should he be a Casanova or can he find a girl who'll be his one and only?
Meanwhile, nerdy Rise Okuse just wants to get through school without being harassed for 'standing out.' So when Mizutani chooses her to be his girlfriend / shield, that's when the really crazy stuff happens. I don't want to spoil the surprises, but it involves tasers, aphrodisiacs and some of the most malicious girl-on-girl bullying you'll ever see in comics.
With so much violence in Gakuen Prince, how can it still be a romantic comedy? It is if you've bored by today's repetitive, sticky-sweet teen love stories. Instead, Yuzuki holds up a perverse fun-house mirror that satirizes shojo manga cliches while giving fans the romance, drama and hot guys that they crave. It's sometimes shocking and a little icky, but Gakuen Prince's brand of over-the-top twists, fujoshi-friendly eye-candy and politically-incorrect girl power makes it more wickedly addictive than a Gossip Girl marathon.