Series: Prince Freya Vol 1 & 2
US Publisher: VIZ Media
Mangaka: Keiko Ishihara
Genre: Action/Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Description:
Freya thinks of herself as a simple village girl, but her idyllic life is shattered when she is caught up in the aftermath of a treacherous Sigurdian plot. She bears a striking resemblance to her country’s beloved Prince Edvard, who lays dying from poison. Without its ruler, all of Tyr will quickly be engulfed by Sigurdian violence. Now Freya must take Prince Edvard’s place and lead his valiant knights in defending the realm!
Vol 1:
This series starts out introducing the kingdom of Tyr and the impending war from the Sigurdian army. I find the mix of Viking folklore but also creating one’s own world to be quite fascinating. It was definitely a world I was interested in and found myself hooked at the start.
In the beginning, Freya felt a little too helpless to me, but she grows in character in the first and second volume. Although it appears to be almost lighthearted, I will warn you now, this is not for the faint of heart. There are some really sad scenes that made me want to throw the manga (except I read it on my iPad so I wasn’t going to. I am really fascinated, however, and definitely want to read what happens.
Vol 2:
*received an ARC from VIZ via Netgalley for an honest review*
In this volume, I feel Freya definitely grows as a character and we see what causes it (no spoilers). We also learn more about the surrounding characters, and about the different towns. I feel it still is a little bit of setting up the world, but still has enough movement to keep you reading. I am looking forward to see what happens in book 3. I want to know more about Sir Julius and what is going on with him. The art is beautiful and very well done. I recommend to anyone who likes Viking history and fantasy.
~Dani