Prince Freya Vol. 2by Wolfen MoonsgetReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 6 After the rescue mission to save Mikal, she and her entourage end up "guests" of Minister Lars -- who is keeping a dangerous secret. Also, Freya finds a friend in servant Liesbet -- but will this be a help or a detriment?I feel like this series is written on the fly, like the manga-ka hasn't got much of a plan, often just depicting what seems interesting in the moment, throwing things together and seeing what sticks. Character actions, attitudes, and behaviors seem a bit plot-convenient. At the same time, though, I admit that there were a few things that caught me quite by surprise! This series is not predictable! Like, while there's a sense of reverse-harem, with sexual tension between Freya and nearly all her men ... there's sexual tension between the men, too, AND between Freya and a girl! It might just be queer-baiting, or it might be that gender imply doesn't matter much in this series. If the latter is the case, I am here for it! There are, however, a couple of maybe-deaths in this one that totally kill some good potential, story-wise, just like in the previous volume. Such a waste, if that's the case, but if they aren't dead, this is as bad as or worse than a soap opera in ridiculousness (and I've watched a lot of soaps). But then, for the whole volume, the battles defied physics (and body mechanics) in ways that don't make sense for a story of this nature. For example, a (physically weak!) character, being held up by the throat, somehow draws the enemy's longsword free of its scabbard, then ... flies up into the air, out of their grasp, and strikes? What? And other character is crushed under a boulder, yet they are pulled out from under it as if they weren't pinned at all. While the art is fine on the whole, a bathing scene with Freya has her looking really awkward; rather than seeing handsome or pretty or appealing in an androgynous way, she looks kind of like an alien, her anatomy a bit strange. At least we get also bath scene with a couple of guys -- and while they are technically rivals, there was, like I said, some yummy sexual tension there, too. So basically, this series is still a bit of a mess. That said, I do like Freya a bit more this volume (especially how clever and martially capable she proves to be -- even if her capability fluctuates) and I'm invested just enough to want to know what happens next. Written: July 25, 2020
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