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Memorable Manga Moments: Sakura-Hime vol. 1-2

April 9, 2012

I’ve kept up with this series, but haven’t looked back at earlier volumes in a while. When I was trying to come up with a memorable moment for Sakura-Hime, this stood out in my memory. Of course there are some wonderful love scenes in the more recent volumes, but this one from the beginning shows some important character development for my favorite character of the series, Prince Aoba Oura.

In volume one, when readers are trying to get a feel for Prince Oura, he first disguises himself as a royal attendant. He teases Sakura and she says how much she hates Prince Oura and runs away. His first light bulb moment occurs when he sees all the letters that he’s sent Sakura through the years, saved in her room, and her attendant explains that she was isolated and treasured getting his letters.

After arriving at the palace and discovering that the attendant is actually Prince Oura himself, Sakura admits that she was angry because he never came to see her. Prince Oura confesses that he did come to watch her, and he worked hard to improve himself because he wanted her to love him. This makes for a touching first kiss moment.

However, when Prince Oura sees Sakura fight youko, he seems taken aback, and then when he sees her soul symbol, he turns angry. The first volume ends with a dramatic switch in personality for Prince Oura, as he decides to kill Sakura before she becomes a threat to his country. A massive shocker to Sakura and readers as well.

Prince Aoba discovers how his actions affected Sakura later on in volume 2. After Sakura protects Aoba from a poisonous snake bite that would have been fatal for him, his conversation with another reveals that he was chosen as Sakura’s match because of his fate symbol, which happens to be opposite of hers. He realizes that his actions up to now have been disgraceful. When he sees how Sakura handles the venom from the snake bite, and that the only other time she suffered such was when he pierced her with his arrow, he comes around. His guilt and sympathy take over, and in order to reciprocate Sakura’s sacrifice, he offers his finger as a bit when Sakura is bearing against the pain, and then comforts her.

I chose these scenes because it shows how Aoba comes to realize who Sakura is – her true personality. That she is not just a princess, someone’s granddaughter, or a dangerous warrior. She is someone with feelings. She can suffer from pain, and can also love and grieve. And through it all, she continues to endure. I think that’s why he falls for her.

I know it was long, but I really like this character. I’m looking forward to how Tanemura plans to bring this story to a close. Until next time!

Memorable Manga Moments: Sakura-Hime vol. 1-2

April 9, 2012

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