Prince Freya is somewhat amalgamation of different classic and popular stories, even if it’s from a Western tale like The Prince and the Pauper, or stories from Japanese manga like Yona of the Dawn, Princess Knight or Ouran High School Host Club. Although these all from different genre focusing on different subjects Princess Freya seems to be the mixture of all the elements from these tales.
VIZ Media has described the manga as a fantasy but if that description makes you think that it is going to be about the magical world with mages and wizards you might end up being disappointed as it’s nothing like that in the beginning chapters at least. It is fantasy but, in a way, that everything in the setting is fictional and far from reality. The author of the manga Keiko Ishihara claims to take inspiration from the western fantasy novels of the medieval era.
Set in a fictional country, Tyr, which is fighting against the neighboring colonial Sigurdian empire. Freya lives in a village and comes across some soldiers from Sigurd But before any damage could have done, she was rescued by a great Tyr hero, Aaron, also called Black Aaron. Aaron is the closest guard of the leader of Tyr, Prince Edward. The relationship between Freya and Aaron goes back to when they were children as he and his brother Aleski was saved by Freya when they were imprisoned by Sigurd. Now, Aaron is a personal guard of the king and Aleski is a soldier in the army.
After a few days, when Aaron and Aleski go back to their duties, Freya was in the countryside where she overheard the Sigurd soldiers about poisoning Prince Edward and that he will die soon. They were also planning to kill Aaron as this way they will be able to destroy Tyr completely. Freya visits the palace to inform about the situation and finds Prince Edvard on his death bad. She also realizes that the prince looks a lot like herself and comes up with a plan. She cuts her hair short and disguises herself as Prince to make the Sigurd soldiers think that Edvard is fine. It follows a battle in the palace which leads to Aaron being hit by a poisonous arrow before he is killed and that’s where chapter one ends.
Although Tyr defeated the opponent soldiers that don’t make Tyr in a good position as Aaron and Prince Edvard are dead and that leaves Freya to live as Prince Edvard forever. There are very people who know the true identity of Freya which includes Aleski, the commander of Tyr’s soldiers, General Baldr and Julius Freivalds who is another personal guard of Prince Edvard and also called White Knight. The new chapter is all about Freya taking responsibility for the Prince for the sake of her country. The first thing she does is making Julius take Aleski as an apprentice.
The setting of the series is a lot like The Prince and the Pauper. Although that story was about the real-life prince who became King Edward VI in the future and died early. The fans of anime and manga might also see some resemblance from series like Yona of the Dawn which is about the princess who strives to work for the betterment of her people after losing all her authorities. While Princess Knight has similarities with a part here girl has no choice but t become a prince for the homeland. While the elements that make It similar to Ouran are that the girl is disguised as a man and is surrounded by men all the time which makes it a lot like a reverse harem. It can also be said that it might have also taken inspiration from manga Requiem of the Rose King with exchanging identities and the dress.
It’s the mixture of all these tropes that makes it compelling. It will keep you captivated with all the drama and action. It might not be a fantastical tale with magical elements in it do but it is action-filled series with many shocking moments like the killing of Aaron in the battle. It might be a little disappointing as at the beginning of the series it gives the impression of Aaron being a love interest of Freya. But that’s not how it’s going to be. Freya is a very intriguing character. In the beginning, she might seem like a troubled and week damsel who is saved by a hero but later things don’t look that typical when we realize that she is the one who saved that hero first.
The artwork is clear and attractive and the translation is also good which is done by Emi Louie-Nishikawa. The development of her character from a villager to being a prince is very interesting. The first chapter ended at a very critical moment so it is only going to get even more interesting from that point onwards. It ended with Freya saving a kidnapped soldier and we would like to see more from it as the plot progresses.
