Four-Eyed Prince by Wataru Mizukami

Title: Four-Eyed Prince
Mangaka: Wataru Mizukami
Age Group: Teens
Series is: Ongoing with 5 volumes
Volume(s) Reviewing: 1
My Rating: 4/5

Sachiko Ohashi is attracted to the glasses-wearing Akihiko. Willing up all of her courage, she confesses her feelings to him. Unfortunately (and predictably), she gets turned down.

The same day, Sachiko will be moving in with her mother, who she never met in her entire life. Since her father passed away last year and her grandmother is way too old to take care of her, she has no choice. Worrying about if her mother would be pleased to see her no longer matters when she finds out that Akihiko is her new step-brother!

How in the world will she be able to handle the reality that her crush has now become her sibling?? And not only that, Sachiko may discover another part of Akihiko...

I can guarantee you that this manga is completely cliche. The events occurring in the plot has been washed and reused again because you could find many other mangas with the similar storyline. Although Four-Eyed Prince may be a typical shojo manga, there is something about it that makes you smile throughout the entire volume. I think the mangaka was very happy while she was drawing out her pages because I couldn't stop grinning, no matter how cheesy everything was (which is why I gave it a 4/5).

What really stuck out to me was the relationship between Sachiko and her mother. She was abandoned when she was young so she never knew the woman who gave birth to her. They never gave a reason why her mother left her father. It surprised me that Sachiko was welcomed with open arms, along with the fact her mother was a cheery person. I thought there should have been awkwardness, considering if one had left their child without contact for well over a decade. There is so much a reader can take when it comes to things being unrealistic in a shojo manga. So I wished the protagonist's family relationship would have been more realistic.

The art style strongly resembles a couple of other series like Orange Planet and Cherry Juice. The eyes are extremely big, for both females and males. It bothered me in the beginning how large Akihiko's eyes were but after awhile, they grew onto me. The lines on the characters are sharp and edgy, which takes time to get used to because it can appear awkward. But overall it has that sweet shojo feel to it.

Four-Eyed Prince is for those who would like to read another manga with repeated plot lines but that has the essence to make you happy throughout. It is also for fans of B.O.D.Y., Cherry Juice, and Marmalade Boy. You get to enjoy a short story called Mean Boy in the first volume also.

Review copy provided by Del Rey.