Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina

On the dusty streets of the castle town Dayah in the Fortna Kingdom, a young orphan named Nina steals for survival. Experiencing one tragedy after another, she has little to hope for in her life. Believing it best for Nina, her closest friend, Saji, hands her over to Second Prince Azure Seth Fortna, who has been searching for someone with unique and intense deep-blue eyes—just like Nina's.

The kingdom's princess, the revered Astral Priestess Alisha, has recently died on her way to the Galgada Kingdom, where she was to marry the tyrant First Prince Sett. However, her death is concealed for political reasons, and that is where Nina needs to step in. With nowhere else to go and no one to turn to, Nina assumes Alisha's identity and future duties. But with each moment spent with Azure, Nina feels herself drawn to his warmth, fearing that once she is wed to another, nobody will remain to remember her true self.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sett Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Nina Main

Tanaka, Minami Japanese

Fortna, Azure Seth Main

Umehara, Yuuichirou Japanese

Shigan Supporting

Miyazaki, Yuu Japanese

Daitus Supporting

Tomizawa, Tatsuya Japanese

Ann Supporting

Tazawa, Masumi Japanese

Hikami Supporting

Saiga, Mitsuki Japanese

Kilimina Supporting

Sekine, Akira Japanese

Mea Supporting

Hishikawa, Hana Japanese

Halle, Noa Supporting

Asano, Mayumi Japanese

Nakamura, You Producer

Komaya, Kenichirou Director

Kameyama, Toshiki Sound Director

Yamada, Yuka Script, Series Composition

Reviews

Mar 3, 2025

Megan1918

Recommended

I Highly recommend watching this anime! It was truly a masterpiece! My only complaint is that there isn’t more. Only season one is out and it ends at a bit of a cliffhanger. I was truly at the edge of my seat the entire time watching and I couldn’t get enough of it. I watched the English dub and the voice actors made it even more amazing due to how perfect they were. The animation was beautiful and the male main characters especially are what captivated me because they are both so gorgeous! I am praying for a second season so please watch and give ... this anime and manga all your attention

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 20, 2025

happa_hana

Mixed Feelings

The synopsis of Nina the Starry bride really piqued my interest. I love jousei anime with strong female leads, a diversity of characters, politcal upheavels, the cunningness, the love, the romance, the drama, the power dynamics - everything that the historical fantasy setting has to offer. But after completing the 1st season, something still felt a little...fumbled, in my opinion.
(I'm gonna try to keep this as spoiler free as possible)

I'll start with what I liked:

The story & setting - 10/10 couldn't really get any better. It doesn't shy away from showing things the people in power do with a shrug. Fortna's King has to ... be a prime example of that. The setting really captures the prime of its time ruled by monarchs and the confusing cunning strategies they come up with to keep their power and domination.
The pacing of the anime, at first I felt was really going a tad too fast, but now, I think it's fine. It cuts to the chase as really so much is happening in the 2nd part.

The characters - But a lot of the setting and story is character dependent, as far as my understanding. They move the story. You have beautiful beautiful Azure, and gorgeous gorgeous Sett as the two 'princes' opposite each other. Both very much the love interest for our beautiful, child-like, tomboyish "priestess princess" Nina - I mean Alisha. Yes, Sett comes into the story a lot later, but I just cannot with these two male characters okay? They are gorgeous and I honestly stayed more to admire them than actually watch the anime (I'm digressing but we're gonna circle back to this point)
The supporting characters move the plot forward by a lot. They truly are 'supporting characters' doing their job right. I think it's the second part of the anime where they truly shine - Anne & Hikami, and the King of Galgada.

The animation - It's actually very pretty. Apart from the charming main character design, the clothes they wear are beautifully elaborate and filled with details, but keeping it simple. Apart from the names of our characters, its the clothes that really give "Asian-inspired fictional setting." It also reminded me a lot of "7th Time Loop" anime animation because of the similarity but of course, "Nina the Starry Bride" is not produced by the same studio as that. However, I think I really love this kind of animation - the characters just look so beautiful it's a treat to my eyes. ESPECIALLY Sett and Azure - like my god did the animators go all out in creating these stunning two men! (see? we circled back to the point) Now, I like myself some nice, overall, great animation - who doesn't really? It's all the audience want. But, to be headover heels for the animation of certain characters? That's different. And they have me with these two. Honest.

The cast - 11/10 bless the casting team that chooses Umehara and Uchiyama as the main male voice actors - music to my ears~ 11/10 no notes.

The OST/music - OP & ED of the anime are pretty and relevant. They have a charming vibe that fits the story over all. But to me, it's the OST that truly shines in this anime. Composed by Natsumi Tabuchi, the soundtrack is just beautiful! I've listened to the album twice while completeing the series (took me 2 days) - and I honestly don't have words to express how lovely the soundtrack is! Anyone reading my review, please give it a listen if you haven't!

And that's all the good points I had about Nina the Starry Bride.

And now the fumbling parts...

Our main female protaginist Nina, is probably my main point of fumbling. As someone who is a stand-in for an actual princess, her character shows that lack of upbringing a princess should be having (you know, because class distinction and all). Nina's real identity is that she's an orphan who is to play the Princess and of course, as the story progresses, she falls in love with (I'm gonna say both) the prince(s) - with difference in affinity of course.
She feigns grace and tries her best to make-believe the role she is filling in. Where she continuously fails though is to grow - while being straightforward in her approach on everything and being 'different' than the norm, she never learns to actually use the very real position of power given to her as 'the priestess who holds Fate' - everytime there is monologoues of how she's gonna do it, she'll change fate and protect the people she love, and I'm left constantly waiting for her to take that action - unless praying a 100 times for things to go her way counts as 'actions'. She is also gullible - which is fair because given her real background, she'd be - and she remains that way throughout believing everything that people say to her - because she trusts eveyone. Again, fair to her character as she has no allies in a monarchial world, so of course she throws herself head first with acts of kindness.
But when does the action part happen? Throughout the anime, she's the damsel that needs saving all the time, regardless of whether she's the one taking the first step to change things. She is powerless in her position when things go out of her comprehensive control and when it does, she is in anxiety mode spiralling out of control (absolutely relatable behaviour).
So what gives really? That's what I'm left with. The way I see it, she is a tragedy princess (so far) and the ending of this anime (should it get a S2/S3) won't be a happy one. No matter what she tries to do, as a woman who's path is literally to be a trophy wife - a key pawn for political reasosn, her tries are futile - whether she be Alisha or Nina - she is always shown that there's only so much she can do until she's shut down. At the end of it all, her importance lies in being a beautiful pawn. The only interpersonal relationships she has formed that go beyond this are with Azure, Sett (but it unclear what his intentions are completely), Anne and Hikami.

So what is my conclusion really? I think S1 ended abrubptly and I really hope there is a season 2. What kept me watching was the casting and the characterizations. What left me puzzled was Nina herself. There is plot and it's going somehwere but a 12 episode season felt more like a trailer than a complete seasonal arc. The end credit left me on an aticipating note though, so while overall my score is a 6/10, i think that it has room to score higher.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 16, 2025

dxdnelion

Not Recommended

Preliminary (8/12 eps)

I thought I could finish this series, but after some thought, I realized it really wasn’t worth my time at all. Every time I think about it, I just get frustrated. I had high hopes because the manga was so highly praised, but I was honestly shocked at how much the story disappointed me. It felt like something I could’ve come up with in my own Asian fanfic. I know that sounds harsh, but really—what was the point of this story?

I'm only talking about the anime adaptation here (since I don’t plan to read the manga, and maybe it answers some of these issues, but ... my review is based on the anime). The concept and the storyline started off really strong. The world-building and setup for the political drama were intriguing, and I was hooked. But then the moment Nina and Prince Azure started falling in love, the story just became so flat. Here’s the thing—how did they fall in love when they barely knew each other? The show didn’t give enough time for their relationship to develop, which made their feelings feel shallow and rushed. Honestly, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them.

The show could have taken a more interesting turn if only it had focused on Nina navigating life as a fake princess and trying to figure out her path as a priestess (like, why keep mentioning her blue eyes if you won't delve deeper into that?). But instead, the characters just became so frustrating. I couldn’t stand the second male lead, and Nina? She’s selfish, impulsive, inconsiderate, and honestly so dumb. I don’t mind a clueless main character, but at least let them grow. Nina’s impulsiveness was treated like a quirky charm, but all it did was put everyone in danger, especially Azure and her lady in waiting. She repeatedly threatens his position and yet every time, she gets saved without ever learning from her mistakes. It honestly made me want to slap some sense into her.

Azure could’ve been an interesting character, especially when we learn about his backstory, but he was pushed aside too quickly. We immediately shift to a new storyline and get introduced to new characters, making his character easy to forget. As for Sett, I usually love villains especially ones with white hair, but this guy’s just a jerk. I really tried to connect with both male characters, but I just couldn’t. And that unnecessary sexual assault attempt scene? Not only was it uncomfortable, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall, I just felt let down and frustrated by the whole experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina Episode 12 Discussion IzanaSolos - Dec 23, 2024	41 replies	by ad0rablegoat »» Mar 26, 4:05 PM
	Poll: Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) KANLen09 - Oct 7, 2024	53 replies	by thatgirluwu »» Mar 15, 6:27 PM
	Poll: Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina Episode 11 Discussion IzanaSolos - Dec 16, 2024	22 replies	by cooldogmom »» Feb 2, 4:57 PM
	Poll: Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina Episode 10 Discussion IzanaSolos - Dec 9, 2024	11 replies	by cooldogmom »» Feb 2, 12:24 PM
	Poll: Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina Episode 9 Discussion IzanaSolos - Dec 2, 2024	28 replies	by cooldogmom »» Jan 26, 3:43 PM