Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina

Nina the Starry Bride has a beautiful art, a good animation, but cliche characters.

Who is Nina? She is an orphan that got betrayed by the last person she had in this world and then sold to the Prince. She is hard-working, kind, smart, and beautiful. Ah, and also she's totally dependent on the Prince, as he's the one that feeds her, clothes her, and even educates her. She's too stereotypical.

Who is the Prince? He's handsome, a bit older than Nina, mysteryous, extremely strong (he takes out 3 bad guys easily by himself), very smart, and hold a position of power. He's the stereotype of male ... lead of the romance.

Both Nina and the Prince are so cliche that they become preditable too quickly.

Now, we have another big issue: the circumstances of their romance. Basically, Nina is sold against her will and that makes her initially dislike the Prince. But that dislike isn't very strong, and as she came from poverty, the fact that she now has great food, clothes, and education surely makes it easy for her to live this new life. Also, it's not like she has a choice, as she has no one left in the world. She's captive, she was sold like a slave, but the Prince gives her everything she needs... This isn't romance, she's just cornered and suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

Then, Nina flees the castle and is attacked, and guess who saves her? The strong and brave Prince, her hero! This is where the sparks of their romance start to get real. This isn't romance, it's just Suspension Bridge effect.

This is a review based only on the first 3 episodes of the anime, and overall it is enjoyable if you enjoy cliche. But I have to say, considering the latest trends on romance anime, Nina the Starry Bride started painfully average because of the cliche. So far, nothing has impressed or surprised, and for the sharp eye it's easy to see that the heroine isn't a girl in love, but just a lonely girl that is picked like a stray puppy and wigs her tail to the Prince because he has patted her.

I've already read the manga of this anime, and I was excited for the anime. But there are a few downsides that I need to mention. First of all, I have to say that I see a lot of potential for the anime, and I like the scenario that has been created.

>Scenario, setting 8/10 I like the setting created by the author. The clothes, ornaments, everything is very different from what we know, which creates a good sense of curiosity.

>Main character: 6/10 Nina doesn't have a strong personality. The plot doesn't make an effort to let us know more about who she is ... inside, but rather about “what she is (her mission, why she has blue eyes, etc.)”.
Reading the manga, I was quite annoyed by this character's indecisiveness. Every action has a consequence, and I found her to be quite selfish in the way she acted, as well as getting angry very easily for small reasons.

>Main character 2.0 Azule and Sett:
5/10 Azule. I admit that this rating is due to the mixed feelings that the manga brings up, but I won't go into that too much. At first in the anime, Azule has a much more subdued personality than in the manga.
8/10 Sett. He hasn't appeared yet, but his potential is strong.

>Secondary characters: 4/10 I felt that the secondary characters weren't given much attention in the anime, unlike in the manga. The suspense generated was greater in the comics, while in the animated series I felt that everything was very rushed (but I understand that this is because there are twelve episodes).

>Story development in the anime: 5/10 I felt that the development of the anime needs to be improved, but it has great potential. Some scenes seem repetitive, and precisely because there are only twelve episodes, I believe that some events should be brought forward and others left to one side.