Kin no Kuni Mizu no Kuni
Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom

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I saw this manga on Amazon Japan while I was scrolling through the best sellers and this manga was one of the best sellers in the shoujo category, so I got curious and bought it. I'm glad I did.


Story: I won't be talking about the story in detail because the first chapter is available online. You can read for yourself.

This is a historical shoujo manga that combines political elements as well. The story takes place somewhere in Middle East as there are mosques, religious clothing, the use of Turkish and Middle Eastern names etc. I am Turkish myself, so it was really interesting to ... see familiar things in a manga.

Basically, there are two nations, Land A (Kin no Kuni, which can be translated as The Land of Silver I guess) and Land B (Mizu no Kuni or The Land of Water) They don't get along with each other and end up in a war. The war comes to an end on the condition that the most beautiful girl from Land A and the most clever man from Land B will get married.

There are political issues going on in Land A. The King is being used by one of the two ministers while the Queen's palace is siding with the other minister. The guy from the Land B whose name is Naranbayal changes the fate of these two nations.

I would say the shoujo elements and romance are not as prominent as other shoujo manga. The story and the relationship between the two nations are far more emphasized.


Characters

Sahra/Sara: She is the chosen girl from Land A and also the princess. She is not your typical shoujo heroine and I really liked that. Appearance-wise, she is a plump and short girl (albeit cute). She is mature, smart and doesn't cry all the time.

Naranbayal: The guy from Land B. Land B is a poor country except for their abundance of water sources (that's why it is called the Land of Water) unlike Land A. Naranbayal is not your typical shoujo hero, either. He plays a big role on the story itself. I found Naranbayal and Sahra's relationship really cute. It was not over the board and refreshing.

Lailala (not sure how her name is spelt in English, it is Rairara in Japanese): I had to talk about her because she is my favourite character. She is such a unique character. First of all, she wears burka! I have NEVER seen a character in anime or manga wearing burka. She is covered all over except for her eyes, and the way the mangaka draws her eyes is very funny to me. She is an assassin that works for the Queen's Palace, not the King. She doesn't appear a lot in the manga but still, I really liked her.


Overall, I really liked this manga. It was pack full of story in only one volume (it was a long one though, like 300 pages) and the romance was not too much which I appreciate at times like these days when I get tired of my beloved cliche shoujo manga. I wish there were translations available for the other chapters online so that everyone could read it. I will be checking out Iwamoto-sensei's other works as well, for sure.