Review 10: Private Prince

Plot: 8.5
Characters: 7
Sex: 8.5

Private Prince is centered on Kaoru, who works in a formal men's clothing store. He is charge of various decisions regarding the shop's exhibits, and he dresses the store's elegant mannequin, Mr. Veirne. But one day, Kaoru discovers that the mannequin comes to life whenever he is alone with it, and it tells him about its past, and how Kaoru is the only one who can break the curse on it. Kaoru and Sado - Mr. Veirne - encounter various obstacles to their relationship, including the fact that Sado turns into a mannequin when anyone else is around.

The plot is imaginative but still isn't all that satisfying. The deal with the mannequin could have been used for so much more than simply a reason for the two to have passionate sex - and then consequently, when someone walks in, look like Kaoru is messing around with a mannequin...

The characters are pretty shallow. Kaoru's reactions make sense, but I never felt very attached to him. Sado is likewise a rather bland character, even with the excuse that he has been trapped in a mannequin for thousands of years and does not know how to act. The villains in this manga are probably the best characters, but they don't stir enough curiosity to save the character aspect of this yaoi.

The sex is this manga's saving grace. The dressing room part was pretty amusing, and the odd locations - often storage rooms - they end up sexing it up are at least a step above the regular old sex-on-a-bed.

Overall, a 24/30. Worth reading once, but you probably won't care to follow it through a second or third time.

Recommendation: If you're bored, or stuck for other yaoi, this is a nice distraction. Just don't expect anything very interesting or unpredictable to happen.