One manga series that has stayed with me quite strongly over the years is Kaibutsu Oujo (Princess Resurrection). It was actually one of the first anime adaptations I ever watched in Japanese back in the day (the anime aired in 2007), so the series has a special place in my memories.

Much later, I decided it was finally time to read the manga to see how the full story actually ends and here we are. I’ve read 13 of the 20 volumes in the original run so far (apparently there’s a sequel too), and I have to say, it’s just as quirky and entertaining as I remembered.

The story follows the adventures of Hiro Hiyorimi, a boy who moves to Sasanaki Village to meet his sister, who’s been hired as a live-in maid for a mysterious young woman known as Hime. Upon arriving, he sees Hime about to be killed by a speeding vehicle and instinctively jumps in to save her dying in the process.

Hime then resurrects him as her “blood warrior,” making him essentially immortal as long as he can receive blood from her. It’s revealed that Hime is actually royalty among monsters, and she’s currently embroiled in a deadly succession battle against her siblings to determine who will become ruler of the monster kingdom.

The manga then moves through a series of episodic arcs with assassins, monsters, bizarre creatures, and supernatural threats all sent by Hime’s rival siblings. Meanwhile, the overarching plot of the royal succession gradually takes shape. Along the way we’re introduced to several memorable characters like Riza Wildman (a werewolf girl) and Reiri Kamura (a vampire), both of whom eventually become allies and add a lot of personality to the cast.

It’s honestly hard to assign one genre to Kaibutsu Oujo. The tone swings wildly from comedy to horror, from action to psychological thriller, sometimes within the span of a single chapter. But that unpredictability is part of the charm you never really get bored because you never know what kind of story you’re walking into next.

I’m really curious to see how the main story wraps up… and if there’s a sequel, does that mean the original ending is inconclusive? I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.