Baraou no Souretsu

All women in this series are bitches except for Anne. Poor Anne, someone make her happy, please. That's all I want from this series.

I wonder the author has some grudge for female people. Even the main character hates his woman self claim that part to be evil. I hope he embraces his woman part too, otherwise, I'm getting annoyed that he keeps victimizing himself, acts as no one loves him.

Other characters are fine, there were characters that I felt so bad for.
I love the story but I'm expecting more, only problem I have with this series reasons above.

I do find the story rather interesting but the family tree is confusing at times. The characters are genuinely interesting and well designed except for the protagonist Richard. I feel a lot more could have been done with his character and I am unsure of how to feel about his constant identity shifts. I am constantly unsure if he is a trans-man struggling in this era due to lack of vocabulary and information or a masculine woman facing prejudice so therefore posing as a man. It seems everything he feels about his gender is contradicted at one point or another and often happens multiple times. I am unsure of whether this is intentional or not. I see this through a trans-man's eyes, so I am quite knowledgeable about what it is like to be ftm as I live it everyday. But considering I have this experience with the inner turmoil and dysphoria and the outward prejudice and it is still confusing I imagine it must be so much more confusing for someone who doesn't know much about the topic. And that would be most people.

Also at times it feels as if Richard is supposed to just be a "girl crush" for female readers or just another feminine yaoi man for fujoshis to gush over. He is put in both a relationship with a woman at one point and at another a man. Richard's whole character comes across as either fan service or a horrible misinterpretation of trans-men. Even though some of his feelings and experiences are accurate to those of many trans-men he is still made to look like just a girl many times throughout the story. Again not sure if this is intentional. I don't want to come across as triggered as I am not but I found him a very odd character with many holes.

The artwork is amazing. I wanted to get that out of the way, because it's one of only two redeeming qualities of this Manga. The other is that it's based off of the Henriad by Shakespeare, and that man knew what he was doing. The main conceit of the series, and it's not a spoiler for saying so, is that the main character, Richard, is a girl. But she's treated by her parents and the rest of the world as a boy. Consequently, her mother regards her as a demon and a witch. Because, you see, Richard is a boy, but with the body of a girl.... The entire thing reeks of exploiting transgenderism for the sake of having two beautiful boys in a romantic relationship. Shakespeare famously wrote Richard to have a hunchback: that was the external ugliness to mirror his internal ugliness. By treating transgenderism as the external ugliness instead of a hunchback, for the sake of making a yaoi-not-yaoi novel is just completely inappropriate.

But the art is gorgeous.

First off, let's get some of the confusing stuff out of the way. This is a manga published in Princess, a magazine that contains shoujo manga aimed at teenage girls. Now, do I personally think the best audience would be teenage girls? No, actually. The content for me felt much darker than what I would expect for a typical shoujo, and covers some very heavy themes. It's as much a shoujo as a manga like Banana Fish, perhaps. Now, is it a BL? That depends. There are certainly male/male relationships depicted, with the main character being a bisexual man, and they are an important part of the story and the development of the main character. However, I would hesitate to say they are the focus, the way they are in most BL manga.

Now that that's out of the way, here are my thoughts on Baraou no Souretsu.

Story - 7/10
I went into this manga thinking it would be a typical tragic historical BL, and was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging historical retelling with large heapings of war, drama, tragedy, and betrayal. Although I found parts of the plot to be confusing or boring, or even slightly nonsensical, most of that had disappeared by around 10-15 chapters, giving way to an amazing story filled with twists and turns that shape the characters realistically, and that tell a captivating, compelling story. I finished 50 chapters in just one day and was unable to put it down. The story does happen over the course of main character Richard's life, and at times the time skips were slightly jarring, but overall I thought it was executed very well.

Art - 9/10
This will be a bit subjective, as I understand many people dislike BL-typical art styles. However, I found the art and character designs to be beautiful to look at. The covers and chapter titles are absolutely gorgeous, and the manga is filled with beautiful symbolism and plenty of attention to detail. At the very least, the art never got in the way of my enjoyment.

Character - 8/10
The main character Richard was born intersex, and the son of Richard II, who tries to gain the throne and become king of England. He struggles with the label of "demon" from his birth due to his possession of "both male and female sexes". Although his character seemed dull and typical of an angsty "MC with tragic backstory" trope throughout the first third or so of the story, it is fascinating to watch him develop and change through his relationships with both his family and romantic interests. By the 50th chapter, I have become quite invested in his character and look forward to seeing the things he will do next. My own interpretation of his gender is that he is a trans man, due to the large amounts of dysphoria and hatred towards his female parts throughout the story, though others may have different perceptions. Is he a well written trans character? That is up to debate. Considering the setting the story takes place in, and the developments that Richard goes through, I would say it is a somewhat realistic portrayal.

The side characters, from family members to romantic prospects vary in their writing. Many are extremely well-developed and multi-faceted, while some are obviously more symbols than anything else. This is not a bad thing though, and I found myself growing attached to many of them and developing a strong dislike of others.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Not gonna lie - this manga is absolutely my cup of tea. Although I am picky with manga that have BL vibes, this one was the perfect mix of dark, fucked-up romance and twisted, intricate story for the kind of stuff I love. It did bring to mind some elements of Akimi Yoshida's works, and the complexity of some of the relationships reminded me of Code Geass, both of which are some of my favorite animanga media. None of the places where the manga flagged a bit really got in the way of my enjoyment, and I am looking forward to the next volume.

Overall - 9/10
Baraou no Souretsu is perhaps a somewhat controversial work. The main character and his gender is the subject of a lot of discourse around the manga, and some people will no doubt avoid it due to the BL elements and tropes present. However, for fans of historical retellings, dark romance, heaping loads of tragedy, and who can handle some really fucked-up and unhealthy relationships (please check trigger warnings before reading!), I would highly recommend this manga.

tbh i dont feel like writing much, but this manga is so good that i need to tell yall that its a 10 and just READ IT
it depends on your taste of course, this manga is very very VERY deep and dark.
"When lions fight, innocent lamb get caught in the fray"
story- over 9000, (max 10)
It is historical fiction. There was a thing called the "Wars of the Roses", in England with the Lancaster and York. It has references, like Jeanne D'arc, a woman called a witch. Not to spoil or anything, it's kind of obvious but SPOILER ALERT, the MC, Richard is born..... yet he (its not very clear) is not a girl nor boy, ostracized and hated by his mother who thinks she gave birth to a monster, yet dearly loved by his/her father. (OMG the father daughter relationship is so adorable i want to cri. ) She endlessly trains to become stronger, and is very skilled. She was born into thinking that her life is cursed, and through these dynastic wars, she will encounter new people, new enemies, who either will "fall in love" with her or try to kill her. (In the end of recent chapter you can really tell how messed up some stuff is)
art- 10
Great art, creates a deep, dark feel to it.
character- 69 lol jk (max 10)
how can you not love them. You would end up loving the enemies, everybody.... well except for coughcoughrapistscoughcough or coughcoughevilqueencoughcough or coughevilcoughmothercough. You will love the enemies sometimes. The other king is a true mastepiece..... the king (father) is just. he is awesome. HUGE SPOILER AHEAD cough i feel so sorry for him he COUGH SPOILER died in the hands of a COUGH rachet queen and died in sorrow and regret COUGH because he thought his beloved daughter died COUGH cuz evil queen tricked him COUGH and then in the end of recent chapter she kissedher father's choppedoff headthat was stuck inapole.
enjoyment-infinity man. infinity
I had the best sad deep time reading this. i havent read something as dark as this since happy hours (its ironic but the title makes sense)
overall- (max 10)

Requiem of the Rose King is one of the best manga publishing in English right now, and truly unlike anything else I've read from English manga. I highly recommend it to fans of Shakespeare, LGBT+/queer manga, BL, and/or dark Shoujo like Banana Fish.

This manga is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI and Richard III plays, and while in terms of events it does stick fairly close to what happens in the plays, author Kanno Aya adds in a lot of new material and character interpretations. One of them is that this version of Richard - a physically disabled hunchback in the play - is in this manga, an intersex, Bi trans man. Don't look to this manga for a morally spotless portrayal of LGBT+ characters though - Richard (alongside other men in the manga who are gay/Bi) is both the victim and the villain of this story.

Richard himself is for me atleast the main draw of this manga. He's certainly more sympathetic than the famously villainous Richard in the play, but at the same time Kanno avoids giving one simple explanation of the roots of Richard's evil. The manga strikes an interesting balance of letting us inside Richard's mind and keeping his true nature and motivations mysterious.

One of the other major focuses of this manga is the romance, as expected from a Shoujo manga though in this case most of the romance fits more into BL (originally an off shoot from Shoujo) than the typical straight romance of today's Shoujo.

As mentioned earlier, this manga's version of Richard is Bisexual, so he has love interests of multiple genders. Most of the focus is on gay romance, with a major male love interest for both the 1st and (currently ongoing) 2nd Acts, though there's plenty of options in Richard's harem if you're into shipping ;). As for the romance itself, I found myself emotionally engaged with the main romances, and there's definitely interesting contrasts with the dynamics between Richard and his various love interests. Unlike many romance manga there's also a lot of emphasis, especially from Richard's perspective, on the physical, sensual and in some cases sexual side of things. Many of the official arts and chapter covers are also very striking and sensual too.

The other major aspect of this manga is that this story, like the stage play it is adapting (original full title "The tragedy of King Richard the Third"), is a tragedy. I don't want to give any specific spoilers away, but there are some truly devastating moments that are key turning points for the story, for example vol 2 or vol 7.

The manga has a range of depictions that readers will expect from the time period - violence, murder, sexual assault, and so on - but specific to Richard being trans and intersex, he does receive hostility from people around him due to this and there are some uncomfortable situations involved. While Richard's gender identity as a man is repeatedly affirmed throughout the manga and by the author, there are some times he is drawn in quite a feminine way and/or wearing women's clothes. Neither of these were a problem for me (I think the manga and author handles Richard's queerness in an respectful way) but I mention them in case people looking for LGBT+ manga might be uncomfortable with them.


--Story--

Overall Rose King is more of a character driven manga rather than plot driven, still, the plot moves at a fast enough pace to keep you engaged, there's usually a major event or two per chapter and several per volume. One of the flaws of the manga though is on my first read through I sometimes struggled to follow the story events, without knowing the stage play or much about the real history. The manga lacks a narrator - for example at one point there's a large timeskip but it's not entirely clear exactly how many years have passed or what year the story is now taking place in. I don't think it's a huge issue but it might be a good idea to familiarise yourself with the basics of the history or stage play before reading this.

--Art--

The art is generally very good to excellent. There are some truly striking sequences and memorable imagery at key moments of the manga which compliment the story being told and emotions conveyed wonderfully. Richard himself is also very beautiful and the centre of the art's attention when he's on page - the other men and women who comprise Richard's love interests are pleasing to the eye too. I especially love the chapter covers. (there's an colour Illustration collection for this manga which is worth checking out)

--Characters--

The cast is the strongest draw of this manga. I've already talked about the protagonist Richard, but most of the main cast are interesting and distinctive characters, and its always interesting to watch them play off eachother. Many of the characters end up - like Richard himself - having other sides to them too which can lead to them acting in ways you might not expect.

--Overall--

Requiem of the Rose King can be considered a hidden gem. Perhaps due to the unusual mixture of elements (Dark fantasy, Shakespeare, BL, trans themes, Shoujo) it hasn't been noticed by many, though that might change with the recently announced anime adaptation. But if you're a fan of any of those elements, or just want to read a truly compelling tragedy of a manga, I can't recommend it more highly.

Baraou no Souretsu 9/10

You like manga and William Shakespeare? Well look no further, this time Aya Kanno shows us her skills by taking on the classic play "Richard III" and accompanies it with beautiful illustrations, which make reading and looking at "Baraou no Souretsu" pure joy. It has all the darkness of Shakespeare's play, dirty games of/for thrones, a little love, a little religion, a little scandal, some mysteries - what is Richard? I just love this play, so to be able to read it as manga is amazing. If you aren't familiar with Richard III, it's fine, in the manga the story gets explained well enough. I couldn't stop reading once I started, it's profound as it should be (but also has some light moments) and all those great characters, constantly we are forced to ask ourselves, if this person in front of us, for doing what he does - is evil or just a human like everyone else, aren't we all doing evil things, what is evil anyway?! A soldier that kills to protect someone else? A parent that can't love her child, because she is scared of it? A woman tortured and punished for wanting something seemingly impossible? A story about life, hope, death, loneliness, revenge and so many other things.
If you would like to read something that comes close to perfection, it's Shakespeare's Richard III, a piece of literature, which many other great artists have made plays or movies about (some good some bad) or used as inspiration, but rarely did I enjoy literature that comes in manga format, so Aya thank you for this well done piece of work, something different from typical shoujo or shounen manga, which hopefully won't end too fast :) As a matter of fact, now I want to search for more mangas that are based on Shakespeares plays.

Requiem of the Rose King... has... its problem, story wise with lots of randomly random events and concerning its characters development that can be quite incoherent..... But.....
I just love this manga. As much as I actually understand where people could see bad elements in there... It didn't bother me at all when I was reading it.

As this manga is "inspired" by the "Richard III", Shakespeare theatrical work, so it's not surprising to see the story taking "overly dramatic" routes with lots of emotional conflicts form misunderstanding, stories of betrayal or even some "scenes" etc... But it doesn't try to hide it and just makes it part of the manga "identity", so again : it don't really bother when reading.
Of course this point of view I present, is subjective and as I said I do understand where "Baraou no souretsu" may not seem attractive to people story-wise....

BUT
The ART! The ART is absolutely gorgeous, I can't say I've never seen "better" elsewhere and even much better in term of realism or movement , or lanscape, but the author has such a way with faces and subtility when drawing people. There's a huge gap here compared to her previous works. As if the dramatic tension the story brings just let her transmit more emotions in a new manner.

Even if it were for only this artistic aspect of the manga I'll still truly consider buying every volumes, when I'll be able to.

I didn't really reflect much about the characters and how "good" they are, because as in a real theatrical works, characters are more ones that "undergo" more than "act" and really influence the plot. Apart from 2 or 3 main characters, I have to say most of the cast is actually weak and it doesn't help that many of them are jerks (tho this point does have coherence in the atmosphere the story wants to install, it's just a pesonnal preference).

In the big picture, the manga is enjoyable and despite the light storyline it follows, the author manage to make it up with the atmosphere and the way she deepen her characters with internal or external conflicts beautifully portrayed with the art.