Not for me.

Wolf Girl and Black Prince fell on my radar as I got an email regarding the anime adaptation being super popular right now, and I decided to order the first volume for my library manga collection. Upon reading it, I’m confused about why the anime adaptation is so popular. I’m wondering if the anime has been modernized, as my main complaint about Wolf Girl and Black Prince is that it feels horrifically dated.

Much of this book reads like something straight out of 2002, which makes sense as that’s when it was initially published. The text is a bit dated, and the entire synopsis is as well, though I can give the excuse that it’s a manga. That being said, this reads like an incredibly tedious story. Erika is a high school student who is constantly trying to look good in front of her friends. The first issue comes here, where it is honestly confusing as to why Erika even wants to be friends with these girls. They’re rude and talk badly about everyone around them and judge everyone by what their boyfriends look like and how sexy they are. They’re kind of the worst. Yet, with the hope of getting on their good sides, Erika makes up a fake boyfriend that’s super hot and into sexual things her friends discuss, without realizing she’s picked one of the most handsome and untouchable boys in school. She admits to him what she’s done, and he agrees to pretend to be her boyfriend, but only if she agrees to be her dog and follow his commands.

Kyoya, the boyfriend in question, is a piece of shit. He’s boring as hell, and clearly, his whole tough guy aesthetic is supposed to melt away the more he is around Erika as he begins to fall for her, but he is so infuriating to read about; it just made me want to give up on the volume. He’s condescending and cocky, speaks down to Erika all the time, and tries to remind her that he’s doing her a favor, so she should give in to all his requests. It’s so awkward to read in the year 2023, and perhaps I can’t give this a fair review because of it, but I also cannot ignore it. Nothing about this was enjoyable for me, and I found myself cringing and being thrilled most of what I read was no longer like this series.

Title: Wolf Girl and the Black Prince (Vol 1)
Author: Ayuko Hatta

Format: Paperback
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781974737529

Three Descriptors: Dated, Amusing, Over the top