Having finished Sakura Hime, I got the hankering for more Arina Tanemura, so I turned to her three-volume series Time Stranger Kyoko. Like Sakura Hime, Kyoko is a shojo manga about a young woman who is a princess with unusual powers that must use them to save those close to her and reveal her own destiny. Unlike Sakura Hime, however, it lacks true depth and is crowded with characters who have yet to reveal their usefulness. But hey, at least it's fun!

You can read my complete review of TIME STRANGER KYOKO volume one here at my blog. ( )

In the 30th century, all of Earth has come under one rule and Kyoko is the Earth Princess. She has hidden her identity when outside the palace walls in order to allow her to attend school and get to know her subjects. (And because she doesn’t really want the duties of being the Princess…) But now that her 16th birthday is approaching she must step into the role of Earth Princess. That is, unless she can awaken her younger twin who has been in a coma-like sleep for the last 16 years. If Kyoko’s sister wakes up, then Kyoko doesn’t have to be princess, but to achieve her goal Kyoko must learn to master time itself. Artwork is good, but plot and character development are lacking. The reader knows that Kyoko is the princess of a futuristic Earth, that her twin is some sort of sleeping beauty, and that different “tribes” of people exist (i.e. flower tribe, dragon tribe etc), but none of this comes together to form a cohesive story. The premise of this story is very intriguing , but the execution leaves much to be desired. ( )