First Impressions - Shinobi Life

Shinobi Life is a small gem I came across recently on someone's Amazon Listmania List. The story begins at a point in history, when a ninja named Kagetora devotes his life to protecting the princess of his land known as Beni-Hime. During an attack on his beloved princess, Kagetora is thrown into a nearby lake, and ends up falling through water into the sky in another time. As he falls he sees who he thinks is Beni-Hime, being held at knife point. His awesome ninja skills kick in and he is able to save Beni from her kidnapper. Kagetora believes himself to be protecting the princess, and modern day Beni, who has already been the subject of numerous kidnappings, thinks he's a bodyguard hired by her rich father. The Beni of modern times is flattered by the devotion of her new bodyguard. As the story progresses, Beni travels back in time herself, and meets the princess Beni-Hime, her ancestor. Kagetora's feelings get confused, because he realizes he is now developing emotions for the new Beni, and poor Beni just wants Kagetora to love her for herself and not think of her as Beni-Hime.

Though the plot in this series is far-fetched, the relationship between the two protagonists is what makes this story engrossing. Kagetora is like every girl's fantasy hero, so it's no wonder Beni falls in love with him quickly. The chemistry drawn between the two sparks off the page. It has that heart aching awww factor that a shojo fan lives for. As for the artwork, Conami scores high in my book. She uses the right mix of chibi and realism, and some scenes are just beautiful.

I can't wait to see the rest of this one. Hurry up with the releases, Tokyopop! :)