Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

As Crown of Love, Vol. 2 begins, Rima struggles as she prepares for the entrance exams for Hakuo High School, the prestigious school that Kumi already attends.  Rima accepts Kumi’s assistance and his old study notes.  Meanwhile, two other young women vie for Kumi’s attentions.  First is his classmate, Yurie Takezawa, who is ready to confront Rima over Kumi.  Then, there’s Akira Chidori, a former child star who has returned to show business.  She’s crazy about Kumi, and they’re about to star in a commercial teaser for an upcoming video game.

THE LOWDOWN:  The beautiful art by creator Yun Kouga is enough to attract many readers to Crown of Love.  Kouga does much of the storytelling using the characters with little if any background art, so Kouga’s figure drawing, with its lively line work, is perfect.  You’d be forgiven for believing that these still figures actually seem to be moving.  The characters are the stars, and there are so many of them.  This is an ensemble that gives just about every character a large amount of room to perform before us, and they give engaging performances.  This crown is built of excellent characters.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers of Shojo Beat high school romance and drama will like Crown of Love.

A-