I've been a fan of genderswapping pants roles since I first studied Shakespeare's Twelph Night in Junior High. From "Mulan" to "She's the Man", the girl, for whatever reason, dons the disguise of a male to blend in or save the day (or both). But one thing is pretty universal in these stories - the girl is wily, strong willed, and eager to prove themselves. This is where "Prince Freya" stands out. Freya is a girly crybaby and happy to be a loved young lady in her small and prosperous village. She isn't looking to better herself, nor is she dissatisfied with her role in the world. It is only by happenstance that she looks remarkably like the prince of her country who is dying from a lethal dose of poison. She only agrees to literally step into his shoes to protect her two 'adoptive brothers' and the people of her village.

Even though this title is aimed at the young and new adult female demographic, it pulls no punches. Back room deals, politicking, class inequality, betrayal, jealousy, and the travesties of war are all blatant and integral to the story. Death is violent and grief is overwhelming. There is definitely more "Yona of the Dawn" than "Sailor Moon" to this Shojo manga. I identified with the characters quickly because they had so much to deal with so quickly, and each of them dealt with it in their own way - rather than cookie-cutter reactions shared by all. Alek's single-minded determination is in sharp contrast to Freya's mental collapse. They both must overcome their own personal weaknesses to grow stronger for the other - and this story has given them many ways that they might accomplish it. I am sincerely looking forward to reading the next volume.

I recommend this series to fans of Robin McKinley, Mizuho Kusanagi, and Tamora Pierce.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Viz Media for granting me an eARC in return for my honest review*

I didn't get to finish this manga before it was archived, but from what I read I enjoyed it. I look forward to getting a copy so I can finish it.

I was presently surprised by this manga. The art is beautifully drawn with a lot of detail. The story was addictive, making me excited to read the next volume.

The story focuses on Freya, a young girl in the country of Tyr. She becomes drawn into the position of impersonating the prince when attack is unleashed upon the empires knight's.

The kingdom's Prince Edvard lays dying, poisoned and the only way to save her country is for her to take his position as the Prince.

I absolutely adore Prince Freya and look forward to following the series. I give it a well earned 5 stars! This is a not to miss series.

Wow. Just wow.
The art.
The storyline.
It's amazing.
This beginning to a new fantasy/romance series blew my mind and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Freya is a crybaby (girl) who would do anything for her "brothers" Aaron and Aleksi. Even pretend to be the Prince to save them and their Kingdom from an upcoming war.
How will she do it?
The intrigue, suspense, and mystery that follows will have you flipping the pages.
I need Vol. 2 now!

I could definitely see this Manga getting better with each installment.

Freya is a caught in a position where she has to serve her country because she looks just like the Prince that died. She suffers great loss and a major crossroads in her life. Freya needs to pull herself together in order to pull off the disguise and deception.

Sad so far, and just the beginning of a court intrigue, with war looming around the corner.

This manga was interesting and I’ll be honest not what I was expecting but something I enjoyed. I’ll continue with volume two when that comes out. I really liked the friendship aspect as well!

Prince Freya is basically a Nordic gender bender manga. Yeah, it sounds amazing right? It kinda was. Freya, a bit of a crybaby who grows up jumping out of trees in the mountains, replaces the prince of a country because they look so much alike. Let’s not forget the male harem of knights she has. It’s a good read that is worth continuing if you can get over the crying. That is the one thing that kept getting to me was how much she cried. I understand that she was grieving for both her life and Aaron’s, but come on, it was almost the whole book that she was in tears. I was only able to read through the book because I like the core of the story and was praying she did something more. I was rewarded by the last page of the book and hope it continues with rest of the series.
I would recommend Prince Freya to others especially if you are into other worlds, Nordic myths, knights, and some romance. There are currently some good webtoons out there that could prove to be great read-a-likes such as As You Wish, Prince and Beatrice. So if you like those webtoons, you may like Prince Freya.

I liked this but I didn't love it. While I thought the story was good, I also felt it was fairly typical. I loved the concept of a female stepping in to the "role" of the Prince, I desperately wish that Freya had been a stronger female lead character. However, there is room for personal growth for her and I do hope to see that. I absolutely feel that there is untapped potential here, so I will be checking out more volumes of this series. I did love the artwork featured in this book and much of it quite stunning.

As a first volume, it feels run-of-the-mill shoujo fantasy - "weak" girl pitted to save a fallen, or soon-to-be, world with a group of handsome men on her side. It is not bad, however, the development of Freya is minimal as it leans more into the emotional stakes Freya experiences - losing her best friend, home life, and - minutely - her identity - than of Freya. While it provides interesting topics and points of view such as surrendering one's own identity for the good of the country, the delivery either feels standard or brief. For me, the world-building and character development could be more fleshed out and I hope to see more of it in the next volume.

I found this manga to be meh. I mean I probably would have liked it when I was younger but this story just wassn't as interesting to me right now.

i know a few people who would love this book so i have recommend it to them .

Beautiful artwork and an interesting story line.. The artwork reminds me of older shoujo titles from the 70's and 80's. I'm curious to see where the story goes next!

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Freya is a village girl whose foster brothers go to fight for the prince. When the prince is poisoned, Freya steps in to replace him. Can she stop being so sensitive and emotional and become the prince she is needed to be?

I’m enjoying seeing Freya’s character grow as she tries to imitate the prince. I haven’t become attached to the other characters the way I probably should, but I am looking forward to seeing where the next volume takes them.

There were definitely some cheesy aspects about this manga, but, surprise, it got gory. I liked the juxtaposition of tone that this manga gave us. And I really like that our protagonist, Freya, is meek and a cry-baby, but you can tell she is going to get stronger as the series goes on. It wasn't a perfect five stars, but I can't wait for the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Good book, I love Manga that has a strong female presence. I was drawn to the character - it was a fast read but one that drew me in quickly

This was my first medieval manga and I really loved it. I am really excited to see where this series will go and will definitely be continuing.

I loved the main character Freya. She is quite flawed and there is a lot of room for some character development. I feel like her arc will be really satisfying to watch unfold. I did enjoy all the other characters but was left disappointed when they got hardly any page time in comparison to the main character and the over-arching plotline. I know we will definitely get more from these characters throughout the next couple volumes but it left me not caring so much in this volume and certain scenes lost there impact on me.

This style of storytelling really reminds me of some classic manga/anime and I am here for it.

I would definitely pick this one up if you like the sound of it, it has such great potential to be amazing as the story develops and moves on.

Such a story, I can't wait to read more and see the adventures that Freya gets into.
The art was fun, the characters interesting, the story interesting, I didn't want to put it down!

My thanks to Viz Media for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Prince Freya: Vol 1’ by Keiko Ishihara in exchange for an honest review. It was translated and adapted from the Japanese by Emi Louie-Nishikawa. It is due to be published in a digital edition on 7 April and in paperback in mid-May 2020.

‘To save her kingdom, a simple village girl must live a royal lie.’

The small, though resource rich, kingdom of Tyr is under threat from the powerful kingdom of Sigurd that has been slowly conquering its neighbouring lands. Central to Tyr’s survival is its Prince and his loyal knights.

Freya is a simple village girl but her life is changed forever following a treacherous Sigurdian plot to kill her country’s beloved Prince Edvard. Freya bears a striking resemblance to the prince and is convinced to take his place and lead his valiant knights in defence of the realm. Freya is a shy girl who for the sake of the kingdom must rise to the challenge.

I don’t read much manga though I understand that this particular type is meant to be a romantic fantasy. Its setting is medieval European and is full of impossibly beautiful characters.

I found the artwork delicate and ethereal though it didn’t look finished, apart from the cover, which is stunning. I am uncertain if the final product will be more polished though should be able to sample it before posting my final review on date of publication.

In keeping with the original Japanese comic format, this is to be read from right to left, not only pages but action, sound effects, and word balloons. It took me a little while to adjust my perception. The last page has a handy template to demonstrate how to scan each page.

As it is the first in a series, it’s hard to say much about the content, apart from feeling that the idea of a sheltered village girl stepping into the role of a prince is an intriguing one! I certainly am interested to see how Keiko Ishihara develops Freya’s story in subsequent volumes.i

Edit: Today I accessed a sample of its final edition and the artwork in the body of the text in grey scale is exquisite. I have thus amended my rating upward.

*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*

Prince Freya is a wonderful beginning to a story about a girl who finds her confidence and strength in becoming a warrior prince.

Before receiving this arc, Prince Freya has been on my list for a while as initially, the cover caught my eye. Whilst covers definitely don't make the book, it certainly does add to it in terms of manga, as it give us a sneak peek at the art inside. Indeed, the art style of Ishihara is stunning, impactful and reminiscent of manga back in the 90's. The second and final thing that hooked me was the synopsis as I do love a good 'commoner pretends to be royalty due to a coincidental resemblance' story, I mean who doesn't? The instant I read the blurb, I immediately thought that it was like 'Yona of the Dawn meets Mulan' and it was at that moment did I decide that I would request for it.

Firstly, as I started reading, I found the story to be compelling, albeit a little fast paced as I felt like at times I wasn't given enough time to fully process the details. Timing is everything within a manga since the panels are quite limited, and although I felt rushed at times, it wasn't a big issue. I would have just preferred more time getting to know the characters initially before they were thrown into conflict.

Since this is only the first volume, instead of focusing on world building, Ishihara emphasized the character's roles, which I highly praised as at times mangas tend to 'info dump' within the first few pages. The characters of Prince Freya provided us a good introduction to who we would be spending our time with in future volumes. Freya is shown as a weak crybaby who depends on everyone as she can barely take care of herself, and whilst usually characters like her would annoy me, I found it quite fitting within the plot line. Introducing Freya as nothing but a common girl who cries too much, and who's suddenly thrown into the royal spotlight is absolutely perfect, as it gives us more room to grow and to definitely make an impact once she undergoes through character development.

Aaron, one of the Princes' knights is a secondary character, and whilst he was supposed to be this kind-hearted man who at times flirted with our protagonist, I found him to be quite flat and I wasn't really interested in his character. He felt a little bit generic that I found myself skimming through his parts. On the other hand, his brother, Aleksi was definitely more interesting and was more dynamic in terms of his dialogue, motivations and overall personality. In fact, he just might be my favourite character out of everyone, as I found his mysteriousness and goals intriguing.

Another character we were introduced to is another one of the Prince's knights, Julius. Although we don't get much information about him, apart from that he is loyal to none other than the Prince himself, Julius provides us enough to want to get to know him. With his charm and sudden seriousness, Julius could definitely become a fan-favourite—especially with those luscious locks and captivating gaze.

In conclusion, despite the rushed plot and the flatness of a certain character, I can definitely see how this manga can do extremely well and achieve great heights. Freya's story had just started, and I cannot wait to see her journey play out and watch her not only become Prince Edvard, but find her own version of it to ultimately become Prince Freya.

Received Copy via NetGalley.
I Give this Manga >Book 1 a 2.5/5 Star Rating, Listing as 2.
This one was really had to concentrate on, super fast and confusing. Couldn’t Click with this one.

3.5 stars

This is from the Shojo Beat line of manga from VIZ Media, so obviously it is pitched more as a romance series, and there are certainly hints to that here. At the very beginning it definitely seemed like it was going to almost immediately go into love triangle territory, which frankly was going to annoy me. But then it made me wonder if this was going to end up being like a reverse-harem story, with a bunch of guys all interested in one girl, because your typical harem manga is a bunch of girls interested in the main guy. I don’t exactly know if this story is going to end up going that way or not. I guess future volumes will answer that question.

Freya is a fairly weak main character. She doesn’t know how to do a whole lot, and she always seems to break down and cry. It could have been frustrating, but I also definitely realize that this gives her so much room to grow and learn and get stronger, so I’m very much hoping to see that start to happen as the story progresses.

Right now she’s pretty much been dumped into the position of pretending to be Prince Edvard of Tyr to protect those she cares about (and the rest of the nation) from the threat of the neighboring kingdom of Sigurd.

This is a pretty decent starting volume for the series. I mean, yes, I have read stronger first volumes, but with me giving this 3.5 stars, I’m intrigued enough to want to pick up the second volume. That will be the deciding factor for me; if I enjoy the second volume even a little bit more, then this will be a series I will add to my release schedule.

For now I can say that I read it pretty quickly, I thought the art style was nice and well executed, and I’m curious enough to at least check out the next installment of the story.