Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen - Giving Up Love for the Sake of Peace

Peace At Any Price / Absolute Peace Strategy

By Ogura Akane

Johanne: I, a Prince of the North, want to marry the Southern Princess.
Yuda: Everyone, please let us be together. I love him soooo much.
People: We don't want our prince/princess to be sad. We'll stop fighting so the two of you could get married~
*when the couple's finally alone*
Johanne: They fell for it! Awesome~
Yuda: Let go of my hand already, idiot!
Johanne: What did you say, shortie?
Yuda: *kicks*

RATING: B+ (IMPRESSIVE!)
FAVORITISM: 4 Hearts ---> ADORATION (4.5 Hearts to Johanne xD)

Most shoujo manga that deal with royalties usually don't bother to bring focus to the political aspects when ruling a country... simple because its target audience will most likely find it complicated. Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen, on the other hand, provides you with the usual shoujo fluff... but it mixes its story with serious political issues... yet it remains a lighthearted story that even the young ones could relate and enjoy~

The idea of two royalties willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their country is what had drawn me into this series. Royalties may have the respect and the wealth of the kingdom, but as rulers of a nation they're also slaves of the people. I'm pleased when royalties do their job and think about their countrymen before themselves and their selfish desires.

(Almost like a fairy tale~)

What the people want and think matter. Any action a royalty makes could affect the behavior of their people. If behaving appropriately is already quite a challenge, what more if they become victims of betrayals and scandals (Yes, they're like celebrities)?! They don't only need to watch out for their lives, but also for their dignity and reputation. They need to be careful on who to trust, because anyone could be an individual with political agendas and aspiring to gain power and wealth.

(Scandalous)

Their role is that crucial! Being a prince or a princess is not simply about falling in love then get married and live happily ever after.

Yes, this series is more than just about royalties pretending to be lovers for the sake of peace. Attaining what they wish for wasn't resolved that easily. They had undergone so many trials, to bring peace to their countries... and to be together.

I find this romantic; I prefer how Johanne fell in love than with how Yuda did though. Johanne is a war hero, and he doesn't deny that he loves the battlefield. But in his playground he sees a royalty like him doing the opposite of what he does... and that made him curious about her. He just finds her interesting at first but when he saw her smile, he realizes that he'd rather see smiles than see corpses. He fell in love with her, but it also lead him to self-realization... on what he truly wants. Thanks to his brain, he has thought of a plan wherein he could get both of the things that he wants (the girl and peace in his country)... which is to marry her~ Oh so sweet~

(Johanne in love~)

Yuda, on the other hand, only realized that she likes him back after his many advances and the many times he rescued her. Meh.

If you find the series very repetitive, then she is to blame. She is soooooo freakin' tsundere to him that it was getting annoying. So many of the chapters end with her running away from him, hitting him, or calling him an idiot. *sigh*

(It's cute and funny but still... aaarrrgghh)

What I can't stand is the constant rescuing. Well, fine, it's not always like that, but there are still so many times with Johanne rescuing Yuda... even on something as simple as losing her balance (oh this is so freakin' cliche). I can understand a princess being in danger often, but why is it ALWAYS Johanne who does the rescuing? Doesn't she have a bodyguard (How the hell could a royalty not have one? She's not poor!)? Well, she was walking alone in a war zone before she met Johanne yet she hadn't been in danger until the time when Johanne was around so that he could rescue her! Aaaarrrggghhh..........

The mangaka was obviously overdoing the rescue thing. It was honestly sickening.

It's true that Yuda, unlike other damsels-in-distress, is capable of attending to medical care at least. But aside from that specialty, her kindness, and lover for her country, she's generally useless. She says so herself that all she could do was talk, while Johanne takes responsibility, goes through the risks, and does the job. Johanne does everything while her role is just to make him happy or entertain him. Blegh... I'm so disappointed with this princess. She could've had charisma at least... there is power in words but she hadn't been using her brains T_T... she was just ordering people to do something to stop the war. (I do not count what she said to Jeremiah in the last chapter. I think Jeremiah would still have done the same even without her "triggering" him)

But even if Yuda had so many qualities which I find annoying, I don't hate her. I admire her saintly attitude; whether you're an enemy or not... she will heal you. Even though she's quite useless, at least she tries not to be... and does the best of what she can do. Moreover, she's really adorable and funny. My favorite of their romantic moments is the diary exchange thing. She wrote an essay about peace instead of a normal diary entry at first... which was so cute! Hahahaha! Oh I really loved the moments when Johanne teases her.... they're so hilarious! Hahahahaha!

(The diary thing made him so happy that he cried, LOLz)

The couple's so charming, and the rest of the cast is great too! Too bad the series focused too much on the main couple in terms of character development. Its supporting cast is also fantastic... it would've been nice if we were able to get to know more about them. I'm saddest with Johanne's sister... she's a tough chick... but she also seemed to be just props/extra in the story x_x And why the hell did Johanne's subordinates only get a big role (and have their names revealed?) in the last chapter (or my memory just failed me)? Uggghh... such a waste. Johanne and Yuda took too much of the pages =_=

(My favorite part.... killer in drags... I'm not sure if this is supposed to make me thrilled or laugh xD)

Overall, despite the lack of development on the supporting cast and the numerous typical fluffy shoujo cliches, this series had been more than just a love story. Its focus hadn't been entirely on romance; neither has been as simple as it appears. It was about love and peace, literally. Highly recommended to those who look forward to reading a unique and enjoyable medieval romance~