[101 Manga in 2011] Shirogane no Ou - A King Who Doesn't Want Protecting Hires a Bodyguard

Silvern Kingdom

By Aoto Takane

Mercenary: I'm just a wandering mercenary when suddenly...
Lady: You're a bodyguard, aren't you? *drags him to the fight* Get rid of those bastards!!!
Long-Haired Dude: How did you get in this mess? *surrounded by thugs along with the mercenary*
Mercenary: I have no idea.
Long-Haired Dude: Ah, whatever. Your fault for getting yourself involved in this.
Mercenary: Huh?
*they defeat all the thugs*
Long-Haired Dude: You're pretty good. You should be my bodyguard.
Mercenary: Err... okay.
Long-Haired Dude: I only have one rule: DON'T DIE.
Mercenary: Err... okay.
*Mercenary does his job*
Long-Haired Dude: IDIOT! Protect yourself! Don't worry about me!
Mercenary: But isn't protecting you part of the job description?
Long-Haired Dude: EXACTLY!

RATING: C+ (NOT BAD!)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE

The story may be mainly about a king and his relationship with his servants, especially to the bodyguards, but generally it's more about what the king should be like... and why he's worth protecting.

I'm pretty impressed.

I like how it emphasized that the king shouldn't be the type to just desire to have power over his people, but should shoulder a very big responsibility: He protects his kingdom, for that reason his life is so valuable and thus, worth protecting.

It focused more on the king's physical strength though, not much on other aspects for someone in royalty like wisdom, charisma, etc. Not that he doesn't possess such, but still, the "protecting" part had been pretty literal, ehehe.

Speaking of the protection stuff, the bodyguard is being rescued by the king quite often that he seemed useless most of the time. He's a nice fellow, but if he's going to be that gullible and that much of a burden until the end, it felt like he was only there for the sake of having a replacement to the king's most treasured bodyguard, who... well, died.

The death of the earlier bodyguard had been the main highlight and trigger for most of the drama and angst in this series... and the more I learn about the previous bodyguard, the more it becomes annoying. (I mean, I GET IT!!! You're butthurt, everyone's butthurt about it, some people cause the butthurt, so stop talking about it in almost freakin' chapter, groar)

Fortunately, it had ended before the last chapter. If it gets dragged on for too long, I don't think I could stand it anymore.

The twists here have been nice though... but majority had been really predictable. But for a series with cliches, it's actually sick of its own cliches, that it has become a tool for humor:

It was lame though... but at least it's aware of it and has no intention of making it seem cool.

Speaking of flaws, my biggest complain on this is its lack of background on the characters and the settings. We barely know anything about the characters (what's the bodyguard's name? how was the king chosen by the pelt?), and don't get to see much of the supporting characters that have showed up. It was really a waste, they have been fun and interesting characters. My favorite's the king's advisor, hehe.

(It's not what you think it is, perverts xD)

There are some things that don't make sense or feel inconsistent in this too. I find it very strange why none of the characters had any amount of shock from meeting a talking pelt (it's a magical city, I know, but that's the only talking nonliving creature so far.. so it has to be uncommon even in their place!). Another thing is that the king was already chosen, and is already acting as one, ... but how come he isn't coronated yet? Maybe I just don't get it but... it's really not very clear most of the time.

This series may not be as fantastic as it appears, but it's still pretty impressive. I'm happy that it didn't focus too much on the "protecting bodyguards" theme, because I almost felt like reading a shoujo manga wherein the bodyguard heroine is assigned to protect her rich love interest. Overall, it's not bad.

Before I forget, I just have to mention one of the coolest parts about this series:

THE ART ON THE ACTION SCENES... they're not one of the best, but still, drawn awesomely xD