Cute shojo manga
From Amazon
Cute little shojo manga about a girl looking for her lost sweetheart in an elite cooking school. She struggles to fit in and make her mark. Sweet story about overcoming obstacles. Average art and storytelling; includes recipes.
Wonderfully Warm and Cute
From Amazon
You want to know the summary, read Amazon. These are my own feelings.
This series is a nice addition to the world of shojo. Najika's warm personality doesn't go too overboard (she has moments of frantic energetic-ness and even poutiness), making her a fun, relatable heroine. Both love interests are worthy of our heroine's affections, and her rival is interesting and multi-dimensional as well.
In this series, the author has created a multi-dimensional world just off the beaten path of reality. The cooking motif really glues the story together nicely, and it's not played off as a "females belong in the kitchen" sort of thing: Najika really loves to cook and has a purpose for her cooking.
Beautifully illustrated (same manga-ka as Zodiac P.I.) and easy to follow. If you want something warm and sweet and undeniably shojo, grab Kitchen Princess.
Don't judge this book by the cover!
From Amazon
From the title and the cover, I thought this was going to be some socially backwards Stepford-wife-in-training manga. I was wrong. In actuality, the story is about an orphan girl who discovers her extraordinary talent for taste and cooking. In some cases she proves herself as good if not better than professional chefs of Tokyo.
The story emphasises the meaning of having a strong and compassionate heart, caring for others, and selflessness. From making colorful soda for others on a hot day, to baking a pie for a friend with an eating disorder, KP touches alot of bases with food :) Great manga. I recommend it for all ages.
Finding Her Prince
From Amazon
The Amazon review covered the plot really well so I'm just going to give some of my impressions after reading. Alright, I picked up Kitchen Princess unsure of what to expect and ended up being really happy I purchased it! KP may rely on some typical shoujo plot devices, but it still manages to feel fresh and cute. The emphasis on cooking was great. Najika uses her kitchen skills to make others happy in a sweet, non-sappy way. The art was fitting for the story. I personally enjoy Natsumi Ando's style. Her characters are all attractive with a wide range of expressions and poses. The backgrounds are well- rendered and are more detailed then I've seen in other shoujo lately. And the food looked delicious ^_^
Del Rey hasn't done a lot of (if any) shoujo, so I was really happy to see them publish this. The translation reads nicely and I didn't spot any obvious spelling errors. In the back they included their standard translators notes and a preview for volume 2. Also included in the back of the book are recipes! You can find out how to make all the tasty treats Najika made.
In the end, Kitchen Princess was a really enjoyable book. If you like shoujo, KP is a great title to add to you collection. It's cute with good art and a lot of promise for future volumes (I can't wait to find out who her prince is!).