Demographic: Shoujo
Age: Teen
[xrr rating=4/5]
The Earl and the Fairy is a story set in Victorian England. Lydia Carlton is a 17 year old fairy doctor (someone who can see and talk to fairies). She doesn’t seem to have any friends except for a talking cat and most people around her are freaked out by the fact that she consistently talks to herself (they cannot see the fairies). When she sets off to go visit her father in London, she gets kidnapped by Edgar Ashenbert otherwise known as “the blue knight count”.
Shoujo mangas can easily become cliche and while the Earl and the Fairy does have it’s cliche moments, it surprisingly has a lot of action and mystery. The volume definitely keeps you interested in what is going to happen next, and has it’s fill of unexpected turns. Most of the characters seem complex and while you do learn about some of their backstories, I have a feeling that theres more to these characters than what this volume gives us. Unfortunately, Lydia seems like a very flat character. I found myself annoyed by her inner thoughts and reasonings.
This manga also has British folklore injected into it. I don’t have much knowledge on British folklore, but it makes me want to read up on it and see how well the manga translates that. Overall, this shoujo is refreshing in its originality and I’m actually more interested in the plot line than the “romance”.
The Earl and the Fairy was released on March 6, 2012 and is available here: