Rose of the Rhine

With Rose of the Rhine, Megumu Minami once again draws us into her world of rich pattern and lush detail, reminiscent of her previous work licensed by Media Blasters, Pleasure Dome, but with less emphasis on the achingly detailed sexual content and more focus on characters and story. Where Pleasure Dome only hinted at epic love stories between hardcore sex scenes, Rose of the Rhine takes on characters in the epic poems "The Sagas of Dietrich," related to the well-known epic poems "The Songs of the Nibelungs." These ancient Germanic poems of the 5th and 6th centuries tell the tales of the legendary warriors Dietrich and Siegfried - quite an unusual subject for a modern Japanese mangaka to tackle. Megumu Minami re-imagines a few of the tales of King Dietrich of Bern as a long-developing love story between Dietrich and his closest adviser, Hildebrand, who teaches and guides the young king toward becoming a great ruler.

The story of Dietrich and Hildebrand is told through three different points in their relationship, out of chronological order. The first tale shows Dietrich challenged to a duel with the legendary warrior Siegfried, who, having been dipped in dragon's blood as a baby, could not be killed. Initially, Dietrich, who is a generally bored and apathetic king, thinks nothing of the challenge. Only his advisor, Hildebrand, realizes the importance of Dietrich standing up for his nation's honor, and rides off to participate in the duel himself. Dietrich chases after his trusted advisor, but still does not take the tournament seriously, until he believes Hildebrand is mortally wounded. Only then does he fight with his true strength, and then realizes his true feelings for Hildebrand.

The other two episodes of Dietrich and Hildebrand become a bit confusing as they are told partially in flashback and partially in the present, after they have admitted their feelings. The emotions between the pair are shown to have been brewing since Dietrich's first adventure, but throughout the timeline, Hildebrand holds back for reasons that are not entirely clear. Dietrich must overcome his apathy not only to become a good king, but also to Hildebrand how he really feels.

The emotion between the couple is never in question, portrayed through meaningful looks and beautiful, lingering kisses. Minami-sensei's high fantasy art style suits the tale of an epic and ancient love very well with beautiful details, flowing hair and swinging swords, but her storytelling ability leaves something to be desired. The plot is quite bare, and aside from the actual tournament, rarely seems to really be going anywhere. Timelines become crossed and muddled during flashbacks, making it difficult to tell just where Dietrich and Hildebrand are in their relationship. Most regrettably of all, Rose of the Rhine contains none of the kinky, hardcore sex one might expect after having read Minami's Pleasure Dome. When Dietrich and Hildebrand embrace and kiss, the emotion is beautiful and true, but the more adult scenes are brief and far between and lack any real intimate detail.

Without a doubt, the best parts of Rose of the Rhine are the supporting characters of Dietrich's royal guard - one of which bears a strange resemblance to the video game Final Fantasy VII's hero Cloud. The trio of soldiers act as a sort of dramatic chorus, explaining events of the epic poem to the audience and giving insight into Dietrich and Hildebrand's character. They are adorably devoted to their king, and Minami-sensei makes them look especially sweet in chibi and super-deformed versions when surprised or embarrassed.

Rose of the Rhine also contains an unrelated story about a Yakuza heir and a young man who he takes in, but the story is confusing and lacking in the rich imagery of the Dietrich and Hildebrand stories. At the end of the manga, Media Blasters has translated an explanation of the epic poems on which the manga is based, written in Minami-sensei's own words, which helps illuminate her fascination for the story and characters.

While it's not as intricately beautiful as fellow fantasy manga The Crimson Spell, nor as explicitly detailed as Minami's other volume Pleasure Dome, Rose of the Rhine stands fairly well on its own, mostly on the strength of Minami-sensei's pretty, delicate fantasy/historical artwork and her obvious fascination with the subject matter. Prolonged storytelling may not be the mangaka's forte, but for fans of the all-too-rare fantasy BL manga, Rose of the Rhine is a very pretty exploration of the possibilities of an ancient, epic relationship.