Her Majesty's Dog

Title:  Her Majesty's Dog
Japanese Title:  Joou-sama no Inu
Mangaka:  Mick Takeuchi
Length:  11 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes.  All released by Go! Comi.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Romance/Comedy

How did I hear about it?  It was recommended by an otaku friend.

Amane comes from a clan that possesses the kotodama, or power through words.  While all in her clan have spiritual powers, only the most prominent of members can use the kotodama, and Amana is the granddaughter of the village chief.  With the kotodama, if Amane knows the true name of a person or creature, she can control it.  Everyone in her clan has a demon familiar by their side, their koma-oni, that feeds off of their life force.  Amane's koma-oni is a dog demon named Hyoue whom she "feeds" through kissing.  As she and Hyoue leave their isolated village to sample the "normal" life for a while, they deal with spiritual problems of both the living and the dead.  This being a shoujo, Hyoue's devotion goes beyond familiar to master.  He has developed forbidden feelings for his human companion.  Even though she is far from her clan, Amane can't escape her responsibilities as signs of a traitor within the family soon reach the two of them.

I wasn't crazy about the art.  It wasn't bad, so I don't think it would be fair to say that I disliked it.  It just seemed a little dated.

Don't be fooled by the cheesy title and cover art.  This was a really fun read.  It was sweet and funny, then later developed into something a little more substantial than that.  I really liked both Amane and Hyoue.  If you've been reading my reviews, you've probably figured out that I'm not usually keen on shoujo heroines.  They typically have a few traits that can be a bit grating.  Amane has "naive" down to a T, but where she really shines is her humor.  It's perhaps not Amane's humor, but more the style with which Takeuchi-sensei wrote her.  Amane is ditsy and naive, which is usually a big turn-off for me.  What makes her work is that she's also serious.  She rarely smiles at all throughout the series, and her lines are delivered completely straight-faced.  She tends to take things literally, which only adds to her deadpan humor.  Despite her denseness, she's quite mature and has a big heart.  It made her a pleasure to read.

Hyoue is a pretty standard tsundere character, so natually I loved him.  He teases Amane and can give her a hard time sometimes, but he's truly completely devoted to her and doesn't hesitate to put himself between her and danger.  I loved the dilemma between the two of them.  I feel like there aren't enough shoujo out there where it's the boy who first realizes his feelings.  His feelings for Amane are often the butt of Takeuchi-sensei's jokes, but eventually, it does take a turn for the serious.  Hyoue's feelings are absolutely forbidden, and even if there was nothing standing between them, what kind of relationship could form between a mortal being and a demon of great longevity?  Interesting, very interesting.

This was a fun read for this shoujo fan.  It was the perfect balance of heavy and light, and all wrapped in a nice fantasy package.  I haven't started collecting it yet, but I'm planning on it as soon as I finish up one of the series that I'm working on now.  I wish this review could be a little longer and more detailed, but it's hard to write about something I read so long ago.  Maybe I'll update this after I collect it and refresh my memory.  This is another series that makes me wish I had done a half star system.  It's more a 5 than a 4 though, I suppose...