Duck Prince Book 1: Transformation - Softcover

Morinaga, Ai

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586649310 ISBN 13: 9781586649319

Publisher: CPM Manga, 2004

Synopsis

In reality, an ugly duckling could never become a beautiful swan. However, when a short ugly boy makes a wish to be reborn beautiful, his wish is granted and he becomes a gorgeous young man that all the girls fall for. Will being beautiful be everything that he hoped it would be?

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Reiichi Swan—called "Helmet" by his attractive older sisters—is short, homely and the sole member of his school’s garden club. That is, while intelligent and good-hearted, he’s a complete social outcast. Reiichi is infatuated with sweet, beautiful Yumiko Ito, who happens to be the only other student at his school interested in plants. But Yumiko is moving to America with her family—as soon as she can find her lost dog, Mister. While recovering the dog for his crush, Reiichi is hit by a car and falls into a coma. A year later, he awakens as a tall, gorgeous ladies’ man with enough popularity to spark garden club membership. Armed with social tips from his popular sisters, Reiichi enters high school and discovers Yumiko has returned—but Mister now considers him a romantic rival. Morinaga’s story boasts a strong hook: Reiichi’s transformation from ugly duckling to swan. Unfortunately, rather than really exploring the premise (for example, can one man, no matter how good-looking, really make a garden club cool?), Morinaga opts for easy drama, throwing in lusty teachers, evil sorcerers and talking dogs who know martial arts. As an artist, Morinaga shows a high level of competence, with clean line-work, and his distinct characters show emotion without heavy reliance on exaggerated facial features.
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From School Library Journal:

Grade 10 Up–The Ugly Duckling gets a manga update in this retelling. Reiichi is bespectacled, bookish, and built like a bobble-head doll. His schoolmates abuse him, he embarrasses his sisters, and even his mother criticizes him for the pain his oversized head caused her during birth. Only one person appreciates him for who he is, his beautiful friend Yumiko. Smitten, Reiichi can't say no when she asks for his help in finding her lost dog. Unfortunately, he is hit by a car while he is saving Mister. On the upside, the thankful animal turns out to be a magical human prince under a sorcerer's spell and grants her wish for beauty. Following a yearlong coma, the teen (now a new-wave heartthrob) has moved to a new school to begin afresh. In a twist of fate, Yumiko has also switched schools. Of course, difficulties abound due to his deception, and the book ends when Yumiko, curious about the many similarities between her old friend and her new one, decides to try to locate her old friend. It's hard to know the audience for this book, which has a silliness and simplicity appealing to younger readers, yet can also be quite bawdy. While it is too silly to be taken seriously, the story's humor does succeed where the drama fails, and with fun and lively artwork, it will certainly find fans.–Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Libraries, Ontario, Canada

About this edition

• Publisher: CPM Manga
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1586649310
• ISBN 13: 9781586649319
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176