Blade of the moon princess vol 1 by tatsuya endo

Kaguya is headstrong, defiant, and certainly not the prim-and-proper princess her mother would hope she would be. But, with the queen's failing health and enemies closing in on all sides to steal the sacred Moon Blade, the queen decides to perform the ascension ceremony and pass the torch down to her upstart daughter. Their enemies had other ideas, however, and the ceremony is beset with attackers, causing them to evacuate and send Kaguya to Tainted World alone. But Earth isn't what Kaguya thought it would be, and she still has to stay ahead of her pursuers who are trying desperately to steal back the Moon Blade and wrest control of the Moon Kingdom from Kaguya's family.

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This is a bit of a departure from Endo's other works, somewhere in between Tista and Spy x Family, but it also gives me some remnants of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers. The beginning half of this story on the Moon Kingdom was quite engrossing, but there was a huge tone shift when Kaguya gets to Earth and the planet is far more primitive than the futuristic society she's used to. I felt Kaguya's culture shock with her, which was a great bit of storytelling. Readers looking for the humor that Endo peppers throughout Spy x Family won't find much here as this story has more commentary on humanity and societies and how we treat one another, so there is less room for humor overall.

Aside from some bloody violence, this title would be fine for middle and high school shelves. 

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781974738656 (Paperback)

This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Action Adventure, Science Fiction, Family, ​VIZ Media