About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
A gorgeous genie grants wishes for romantically-challenged teen girls. In return, he requires a little loving from his clients. In a longer, more developed shojo manga series, this could have been an opportunity for a magical troublemaker to stir things up to generate comedy and romance. Instead, the magic is just a convenient plot twist added to short stories that careen toward the inevitable: girl gets boy and they get it on.
The sex is idealized and more suggestive than explicit, but it's racy stuff, as shojo manga goes. A quick fix for impatient romantics.
Pros
- A sexy sampler of romantic short stories with shojo manga style
- Nice artwork that’s clear, simple and appealing
- Simple, yet likeable love stories with satisfying endings
Cons
- Despite being the title character, the King of the Lamp only plays a small role in each story
- Short stories don’t lend themselves to a lot of character development
- While the sex scenes are relatively tasteful, it's racier than most manga for teens
Description
- Original Title:Ranpu no Ousama (Japan)
- Author & Artist: Takako Shigematsu
- Publishers:Go! Comi (US)
Akita Shoten (Japan) - ISBN: 978-1-933617-46-6
- Cover Price: $10.95 US
- Age Rating:OT – Older Teens, Age 16+ for reasons for nudity, sexual content
More about content ratings. - Manga Genres:
- Shojo (Girls') Manga
- Fantasy
- Romance
- US Publication Date: January 2008
Japan Publication Date: May 2005 - Book Description: 200 pages, black and white illustrations
- More Manga by Takako Shigematsu:
Guide Review - King of the Lamp
Don't you just hate the endless foreplay and flirting that takes place in most shojo manga romances? After volume after volume of tentative touches and romantic misunderstandings, do you just want to say, "Oh, just kiss her already, you fool!" If that sounds familiar, then you'll appreciate how King of the Lamp cuts straight to the "good stuff" with its short and sexy love stories.
The King is a tanned hunk who's been sentenced to spend eternity in a magic lamp because he stole 1,000 girls for his harem. His punishment is that he must help 1,000 girls before he's allowed to continue his amorous pursuits. But the King's no fool – he's figured out a way to squeeze in some pleasure in his penance by demanding that his so-called clients give him some lovin' before he grants wishes.
Make out with a studly genie to get a wish? That seems like a no-brainer, but for shy teen girls who can barely imagine holding hands with their boyfriends, this is a dilemma. As if Shigematsu also figured out that this set-up and the short story format doesn't allow for much character development, she didn't bother to explore the King's personality. As a result, he's probably the least interesting character in the book. He's more like an afterthought than the mischievous troublemaker or romantic rival that he would be in longer, more developed series.
King of the Lamp features three stories about three different girls with three different problems. But in the end, each girl gets her heart's desire: a night of intimacy with her boyfriend. The sex more implied than explicit, with an emphasis on romance above all. Nevertheless, this is still pretty racy stuff for shojo manga.
King of the Lamp is not as satisfying as more developed love stories, but it's a quick fix for romance junkies who don't want to commit to something longer.