Millennium Prime Minister vol. 1
Story and Art: Eiki Eiki
Published by the Doki Doki Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN13: 9781569700921
ISBN10: 1569700923
Review by I-hsiu Lin
This week, it has been announced: Japan has a new prime minister. And so does Eiki Eiki’s latest Doki Doki release, Millennium Prime Minister. Minori Nagashima was your average high school girl, loves playing video games, cutting class and having fun. Getting engaged to the newest prime minister wasn’t in her plans. But Japan’s youngest politician and House Representative, Kanata Okazaki is determined and will definitely get his way! She can’t escape…Minori’s future, heart (and hair) are now in his capable hands.
The setup of the plot sounds kind of clichéd in the youngest prime minister, Kanata falling in love with the average school girl, Minori after losing to her in a video game. However, in true Eiki Eiki-fashion, many surprises await Minori and us as readers. I initially described Minori as ‘average’ (as do the story in her introduction,) but her personality is quite varied. She is tomboyish in her actions, though she does display some girly traits as well. She definitely does not fall for Kanata which makes the story even more interesting. Kanata himself is confident (as any politician should be) and can be overbearing at times. But he does have a sense of integrity, charm…and most likely a hair fetish. There is an array of characters surrounding Minori including Matsumoto, a political reporter and Ryoichi Makita of the Special Police (who is supposed to protect the prime minister.) And there is the enigmatic Sai who is the senior aide. They all have their strengths in supporting Kanata and definitely make their impression on Minori’s new life.
And Minori has lot to face especially since her becoming engaged with the prime minister forces her to move out of her house and moving in with Kanata. Her issues may not be sexual ones (as I did mention that he has integrity) but dealing with Kanata’s constant advances and seemingly random practical jokes, things are definitely not easy. Not to mention she still goes to school everyday!
Eiki Eiki creates what could possibly be another story in the world of Dear Myself…since she hinted at it in the author’s notes. However, this is definitely not a boys love story…not exactly anyway. Saying much more in that respect will spoil any surprises the story holds. *grins* But there is more to it than it being classified as a shoujo/girls manga than a BL one. Eiki Eiki always writes about relationships and bonds between people and Millennium Prime Minister is no different. The humor (and there is alot of it) comes from Minori acknowledging that she has a new life and mainly because of Kanata. (It’s all his fault!) Since it’s supposed to be a political manga, future volumes promise to be politics-heavy. Volume one just establishes the foundation of the story: Minori meeting everyone and learning more about them.
Something I never acknowledged in my reviews of Eiki Eiki’s work is the presence of parents. Unlike many romance manga, the parents of the main character is actually around. Albeit, their only presence is more of a comedic one in accepting the relationship between the two main characters no matter the situation. In Dear Myself, the parents of Hirofumi supported the fact that their son has a male lover without any objections. The same kind of innocent acceptance is seen in Millennium Prime Minister in Minori’s parents. Obviously, these situations take place in manga and not in reality. However, the fact that Eiki Eiki-sensei includes family members at all shows more of the relationships that she wants to establish. Having the support of family is something that doesn’t always happen in the real world, but lets the main characters know they are not alone in their struggling romance…even if parents are as naive as Minori’s. *laughs*
The comedy in Millennium Prime Minister is not the main focus as it was in her other works like Train Train. As the ending of the first volume shows, there will definitely be more drama in the story. And being a political manga, things may get pretty serious. However, the story promises more humor amidst the upcoming drama and knowing Eiki Eiki’s storytelling skills, it will be pieced together very nicely. The first volume is definitely an interesting start to the story and I look forward to seeing what happens next.