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Baraou no Souretsu
Requiem of the Rose King
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Baraou no Souretsu

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: The Rose King's Funeral Procession

Japanese: 薔薇王の葬列

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 17

Chapters: 78

Status: Finished

Published: Oct 4, 2013 to Jan 6, 2022

Genres: Action, Drama, Supernatural

Theme: Historical

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Princess

Authors: Kanno, Aya (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.06¹ (scored by 3,604 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #640²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #985

Members: 19,753

Favorites: 760

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 15 / 17

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Filter Preliminary Spoiler

Mar 29, 2014

Ripo

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/78 chp)

Baraou no Souretsu 9/10

You like manga and William Shakespeare? Well look no further, this time Aya Kanno shows us her skills by taking on the classic play "Richard III" and accompanies it with beautiful illustrations, which make reading and looking at "Baraou no Souretsu" pure joy. It has all the darkness of Shakespeare's play, dirty games of/for thrones, a little love, a little religion, a little scandal, some mysteries - what is Richard? I just love this play, so to be able to read it as manga is amazing. If you aren't familiar with Richard III, it's fine, in the manga the story gets explained ...

Sep 1, 2023

Version3

Mixed Feelings

Firstly - I don't understand why so many of these reviews are calling Richard a trans man. It is made VERY clear from the beginning that Richard is (visibly) intersex at birth, there are many references to Richard being born with/having "both sexes" throughout the series, on occasion the confused "what are you?" reaction to seeing his body, and even references by Richard himself regarding having ambiguous organs. Richards father decides to raise him as a man, and he identifies as such for the entire series. Richard is not a girl, or a trans man, he is just a(n intersex) man.

I found the story ...

Jan 25, 2022

laugh-or-cry

Recommended

this won't be the most coherent review but i absolutely adore baraou no souretsu! i read the whole thing so far in about four sittings because i was so intrigued.

Richard is a tragic and cool character and observing how each character treats him is very interesting. his internal struggles are unlike any characters i've ever seen before. we get to see the evolution of how he feels about his body, and about gender itself, like how it determines so much of your life, especially in the 1400s or whatever.

it isn't a spoiler to say it is a tragic story so far, but i can't ...

Sep 17, 2020

aibiri

Recommended

Preliminary (50/78 chp)

First off, let's get some of the confusing stuff out of the way. This is a manga published in Princess, a magazine that contains shoujo manga aimed at teenage girls. Now, do I personally think the best audience would be teenage girls? No, actually. The content for me felt much darker than what I would expect for a typical shoujo, and covers some very heavy themes. It's as much a shoujo as a manga like Banana Fish, perhaps. Now, is it a BL? That depends. There are certainly male/male relationships depicted, with the main character being a bisexual man, and they are an important part ... of the story and the development of the main character. However, I would hesitate to say they are the focus, the way they are in most BL manga.

Now that that's out of the way, here are my thoughts on Baraou no Souretsu.

Story - 7/10
I went into this manga thinking it would be a typical tragic historical BL, and was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging historical retelling with large heapings of war, drama, tragedy, and betrayal. Although I found parts of the plot to be confusing or boring, or even slightly nonsensical, most of that had disappeared by around 10-15 chapters, giving way to an amazing story filled with twists and turns that shape the characters realistically, and that tell a captivating, compelling story. I finished 50 chapters in just one day and was unable to put it down. The story does happen over the course of main character Richard's life, and at times the time skips were slightly jarring, but overall I thought it was executed very well.

Art - 9/10
This will be a bit subjective, as I understand many people dislike BL-typical art styles. However, I found the art and character designs to be beautiful to look at. The covers and chapter titles are absolutely gorgeous, and the manga is filled with beautiful symbolism and plenty of attention to detail. At the very least, the art never got in the way of my enjoyment.

Character - 8/10
The main character Richard was born intersex, and the son of Richard II, who tries to gain the throne and become king of England. He struggles with the label of "demon" from his birth due to his possession of "both male and female sexes". Although his character seemed dull and typical of an angsty "MC with tragic backstory" trope throughout the first third or so of the story, it is fascinating to watch him develop and change through his relationships with both his family and romantic interests. By the 50th chapter, I have become quite invested in his character and look forward to seeing the things he will do next. My own interpretation of his gender is that he is a trans man, due to the large amounts of dysphoria and hatred towards his female parts throughout the story, though others may have different perceptions. Is he a well written trans character? That is up to debate. Considering the setting the story takes place in, and the developments that Richard goes through, I would say it is a somewhat realistic portrayal.

The side characters, from family members to romantic prospects vary in their writing. Many are extremely well-developed and multi-faceted, while some are obviously more symbols than anything else. This is not a bad thing though, and I found myself growing attached to many of them and developing a strong dislike of others.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Not gonna lie - this manga is absolutely my cup of tea. Although I am picky with manga that have BL vibes, this one was the perfect mix of dark, fucked-up romance and twisted, intricate story for the kind of stuff I love. It did bring to mind some elements of Akimi Yoshida's works, and the complexity of some of the relationships reminded me of Code Geass, both of which are some of my favorite animanga media. None of the places where the manga flagged a bit really got in the way of my enjoyment, and I am looking forward to the next volume.

Overall - 9/10
Baraou no Souretsu is perhaps a somewhat controversial work. The main character and his gender is the subject of a lot of discourse around the manga, and some people will no doubt avoid it due to the BL elements and tropes present. However, for fans of historical retellings, dark romance, heaping loads of tragedy, and who can handle some really fucked-up and unhealthy relationships (please check trigger warnings before reading!), I would highly recommend this manga.

Apr 27, 2022

Nebby524

Recommended

If you like Shakespeare or medieval fantasy this is a great manga to read. Requiem of the Rose King is based off of (or at least heavily inspired by) the story of the Wars of the Roses. The characters are interesting, the story is sad but compelling and the art is top notch. Richard especially is interesting because intersex representation has little to nothing at all and I'm glad it's put on to a character that really grows throughout the series. Some would call it BL but it's a lot more then that. It's hard to put down the book and each val ends on ...

Jun 6, 2021

merope28

Recommended

Preliminary (66/78 chp)

If you like dark fantasy, this is for you. Based off William Shakespeare play "Richard III". The author changes the story but still manages it keep it interesting using the original characters as the basis. Our protagonist Richard, is born intersex, upper body of a female and lower body of a male. I thought this was really interesting because the it literally built a harem for Richard (both men and women). I liked seeing how characters treated Richard differently depending on what they thought of Richard.

There are a few disturbing things in the manga like rape, assault, cheating, beheading, etc. But I also think ...

Jan 23, 2021

Ress-N

Recommended

Preliminary (50/78 chp)

Requiem of the Rose King... has... its problem, story wise with lots of randomly random events and concerning its characters development that can be quite incoherent..... But.....
I just love this manga. As much as I actually understand where people could see bad elements in there... It didn't bother me at all when I was reading it.

As this manga is "inspired" by the "Richard III", Shakespeare theatrical work, so it's not surprising to see the story taking "overly dramatic" routes with lots of emotional conflicts form misunderstanding, stories of betrayal or even some "scenes" etc... But it doesn't try to hide it and just makes ...

May 27, 2022

pineconesssss

Recommended

This is a story not for the weak hearted, because as I read this it felt as if my heart was being stabbed again and again.

There are many conflicting things in this story, and knowing the tale of the war between cousins, Lancaster and York, I am not ensured of a happy ending. However, I still have hope that this story will end beautifully and with a twist at the end.

If you like somewhat tragic fantasy tales where when all seems lost, the protagonists are still able to overcome it (such as Code Geass, Kuroshitsuji, etc.) then this may be a story for you.

What I ...

Dec 11, 2023

dadaroma

Not Recommended

Preliminary (60/78 chp)

I was on a bit of a historical manga spree, and thought I'd finally give this a try, but was severely disappointed. First listing some good things about this story: the art is gorgeous and the action is great. Then onto the flaws, I have mainly three issues with this manga, which I feel to be shared with some other comments: the historical aspect, the treatment of Richard's intersexuality, and the author's clear obsession with trying to write BL harem (which pretty much ties into how the author treats the intersexual issue). Now, I think an amazing thing for historical fiction is how writers manage ... to blend fact with their own story, but in my opinion there should be some intentionality to it; when you pick a character, specially one for whom there's documented records, it's because they fulfill the purpose of your story, so that readers can go "Woah, I can totally see how well crafted this is because it makes sense". However, though the author in here does the bare minimum of following the documented history, there is absolutely no reason given for why this story is about the very real, very documented Richard III; no part in this man's trajectory fits the kind of storyline this author wanted to have. Like someone else said, his only ailment was scoliosis, which wasn't even a determent to his daily life, and the only remarkable thing about him was killing his nephews for the throne which basically every royal from back then did... how did the author even turn that into an intersex person suffering for years due to nobody loving them and not being able to love the one they want? Why on earth pick the most unrelated historical figure ever for such a plot? If such is the case, then just make up original characters and use history as a reference. I think even a full on story where Henry VI is the protagonist would have been much more compelling than constantly being subjected to whatever pedo mess that 60 chapter arc was. Again with intentionality onto the next topic... does Richard being intersexual serve any purpose for the story? Is it really an interesting read that X historical figure whose life story could not possibly make sense with such a plot point, is intersex? What does it even do for the character except 1) serve for childhood trauma... which honestly any other thing could have provided, most logically a disability like the real one had and 2) serve for a not gay enough its gay but gay enough the fujoshis jump at it encounter with about every male character in the manga? You come here and tell me he's identified as a male his whole life, and only starts to question such an identity when he's in some lovey dovey encounter with the ML, and only ever considers himself as "half-woman" in relation to the men around... what does that even say about this character's capacity of having any thoughts or troubles of their own. What does it even say about the author's capacity of actually using intersexuality as a complex plot point beyond being a romantic complication. If all they were gonna use it for is romance, then why not a crossdressing woman or a gay man or anything else? Back to the historical discussion, there was absolutely no reason to make this historical figure intersex, specially when it does not provide any vital eureka moment when recounting their life. Again, this could have very well been an original story with original characters.

Basically, there is about zero logic ever applied to anything in this story. Either pick a historical figure that serves your purpose so the narrative carries smoothly, limit yourself to a faithful historical recount, or write an original story; since you can't possibly have a well written manga when ignoring and not committing to any of these. For those who want good historical fiction there's better works around, hell I think even for historical BL, ao3 fanfiction would be a better read.

Dec 2, 2018

nekelluna

Not Recommended

Preliminary (12/78 chp)

The artwork is amazing. I wanted to get that out of the way, because it's one of only two redeeming qualities of this Manga. The other is that it's based off of the Henriad by Shakespeare, and that man knew what he was doing. The main conceit of the series, and it's not a spoiler for saying so, is that the main character, Richard, is a girl. But she's treated by her parents and the rest of the world as a boy. Consequently, her mother regards her as a demon and a witch. Because, you see, Richard is a boy, but with the body of ...

Sep 22, 2020

AnimeSocMegan

Recommended

Preliminary (60/78 chp)

Requiem of the Rose King is one of the best manga publishing in English right now, and truly unlike anything else I've read from English manga. I highly recommend it to fans of Shakespeare, LGBT+/queer manga, BL, and/or dark Shoujo like Banana Fish.

This manga is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI and Richard III plays, and while in terms of events it does stick fairly close to what happens in the plays, author Kanno Aya adds in a lot of new material and character interpretations. One of them is that this version of Richard - a physically disabled hunchback in the play - is ...

Aug 21, 2021

s4raf

Recommended

Preliminary (62/78 chp)

I’ve wanted to write a review for this for so long, so here we are. This series is still on-going, but I’ve read all the 60 chapters currently out in English, and I think it’s enough for me to form an opinion. To put it simply : I. NEED. MORE MANGAS LIKE THIS!!

Story : looking for that good medieval era drama?? You like stories where the characters find love in a world of war?? Fan of that GOOD angst ? I got you. The story is very interesting, it was never obviously predictable, and I love the storytelling in this. You can see ...

Oct 14, 2021

Curiouswanderer

Recommended

Preliminary (60/78 chp)

I honestly was on cloud 9 when I was the most effing gorgeous art I’ve ever seen in a manga that takes place in England. I literally am obsessed with Richard who has overcome the struggles of being transgender that is part of the royal regime. I felt sorry for the fact they were downgraded all the time by their mother for who they are. I mean literally Richard had all the qualities of a badass protagonist that we all need for a literal royalty.

For people who aren’t really that bothered by English history or just aren’t aware of it, this manga does ...

Dec 28, 2019

lilpompadour

Recommended

Preliminary (25/78 chp)

I do find the story rather interesting but the family tree is confusing at times. The characters are genuinely interesting and well designed except for the protagonist Richard. I feel a lot more could have been done with his character and I am unsure of how to feel about his constant identity shifts. I am constantly unsure if he is a trans-man struggling in this era due to lack of vocabulary and information or a masculine woman facing prejudice so therefore posing as a man. It seems everything he feels about his gender is contradicted at one point or another and often happens multiple times. ...

May 15, 2021

Birdie_

Not Recommended

Preliminary (4/78 chp)

For a story written about a cripple, I found it insulting as a cripple myself.

I was rather excited for this series and found myself rather disappointed. I think if this wasn't based off real events and people I wouldn't have found much issue. But Knowing the historical figure, Richard, who is the protagonist in this story. I can't help but say I'm disappointed and honestly offended that they changed his disability. Richard the 3rd Duke of York was known for being a cripple and having a curved spine. Something we would now call scoliosis. This is why I was excited, as someone who grew up ...