By Kazusa Takashima
Tokyopop, 202 pp.
Rating: OT (16+)

Kaito, the Prince of Hell, has run to the human world just before his marriage in order to escape from his duties and his unwanted fiancée. Tired of people faking friendships with him due to his status, he sets out to live a normal life where he can fall in love without having to be a “prince” to himself and others. He loves his human life dearly, and has made himself a happy-go-lucky place at a high school under the name Kujo Yamato. His only problem is that his father has sent several henchmen to investigate the school and drag him back.

From the plot summary, I was expecting a dark, angsty high school romance. I was surprised, then, when the series turned out to be a comedy with some very slight dramatic elements, mostly at the ends of the one-shot chapters when Yamato is about to be found out (his pursuers are looking for the gigantic tattoo on his back that marks him as a member of the royal family). The way the humor is introduced is impressive, too, with Yamato watching the Girls’ Judo practice with his friend, Taiki. The panels focus on a short, dark-haired girl with pigtails and big eyes… the stereotypical love interest. We find out later that Yamato was actually looking at her very tall, muscular practice partner, and has quite a crush on the young lady.

Unfortunately, the humor is never quite that spot-on again (and the girl in question doesn’t really get more than a bit part). Most of the jokes are made by Haga-sensei, Yamato’s single ally from the demon world living as a tough school nurse that bosses people around, and the groundskeeper, a man who flirts mercilessly with the students and is among those trying to drag Yamato back to Hell. Yamato’s friend Taiki is also one of the agents, unfortunately, but does not suspect Yamato as a possible prince candidate. For some reason, the three henchman lock on to Yamato early on as a possible suspect (as opposed to checking a variety of people), and most chapters are spent trying unsuccessfully to see whether Yamato has a tattoo on his back, with Taiki trying to get the other two to leave Yamato alone.

The problem is that this formula gets tired pretty quickly, even with the addition of the fiancée as a strict faculty member who makes students undress for real and imagined uniform violations. Yamato is a good character, and it’s interesting that the Prince of Hell, someone in such a perilous spot, seems to want nothing more than to enjoy his life as a human. Aside from making sure nobody ever sees his back, he does little and seems unaware that he is trying to be captured, and he is what makes the volume a pleasant read.

But no plot, aside from the hide-and-seek, has emerged, not even a romance (unless you’d like to think of Taiki and Yamato hooking up). This volume is a fun read, but there isn’t really anything that makes me want to return for a second volume.

Volume one of Mad Love Chase is available now.