Image via Yen Press
|
The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince is one of those shojo manga that honestly doesn’t focus all that much on conflicts and drama. Which is great and a relief! We’ve got tons of those! Liliana and Prince William already know they are about each other, are fine with the engagement, and want to be together. This does mean that some of the conflicts that do come up in these types of tales end up handled a bit differently. So when we get to the third volume, dealing with a third-party who might be a possible rival in the form of the visiting Princess Marianne instead offers another approach to dealing with an interloper. As such, it means we see how Liliana deals with the problems of being a soon-to-be princess.
Editor’s Note: There are some spoilers for volume 3 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga below.
The pace of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince is rather swift for this type of manga. The first involved Liliana meeting the prince, being chosen as Will’s fiance, and realizing what she’d heard about him early on wasn’t quite accurate. That even though he seemed “cold,” he is really just a quieter kind of person. The two honestly got on perfectly! Which means by the second volume, we’re already seeing that while he’s accepted he cares about her and does want to marry her, she’s realized that he’s “her” person too. Now that we’re in the third volume, the two are a genuinely cute couple and seem pretty healthy. It’s absolutely a honeymoon phase.
While Hisui’s story does involve leaning more on the relaxed and positive side, it does play with shojo expectations by introducing a potential rival in volume 3 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga. Princess Marianne of Belluno headed to Zavanni for a diplomatic visit and, as future king, Will must act as host. While part of the drama here does involve rumors that she’s visiting in search of a husband or possible arrangement with Will, things are handled in such a way that the concept doesn’t provide the expected drama.
While it does eventually start to bother Liliana, and there is a concern about being abandoned, Hisui handles it in a clever way. The author takes a more mature approach and instead makes it about Liliana realizing something about herself. She knew she loved Will. She knew she felt uncomfortable. But we see her unable to understand or properly voice it, causing a bit of a block even though he’s conveyed his own feelings about the situation. So instead of blowing things up more, we’re watching her realize what’s going on and how she can personally grow from that and fix things.
This also means that, again, part of the volume also deals with other incidental elements that come from now being basically royalty. Liliana can’t dash off to see certain sorts of plays as she pleases. She needs to be more mindful of who she is and what her role as the prince’s fiance means. We’re watching how that develops and how she deals with that, which keeps the volume from feeling like it’s dedicated to the possible “rival” problem.
Which means once again, The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince ends up feeling like a somewhat atypical shojo manga. There’s a small wrench in the gears keeping the relationship from being 100% perfect. However, Hisui makes the actual approach to the problem feel a little more mature and realistic. Also, because it isn’t completely the one and only focal point, we do get to see how life is developing for Liliana in the palace.
Volume 3 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 4 of the manga on January 20, 2026.
