Wedding Peach
Manga Review
In what can only be described as "something like Sailor Moon", Wedding Peach is a shoujo manga with an excellent pedigree. Wedding Peach does have A LOT of thigs in common with Sailor Moon, but, of course, we like that about the series. Momoko is a lot like Usagi, sleeps in, klutzy, kind of a cry baby, though while Usagi dislikes all the fighting at the beginning of the series Momoko is more willing to jump into a battle and beat the bad guys.
True to the title, the girls perform their magical battle transformation into wedding dresses (rather than sailor uniforms). Combat in wedding dresses? Man, I'd hate to take the stains outta that!
"Ai Tenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach," or "The Legendary Angel of Love, Wedding Peach," was written by Tomita Sukehiro and drawn by Nao Yazawa, running in Ciao magazine and collected into six tankoban. The story revolves around twelve year old Hanasaki Momoko, Tanima Yuri and Tamano Hinagiku, who have been best friends since before they can remember despite the striking differences in their personalities. Even fighting over the same boy can't pull them apart.
One day, Momoko is attacked by a strange man named Pluie, who claims he wants her ring; she refuses to give it up, as it's her last memento of her dead mother. Before Pluie can steal it, a blonde man appears out of the sky, introducing himself as Limone and telling Momoko it is her duty, and destiny, to fulfill her role as the Love Angel Wedding Peach and fight demons. Momoko does so, and is soon followed by Yuri and Hinagiku who become Angel Lily and Angel Daisy, respectively. Together, they must uncover the mystery of just what Pluie and his people are after, and stop them before they destroy all love on Earth.
Where Sailor Moon depended far too much on Tuxedo Mask to save them (this was a complaint among many fans), Wedding Peach has stronger heroines, and despite being a cheesy Sailor Moon rip-off gone horribly wrong, it actually presents a better female-role-model situation than it's predecessor. These girls save their own butts and look good doing it.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, December 2006
Below: Images from the Wedding Peach TV show.


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