A series I ended up enjoying much more than I thought I would even with the fouryear age gap between our main characters. Our main character Nike has that Orihime/Usagi design looking mature beyond her surprisingly tender years. She was only 16 when her father negotiated the hands of one of his daughters Which ended up being hers naturally to the Sun king of the world. You could be forgiven for mistaking her for a 23yearold young woman. The Sun King her significant other on the other hand resembles his actual age of about 12. No older than Naruto from part 1. It can be unsettling at first but the more you watch the more you become entranced in their fun dynamics and that discomforting feeling of a 12yearold and 16yearold being engaged is washed away. But Im getting ahead of myself. Oh and for those wondering despite Nikes name being spelt the same as the famous Nike brand its pronounced Nickkay The synopsis We have our heroine who ended up moving to a foreign land to help her poor country. The series showcases one of its strengths as Nike and her sisters end up hilariously deciding who should be the kings bride with a game of rock paper scissors. As soon as I saw that scene I knew I was in for a treat. There is a small rather predictable bit of subversion here where the sisters fed Nike ridiculous ideas about the king being some big hairhorned demon and if youve seen enough anime you probably already knew that wasnt going to be the case. Thankfully the predictable subversion of an ugly prince turned dashing is only the tip of the iceberg. The series fulfils the feat many a show has failed before it in showing without telling. When Nike arrives in this new foreign land we see her attempting to buy food with what little money she has. A stand owner offers her what he considers a generous offer but because shes from a secluded country it still looked very pricey to her. We then get a hilarious scene of the store clerk shooing her away because he doesnt wanna catch her poorness. Heh. Continuing this theme of showing and not telling Nikes naivety is depicted well when she believed the feigned kindness of a couple of thieves when she tried looking for a place to rest for the night for the long journey to the kings palace the next day. The thieves take her bag and dash off into the night and due to her emptied stomach she wasnt able to use her power to retrieve her belongings. Thankfully for our heroine two kind sisters offer her hospitality. Naturally neither believe her at first that shes a princess who was sent to their country to marry the king considering theres only one king who rules the entire world. Her countrys borders were already closed long before the Sun King conquered the rest of the world. Think One Piece for example. The World Government controls most of the world outside of Wano because Wanos borders were closed off thus the World Government couldnt take control of it. I had no issue with The World is Still Beautiful using the concept of a secluded country to bypass the Sun Kings dominance. Nikes wholesome interactions with the two sisters served its purpose well to lighten the tone after Nikes rather miserable experience up to that point. She even gets back at the thugs who stole her bag when they mistook the older of the two sisters for her and made off with her for a hefty ransom. We get to see a small demonstration of Nikes powers when she effortlessly manhandled the fodders blowing them back with the wind before forcing them to chaperone her to the palace as punishment where she meets her fiance the Sun King Orvinus Ifrikia Livius I or just Livi for short. Nike has a hilarious offscreen scruffle with Livis guards much to the young kings amusement. The series biggest strength lies in Livis and Nikes dynamics. The author pulled off all the stops in their arsenal making their relationship so dynamic pleasant and just allaround fun and engaging and for good reason. Livi and Nike arent the most unique characters with Nike being your typical rambunctious fishoutofwater tomboy keen to explore the world and Livi being a tortured soul hiding his insecurity behind a cold blackhearted faade. Alone theyre serviceable at best but together their chemistry sparkles to create something magical. Livi is even revealed to be delightful and flirty once he discovers Nike is someone with who he can let down his barriers around and just be himself. The sneaky little guy even steals a kiss from her which just made my heart swoon with emotion. They really excelled one another to new heights and better yet never overshadowed the other. I never got the impression Livi was overshadowing Nike or vice versa. Nike was strongwilled and more than capable of standing on her own two feet. This leads me nicely onto another good point the series did exceptionally well and thats It didnt fall into the pit hole of mistaking strongwilled for bitchy. This is a common error popular series like Dragonball Ranma One Half and Naruto has already made turning what should be determined girls into obnoxious bitches. It ultimately makes their interactions with the main characters so unpleasant and painful to sit through particularly in the case of Ranma and Akane. Its just not pleasant to see a toxic relationship. Thankfully Nike and Livi never fall into this trap. They support one another banter and genuinely act like a couple. They dont pussyfoot around like other anime couples either. The trials and tribulations they go through only serve to heighten their relationship and bring them closer together. The antagonists never overstay their welcome. Episode 6 is the best example of this and ends up becoming my favourite of the bunch. It introduces Nikes rival character for Livis affections a childhood friend of the latter and rather than drag out the inevitable for episodes upon episodes she simply questions Nikes love for Livi challenges her to a race for them and respectfully steps down when she loses. I absolutely love this We didnt get any elongated drama with the childhood friend coming between our heroes. Instead shes used in a single episode to strengthen their relationship. Even the misunderstanding between Nike and Livis uncle who attempted to make moves on Nike is resolved beautifully. Nike even uses her rain power to trap the two Livi and his uncle inside the grass house from the beautiful rain shower she was unleashing upon them so they would hash out their differences. Saving the best for last the rain. Its depicted beautifully lending the series a Disneyesque magical feel and as someone who grew up on stuff like Beauty and the Beast and The Swan Princess among many others this was highly appreciated. The power to make it rain is a feat thats been passed down among Nikes people for generations and serves as Livis main incentive for wanting to marry one of the kings of that small secluded island daughters. Livi and Nike initially butted heads over this because Nike felt he was devaluing the rain ritual. Specific conditions have to be met pertaining to Nikes emotions in order for her to unleash the dazzling rain shower upon the land with a beautiful melody echoing across the landscape. Making the rain ritual a difficult thing to pull off was a great choice. It lent the series so much emotional weight and gave the scenes so much soul and heart. This was a touching and heartwarming ride that I cant recommend enough. Im highly surprised this is the first review of the series considering how good it is in my opinion. Characters 10/10 Score 8/10 Animation 8.5/10 Artstyle 7/10 Story 8.2/10 Overall 9.2/10