I spontaneously read this manga so Im going to just try and churn out a review I think at this rate I will be a major source of shoujo manga reviews. Im realizing I review almost everything I read. Its just fun to write out my feelings on various series especially those without reviews. I feel so responsible when I do that. Strange Dragon begins with Princess Hibana who was supposed to take the throne when she came of age. However her uncle who was serving as regent is attempting to depose her. Its fairly easy work since her mother was a foreigner and she doesnt look as similar to the royal family as hoped. Hibana takes it upon herself to find the dragons of legend who are supposed to protect the king. As Im writing this Im realizing just how suspiciously similar this is to Yona of the Dawn... Anyways all she finds is a young boy with a dragon scale and he takes her to his master Isara. I am familiar with the mangaka Keiko Ishihara. Its surprising that it took me a bit to realize she wrote it especially since I own her current series Prince Freya incidentally I am apparently the only person at Barnes Nobel who buys it according to my cashier. Her series have this weird vibe where theres a lot of action and plot stuff going on without much room for the characters to breathe and develop different dynamics. I am Prince Freya to be better in this regard than Strange Dragon. Its just so fast paced. The whole find a dragon and get back the kingdom plot gets resolved within the first volume technically within the first three chapters since there are two oneshots in this volume. Each volume is its own plot and arc like the author was anticipating her series being axed any volume now. I think it would have been better were it spread out a bit. Hibana is an interesting character. Shes empathetic and determined with a strong sense of justice. However shes inexperienced and needs to be rescued. She talks about getting stronger but I dont remember her really doing anything to back up her claims. I did like her though. Isara was cool but he wasnt particularly interesting. I liked their bond as two people who dont fit in and are rejected from their positions but they didnt have much chemistry. It was a bit difficult for me to understand why the two of them fell for each other. The side characters were ultimately unmemorable. I only remember Mami having a personality. The art was gorgeous. The reason I was able to connect the series to Keiko Ishihara was the way Hibana was drawn. She reminded me of Freya and of course I went to Anilist to see if they were by the same mangaka. The character designs are beautiful and I think I gave the series extra points for the art. Anyways Yona of the Dawn did the whole first and second arcs already and it did them better. I almost turned this review in a compare and contrast thing and now Im viewing Strange Dragon in a harsher light than I did initially. Fortunately I was able to restrain myself and I was able to review Strange Dragon in a more objective light. I think if you want a short fantasy manga with pretty art give this a shot but there are far better fantasy adventure shoujo out there.