Geek It! Anime Couple Spotlight: Prince Zen X Shirayuki

In this Anime Couple Spotlight, we want to feature one of our favourite anime couples of all time: Prince Zen and Shirayuki from SNOW WHITE WITH THE RED HAIR.

Meet Shirayuki. She is an average girl who practices herbalism, and possesses a unique feature in the kingdom of Tanbarun: beautiful red hair. Due to her unusual hair colour, Shirayuki was raised to be careful about showing her hair in public. But when her hair gets noticed by Prince Raj, he orders her to become his concubine. Refusing his orders, Shirayuki cuts her hair and escapes to the neighbouring kingdom of Clarines.

On her way there, she fatefully meets Zen. When Zen gets poisoned by an apple that was meant to be for Shirayuki, Shirayuki successfully obtains the antidote on her own. Shirayuki soon discovers that Zen is the Prince of Clarines, and decides to join him back to Clarines and apply as a court herbalist apprentice.

In this story, Shirayuki is presented as a young woman who is intelligent and always determined to do her best. She is no damsel in distress, and doesn’t depend on anyone to get on with her day. As a herbalist, she demonstrates a vast knowledge with confidence, and has the ability to adapt to situations with ease.

We then have our romantic interest, Zen Wistaria, also known as the second prince of Clarines. He is an adventurous person with a light-hearted personality and has a distaste for formality. With his royal position, he feels it is impossible to have friends and trust those around him.

This shoujo romance between Zen and Shirayuki is everything we want, and it is literally the heart and soul of the anime. A handsome prince and a strong leading lady — what more could we ask for?

But these two characters aren’t your typical characters where they constantly argue, misunderstand, and/or treat each other wrong. They surprisingly have natural chemistry from the get go, and they actually confide and communicate their feelings. Like any potential romance, they begin as good friends who inspire each other to work hard, achieve goals, and be the best person that they can be. As a viewer, it is absolutely fulfilling to see this special bond transform into love.

However, a romance between a prince and a commoner is seen to be controversial for many people in the Kingdom. And also, while the relationship between Zen and Shirayuki is tight-knit, we notice there is a possibility of Shirayuki having other romantic interests such as her bodyguard, Obi.

But of course, there is more to the story than the fantastical romance. Snow White with the Red Hair has always been about Shirayuki’s journey in finding her path through hard work and personal strength. And if Shirayuki was to progress in her career, she will need to keep studying and travel afar in order to support Zen in the future.

Can her relationship with Prince Zen work out in the long run? Will the royal family and the Kingdom’s people accept her? If you haven’t already, we highly recommend you to check out Snow White with the Red Hair — this shoujo romance definitely won’t disappoint you!

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