Nina the Starry Bride (Japanese: 星降る王国のニナ, Hepburn: Hoshifuru Ōkoku no Nina; lit. "Nina from the Kingdom of Falling Stars") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rikachi. The series began serialization in Be Love in October 2019. As of July 2026, the series has been collected into nineteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Signal.MD aired from October to December 2024.
In 2022, Nina the Starry Bride won the 46th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category.
Contents
Premise
Nina is an orphan living in the fantasy land of Fortuna. Discovered by Prince Azure, her unusual blue eyes bears a similarity to the deceased Princess Alisha, who was due to be married off to a powerful neighboring country. Thus, Prince Azure hatches a plot to have Nina take Princess Alisha's place, but the two become drawn to each other.
Characters
Nina (ニナ)
Voiced by: Minami Tanaka (Japanese); Jill Harris (English)
Azure (アズール, Azūru)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara (Japanese); Ben Stegmair (English)
Sett (セト, Seto)
Voiced by: Koki Uchiyama (Japanese); Austin Tindle (English)
Muhulum (ムフルム, Mufurumu)
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)
Dytus (ダイタス, Daitasu)
Voiced by: Tatsuya Tomizawa (Japanese); Daniel Van Thomas (English)
Yor (ヨル, Yoru)
Voiced by: Seiichiro Yamashita (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)
Bidoh (ビドー, Bidō)
Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese); Joshua Waters (English)
Toat (トート, Tōto)
Voiced by: Shun Horie (Japanese); Lee George (English)
Hikami (ヒカミ)
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese); Corey Wilder (English)
Anne (アン, An)
Voiced by: Masumi Tazawa (Japanese); Jalitza Delgado (English)
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Rikachi, the series began serialization in Be Love on October 1, 2019. As of July 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected into nineteen tankōbon volumes.
In February 2021, Kodansha USA announced that they licensed the series for English publication. During their panel at Anime NYC 2022, Kodansha USA announced a print release for Fall 2023.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 30, 2023. It is produced by Signal.MD and directed by Kenichiro Komaya, with scripts written by Yuka Yamada, character designed by Kyoko Taketani, and music composed by Natsumi Tabuchi. The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2024, on Tokyo MX and BS Asahi. The opening theme song (from episode 02 onwards) is "Nina" performed by Maaya Sakamoto, while the ending theme song is "Hoshi no Dengon" (Messages From the Stars) performed by Nao Tōyama. Crunchyroll is streaming the series three days ahead of its Japanese broadcast.
Reception
Nina the Starry Bride won the 46th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category in 2022. Yuka Shiraishi from Real Sound listed the series as the sixth Best Manga in 2021.
Brianna Fox-Priest from Otaku USA praised character designs and story, and stated "There are more thrilling romance manga out, but this one has room to grow. Judging by the covers of future installments, Nina The Starry Bride has more story to unfold". As part of Anime News Network's spring 2021 manga guide, Rebecca Silverman and Lynzee Loveridge reviewed the series for the website. Silverman praised the main protagonist, artwork, story, and stated "It is worth reading. The art is clean and shows some beautiful use of detail especially in the clothes, there is just enough intrigue to keep things moving". Loveridge had similar opinions about the series.