A golden-eyed king charges a prisoner girl with treason against the Crown, and she begs him (in her thoughts?) to look at her one last time. Cue the opening, then back in time. Blood is thicker than water, and street urchin Nina learns this the hard way. After her parents perish in the plague, she starts living the Aladdin life in the shadow of the royal palace with orphaned brothers Colin and Saji. She disguises herself as a boy and hides her rare blue eyes, which make her a profitable prey for slavers. But Colin gets sick (and dies? Are those tombs?), and Saji mistakes Nina’s hopeful spirit with indifference, judging her an “outsider.” Soon after, he guides her to an empty house and sells her to a hooded stranger with golden eyes. But her destination is not the slave market. Prince Azure is searching for an impersonator to replace his half-sister Alisha, who seemingly died in a terrible accident. The blue-eyed Alisha was raised in a sacred temple from birth and is thus unknown to the royal family. She is supposed to leave the temple and marry a foreign king to ensure peace for the kingdom of Fortuna. Nina is uneducated, but she decides to try her best. She wants to be praised, to be special to someone. Can Azure be that person? Or will this naive orphan be crushed by his deadly family affairs?

Much like its protagonist, this show manages to be at once common, almost run-of-the-mill, and undeniably genuine and charming. The result is something better than the sum of its parts, and this episode consistently gives you more than you bargained for. Nina is a story that plays the shoujo tropes completely straight (The Princess and the Pauper, Snow White with the Red Hair, Yona of the Dawn, and My Fair Lady are all strong with this one) and still makes them quite engaging, a point Twwk made a year ago about the manga. I would say that the music is slightly above average, while the animation is a bit stiff and lacking, the character designs being the worst offenders. The backgrounds and some moments look better, though, and all in all, these shortcomings are not too distracting, as the story is elevated by conversations and narration that ring true and brilliantly convey the feelings of an extremely relatable protagonist. Do I still roll my eyes at the forceful, aloof Prince Azure and his golden eyes? You bet I do. But the show has so much heart that I’m still rooting for the Starry Bride to find her place in this world.

Nina the Starry Bride can be streamed at Crunchyroll.