Manga Review: Arata: The Legend, Volume 24, by Yuu Watase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2016

Volumes: 24+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon.

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a mythical world where humans and gods coexist, a ceremony marking the new governing princess is about to occur for the first time in 60 years. Only a girl from the Hime Clan may take this position, but the lack of females born to this family means that a boy called Arata must pose for the role. Meanwhile in modern-day Japan, a boy named Arata Hinohara is starting his new life in high school. He wants to put memories of his difficult past behind him, but things aren't going to be simple when he discovers a mysterious connection to the first Arata...

Arata Hinohara’s greatest foes, the Six Sho, have challenged him at every step on his quest. This has now led to a potentially deadly confrontation between one of the most powerful of the Six Sho, Ameeno, and Ameeno’s son, Nasake, one of Hinohara’s most loyal companions. Yet this is only the prelude to a devastating attack from yet another quarter that, to Hinohara’s amazement, echoes historical events from the modern world!

Review:

I have missed a lot of this series, so clearly a lot has happened that I don’t know about. We’re in the middle of a plotline involving several characters I don’t know.

There’s a big plot between a father and son, and how he left him. Then some havoc is being caused in the real world, and the Arata’s try to do what they can to fix it. It’s clear I’ve missed some of the information reveals about the two worlds, but it’s interesting how they’re interacting and intertwining. I still think I like the black-haired Arata more, and would like to catch up on his part. Seeing how much Arata's father cares for him was sweet, as well.

I should definitely catch up with this series. It’s very good, and getting very long. I think I’ve missed reading Watase, it’s been so long.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ceres: Celestial Legend, Volume 14, by Yuu Watase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo (VIZ Media)

Release Date: 2006

Volumes: 14

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

On Aya MIkage's 16th birthday, what she thought was a normal celebration turns into a real-nightmare when her own family attempts to kikk her and imprisons her twin brother Aki. Aya learns that she possesses the blood of the tannyo(celestial maiden), and has the power to transform her into the mysterious and powerful Ceres. Now, with her parents dead and her life completely upended, Aya must find the courge to forge ahead snd stop her family's greedy quest for power.

What Will I Miss?:

• I will miss the surprises. The ending in particular was not quite what I was expecting, and I liked that.
• I'll miss her storytelling, particularly since I know she gets better at it later on.
• Maybe the art. It's pretty, nice to look at.

Review:

This was a rather weak series of Watase’s, which is a bit disappointing.

I didn’t ever really connect with any of the characters, or grow all that attached, sadly. I wanted to, but it never happened. The story was interesting, though, and got better near the end, as did the humor (or I just got used to it). The ending was a bit surprising, and I liked that. Although the ending for Aya and Toya, and Yuhi, did not really satisfy me. Although, if I’m not wrong, something similar happened with the main characters in Absolute Boyfriend, and I didn’t really like it there, either. That kind of upsets me, but oh well.

This series just didn’t turn out as good as I thought it would, but I know that it’s an earlier series of Watase’s, and I know that she’s written better ones.

Now I just hope to get some of her other series published over here, particularly Fushigi Yugi and Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden (which I have read some of and really enjoyed), and I’ll probably try to catch up on Arata, since I was enjoying that series, and am quite a bit behind.

Manga Review: Ceres: Celestial Legend, Volume 5, by Yuu Watase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo)

Publish Date: 2003

Volumes: 14

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf!

Goodreads Synopsis:

Aya takes matters into her own hands when she decides to search for the hagoromo. Meanwhile, T�ya must choose between being with Aya and working for Kagami and getting his memory back. How can he break free of the organization's hold and help Aki escape as well?

Review:

This series is actually getting better, and I’m very happy about that. The humor isn’t bothering me as much. And maybe it’s just getting more exciting. And there was more focus on Aki, who I just generally find more interesting than Aya.

First, Toya decides that he’s leaving the Mikage company. He’s just like, screw them, I’m done with this crap, destroys their machines, tears up their cameras and lasers, the front door, and is out of there. He’s all bloody, and he was going to take Aki with him, but Aki decides to stay, but that’s no big deal. Aya is waiting for him, having talked to him before this, and is ready to comfort and take care of him, and love him even more and all that. She’s upset about her brother staying, though. Toya is hurt and stays with the Aogiri’s for a couple days, even gets included on their pay roll or whatever so that he’s included in their group, before deciding that he has to go back to the Mikage’s and take care of Aki, as he sees him as his responsibility.

Aya is happy to have him, and then upset that he’s leaving her again. Yuhi is surprisingly okay with it, even if he is unhappy because he wants to be with Aya. And Aya has a mirror conversation with Ceres, who’s blunt and straightforward about what she wants, and particularly the fact that she wants to kill Aki and find out where her Hagoromo (the robe) is. The two make a deal that Ceres won’t come out and Aya will find the Hagoromo and deal with all of it on her own.

And then some serious shit happens with Aki. He wrote a letter for Toya to give to Aya, and he knows that he’s losing the fight with his past self, and he tells her that he wants her to kill him if his past self takes over. And he does, and he kills the Mikage grandfather (who, remember, doesn’t know anything about the c-project). Aki doesn’t even seem to be present anymore, and his past self is straightforward, blunt, a little crass, and determined to find Ceres (or Aya), who he calls "his woman", and we can tell that it isn’t Aki because he has all these scars. And then he does find her, with Toya as he’s leaving, and he kisses her. He also has a standoff with Ceres and Toya and Yuhi, who try to protect her, before he passes out and is taken away by the Mikage’s. Also, all of this is in public, there are dozens of people around, but that doesn’t seem to matter.

The volume ends with the Aogiri group seeing some famous pop star on television claiming that he’s a celestial descendent, and that he has the Hagoromo at his house. Which is sure to be interesting, and I’m guessing it’s not Ceres’. 

So: getting better. I’m very happy about this, and am actually looking forward to seeing what happens next. Also, I might not be reviewing the next one, just to let you know.

Manga Review: Ceres: Celestial Legend, Volume 4, by Yuu Watase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 (maybe 2.5)

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo)

Volumes: 14

Spoilers?: Some/Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Here is another exciting installment in the popular manga series. After she sees Ceres and Yuhi fly off the Mikage Corporation building, a girl named Chidori wants to find the airborne duo. Locating them, she asks Yuhi to grant her crippled brother's wish to fly. They discover that he is part of the Mikage Corporation's genome experiment!

Something Specific:

Quote:

•  "Everyone should be fated to know a 'blissful suffering'. How well that describes... The bittersweet feeling that comes when you love someone..." This is something that Aya thinks at one point in the volume, and I... don't think I really agree with her.

 

Review:

This series is just not impressing me at the moment. There were even a couple of parts that frustrated me. I still have hope, though, that it will get better. Also, I’m hoping the next book to be easier to read, if only because it’s in the modern format that VIZ prints today, and not this American-reading-style, large and skinny way that they used to produce them.

So. In this volume: Suzumi got fixed, then we met this new character, Chidori, who looks younger than the rest but I guess is about the same age as Aya and Yuhi. She saw Ceres flying with Yuhi, thinks they can help her sick brother, and so has come to find them. There’s this one annoying part, though, when she first shows up, where she throws herself at Yuhi, and the others make fun, calling him a pervert and all that, when he’s clearly never met her before. I didn’t really find that funny; it also didn’t help that Aya was acting like she was disgusted by him, supposedly in a funny way, but also in a jealous way. The jealous part continues throughout the volume, and that just annoyed me to pieces, because she’s supposed to be fully in love with Toya.

I think I’m kind of starting to really dislike Aya. I’m not really sure how this came about. Maybe because she’s starting to act like she’s in love with Yuhi as well as Toya, and because she’s just generally not being helpful to anyone with anything. Also, this:

“I just wanted a little excitement at first. I’d flirt with him like a silly schoolgirl with a crush, and get all giddy when he humored me a little.” Aya thinks this at one point while staring at Toya, and it just pissed me off. Because that’s a total lie. Not once did she act like it was a harmless, petty attraction; the whole times she’s been acting like she’s in love with him, like she wants to be with him forever, yada yada yada. She can’t just now realize that she has a real attraction to him when she confessed her love in, like, the first volume. I don’t accept that.

The only good thing Aya’s done, I think, is decide to start getting along with Ceres, let her take over every once in a while when it’s needed.

Because, for some reason, I’m starting to really like Ceres. I think she’s supposed to be wrong, or cruel, or something, but I personally think she’s the only one who gets anything done. She’s useful in fighting, she isn’t hurt easily, and she doesn’t back down from anyone. Also, when she first came out and was with Yuhi, she confronted him about his sexual attack on Aya, telling him that that wasn’t right. Which, thank god, because no one else said anything. Aya didn’t even say anything. Yuhi, even, acted like he knew it was wrong, but excused it because he couldn’t help himself, which is just bullshit.

I don’t know why, but I just seem to be pissed off about this book. It just… happened, somehow.

Anyway, other things that happened. Aya’s family poisoned the town with her blood, because anyone who feels weird from it apparently has celestial powers inside themselves. That’s why Chidori’s brother is sick, only for some reason, he doesn’t have powers, Chidori does. As does this other girl in the hospital, who starts causing explosions all over the place. But don’t worry, Aya’s family takes the other girl with them, claiming they’re going to help her or whatever. Chidori decides to go with Aya and Yuhi, so she’ll be sticking around for a while.

Aki, on the other hand, is starting to experience weird blackouts and this weird attraction to his sister, and these moments (the blackouts, as he doesn’t remember them) where he believes Aya is his or whatever, and where he’s kind of violent, because his past self is starting to show up. The next volume, I believe, is going to have more of him, and that’s surely not going to be good.

There’s still tension between Aya and Toya, only now there’s also tension between Aya and Yuhi, and Yuhi and Toya. Also, Aki knows that Toya likes his sister. The whole love thing is getting rather ridiculous, honestly. Oh, and at one point, Yuhi was told that Aya will love him at some point, which just doesn't make sense to me. And I'm not sure if I want it to, because I think I prefer Toya.

Humor is still not working for me, just as the horror is still not. I'm really hoping that that gets better soon. The italics are still ridiculous and horrible and make the reading jilted, and it looks like it will continue into the other format. I’m not really looking forward to that. Here’s an example: “Their necks were broken when they tried to shield Shota and me. …They died instantly! …That’s how Shota got hurt!” (Also, be aware that those ..."'s are not my shortening the quote, those are actually in the book.) I don’t understand why shield needed to be italisized; it needs absolutely no emphasis, in my opinion. Also, why do those exclamation points need to be there? It doesn’t even look like she’s exclaiming, in the book. The writing is just not the best

So. I have the next volume, and I will be reading it soon. I’m not particularly looking forward to it, but I’m holding onto my optimism.