[Ashes2Ashes]

Hell-o!

I'm an avid Yuu Watase fan... as in, I read ALL manga that has her name as the author, one of my favorite all time series is Fushigi Yugi AND I've basically been a fan for a very long time. Now, when I originally started reading the story I was very interested. There was betrayal, humor, and what you could call an original plot (though sometimes you just KNOW what's going to happen). Anyways, I think it was pretty cool until they got to this place. The story is progressing at an alarmingly slow rate. The main character doesn't make the reader interested in him at all, it just makes the reader want to suicide. You don't identify with him at all. As I've read in another thread you identify more with the blue haired Arata, who I agree is MUCH cooler and more fit to be a constant main character.

If you REALLY like Watase, then read this as part of the repertoire. If you're not a fan, I'd reccommend you wait some chapters until it gets a bit more interesting and the plot thickens into something. If you've never read Watase, then PLEASE start with another manga as to not get the wrong impression of her (like start with Fushigi Yugi, Sakura Gari... whatever you want, but not this)

[Chu-sama]

well, it is true it is a bit slow.... >_>;;;;
and because it is a shounen, there isn't much romance T__T ...But, for some reason I think it is very nice for Yuu Watase-sensei to try other genres/ story types... and I find VERY interesting the two Aratas' personalities ^____^ (kyaa!!! I really love the brown-hair Arata)

[hageshii_AME]

I agree, but you have to take into account that this IS a shounen manga... and shounen mangas are made to have more silliness and mostly anything BUT a good plot.

[Lokin]

Personally,I like this manga.Considering this as A SHONEN manga.
Watase sensei always write Shojo manga in order to satisfy girls readers.
Now she's taking a turn toward shonen(boys)...so it'd be quite normal that there aren't many romance...ahaha
And I like the manga very much,so if you don't like it,then you don't have to convince others not to like it.
And it's funny too ahaha.
Writers need to do something different in a while...Not always love and drama...>_>
For me,this is quite trivial and it depends on people's tastes...You like romances and drama better,but I like action and comedy better...
I like all kinds,but I love adventure type the best.
Watase's other mangas are good too,I can't deny it.But if every single of her mangas are the same,wouldn't it be boring to read them all?

[deraferine]

I agree it's a bit slow but because I know she's a great author I'm going to stick it out. Because the main character was just thrown into there without warning it's pretty weird following along but it's an interesting concept.

[tohukyo]

yea its rly different from her usual ones but its usually cause they're heroines not heros...i guess this is like her first hero story rite? where the guy is the main character not the girl, she doesnt rly write ones with main guy characters.

[Ashes2Ashes]

Well, the pace was really slow, but the last chapters have been very good in my opinion. I still think it is rather different, but she's picking up, and just like I've read, I believe the best choice is to stick it out. I'm her fan and I'll read it no matter what :P

[Rinnosuke]

yet... the brown haired arata is (in my opinion) plain boring and I dont feel much from him in his "epic" moments... I would like to see more of blue haired arata... but most likely he will be left too do some minor stress-realiving chapters... until something happens and hes called forth to do some mayor impact chapters... but who knows when that will happen...

[YanNiao]

I have to agree with Ashes2Ashes in that it's not Watase's greatest work, and I have to disagree with the claim that this is a shounen manga. Yes, it's classified and published as one, but to be completely honest, it reads exactly like her adventure shoujo, just with all the name-calling cut in half ("Miaka!" "Tamahome!" [repeat 7657567567567 times]).

I tend to like shounen better than shoujo because romance can get a boring and the heroines all become the same after a while. Watase is one of the few shoujo writers who writes the genre very well, and I am a fan of her work. And I like that this story isn't completely focused around two characters' breaking up and getting back together every two chapters, but... the plot is flat (not to mention predictable), the comedy is flat, and the characterization is extremely flat. The best characters in this story are the thief-brothers-- antagonists and protagonists not so much (though that is a theme with Watase... her supporting characters tend to be much better written than her lead characters).

I'm going to keep reading, because it's not bad-- not by any means. It's just not her best. And I'm not excusing it because it's a shounen, because it really doesn't feel like one to me. But I am glad Watase's branching out and trying new categories! I enjoy having male protagonists rather than females. ^.~

[Aliqua]

...Really? Sorry, but I'd have to disagree with you Ashes2Ashes.

I've read her other series but...to be honest, I found that their story lines/plots became too redundant and quite dull over time. Meh, but that's just me.

Anyways, I like this one...though I'm not sure how much yet. I think this series is a nice fresh change from her usual. There may be some things that are a little off but...the author's learning, right? I'm sure that as the story progresses, the plot will get much more interesting! ^^ To be honest, I actually think this would be a better one to start with, rather than her other works :S