Story:


This... is a quirky tale about a girl's adventure in the world that goes a lot darker than it might seem at first glance. It's filled with paradoxes, mysteries, secret pasts, guns, quips, ghosts, spoiler stuff I won't disclose, fashion, blood, and magic. It's a story about trust, and the bonds we have that can overcome whatever obstacles we come across- be it memory, or time, or death.

To be honest, the authoress seems to be dabbling in a few genres; action, adventure, sci-fi, etc. And, at least for me, it's hard to find a plot as intricate as this one without straying from the 'shounen' genre.. There are a ton of little things in the first half of the story that seem unconnected and pointless, but they all come together (and are still in the process of coming together as we speak). The new developments are something I did NOT see coming at all, and I honestly cannot say what will happen next.

Which brings me to my next point- the authoress is scary-good at leaving us on cliffhangers in her arc chapters. (It is for this reason why I get so very angry at the side stories) She has a tendency to leave a little thing at the end of or in the middle of a chapter (she skips point of views quite frequently) that leaves you unable to stop reading until she unveils the resolution.
One complaint though- there are a lot of side stories, and sometimes it interrupts the flow of the story in ways you don't want it to. Though this is more a personal gripe than anything else.



Art:


Frankly, the art in the beginning sucks. A lot.

Okay, that's an exaggeration; but it wasn't really all that great. Looking back from chapter 92 to chapter 1, it's like a whole new artist. This, of course, has to do with the great amount of time that has actually passed since it began, as well as the hiatus between chapters 89 or 90 and the current two, when the author took a break with HK to focus on Maria+Holic. (Blasphemy, I know!)

ANYWAYS, long story short, if you hang in there, you get used to it, and eventually you come to appreciate the art (as well as Rahzel's fabulous outfits).

... That's right.

THE MAIN CHARACTER CHANGES CLOTHING.

... FREQUENTLY.

Chew on that.



Characters:


To be honest, I have a weak spot for dry humor, and this manga has it in spades. I don't find myself tiring of the jokes, because they're not the typical gag jokes that most mangas utilize these days. Also, the characters themselves are pretty unique- for the most part, they are each distiguishable from each other- from Sera's insane father complex to Branowen's robot fetish, each character is likeable in their own way. After all, if I still find my second favorite character to be who he is even after he does what he does to the main character in the 68th or so chapter, that have to mean something.

This is not to say that I like ALL of the characters- some of them are annoying in that they hog up screentime, and others are just kind of background-ish to me. But when the authoress goes all out for a character, you can really feel it.

ALSO! One big point- there is quite a lot of character development, but for the most part that character development is centered around the main cast: Rahzel, Baroqueheat (where the hell did she get that name?), Second&Alzeidsx2, Serateed, Kiara, and Branowen. That's not to say the other characters are ignored- it's just that they get less development. Which isn't necessarily bad; there's no need to bog down the reader with unnecessary information, after all.



Enjoyment:


I really enjoyed reading this manga (if it hasn't been obvious up to this point). The only thing I would be cautious of is that it can get quite a bit wordy at times. And also, the cast grows to be quite sizeable, and sometimes you wish the author wouldn't be so even in sharing the screentime. And those GODDAMN sidestories (plus, the school arc... I mean, wow was it important but it seemed anachronistic to the rest of the story).



Overall:


Read it. Despite my gripes, I think this is a wonderful manga- a real 'diamond in the rough.' I only wish that there were more manga like this out there. And that the anime adaption hadn't screwed up so magnificently.

[Because, seriously. I read the manga and I still could not tell you the plot of the anime.]
[And just LOOK at the rating differences!]

Just give it till the Angel Text arc- if you truly do not like it after that point, then I suppose you won't ever.


~cas-karas :3