There is so much to like about this series--portal fantasy, awesome clothes, feisty granny, swords of godliness...really if you liked Fushigi Yugi you'll enjoy this...possibly also if you like Yumi Tamura's "Legend of Basara" as the action especially reminds me of that. ( )

When I was a teen, I practically inhaled Watase's Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play series. Her character designs were so pretty it almost hurt to look at them, and I loved the mix of melodrama, fantasy, and complicated love stories. I've read several of her works since then, and Watase will probably always hold a place in my manga-loving heart.

So of course I had to at least try Arata: The Legend. I knew nothing about it, other than that it was created by Watase. I had several volumes come in near the end of my vacation and decided to at least read the first one.

Unfortunately, the first volume turned out to be a “meh” kind of read. There was some over-the-top instant bullying (seriously, Arata started off as a hugely popular transfer student and plummeted fast). The little bit of cross-dressing was over much more quickly than I expected – I thought for sure that Fantasy World Arata was going to have to pretend to be a girl for at least a few volumes. The divided storylines, between the Arata of our world dealing with bullying, and the Arata of the fantasy world dealing with being framed for an attempted assassination, led to an overall unfocused feel.

It's possible that this series will get better. I have the next few volumes somewhere in my personal collection and will be giving this series another shot. Who knows, the hayagami aspect could turn out to be really interesting. At this point, though, the best thing I can say about it is that it has Watase's usual clean, eye-pleasing artwork. Although even that seemed a little bit spare to me, compared to what I remembered her artwork being like. I don't know if it's just been too long since I last read one of her works, or if I've officially grown out of her stuff. I may need to give one of my past favorites of hers a reread...

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

Quite enjoyable! I'm a big fan of Fuskigi Yuugi and Ayashi no Ceres, so my expectations were pretty high in picking up this manga. I liked the two Arata's and the respective problems they were dealing with (and the depiction of just how traumatizing bullying can be). The action flowed smoothly, and the art is beautiful: depicts a great deal, shojo pretty with lots of bishounen, and a clean style. I'm looking forward to getting started on the second one! ( )

Still reading this, but Watase's special touch can be glimpsed already.

Sadly, of all Yuu Watase's works, this is probably the one that excited me the least. The guys aren't as hot as usual, the story's not catching me, and I'd rather have a female lead. I'll keep reading, but I hope things pick up in the next book. ( )