Customer Reviews

Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 6: Shuro

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I've read the whole series in Chinese, and I've also seen the anime. This is without a doubt my favorite manga and anime series. Infinitely better than Fushigi Yuugi, it has everything I could ask for: beautiful artwork, suspenseful/engaging plot, humor, cleverness, and most of all, heart. Every single volume I find myself first of all feeling VERY bad for Aya, although cheering her on the whole time, and second of all thinking, "how in the world did Watase make this work so well?" You really feel the emotions the characters are feeling because the artwork is so detailed and the dialogue also reveal them.

When I was on volume 12 or so (it just gets more and more horrendous for Aya and her buds - you thought vol. 1-6 was bad? - Aki acts truly evil later on, but you'll be practically bawling in the last volume (14)) it finally dawned on me why Aya is such a great character - she's unselfish. She never feels sorry for herself for long, instead she tries to protect everyone and is concerned for everybody. She only lets herself go when she's with Tooya. That's why Aya carries incredible guilt and grief when things get really awful in the later volumes - she takes other people's problems personally. However, she never gives up; she keeps fighting because she doesn't want to let down herself or the people she loves. And when she's on the verge of breaking down, she has real friends who love and support her unselfishly as well. She's a real character to me because she acts real.

My favorite scene in this volume is when Aya realizes all her grief and pain in her heart from what has happened and uses those feelings to comfort Shuro and to bring Shuro out of her own grief. It's empathy, one of the greatest attributes a human being can have. I don't want to give away what that scene was about though. You'll know it when you read/see it. I really like the English version because it's an accurate translation, and reads backwards, and is bigger than regular Chinese/Japanese comic size - details are much clearer.

What also make this series great are the "freetalk" sections in which Watase will jabber on about anything and everything. She comes off as a very entertaining, funny, nice and clever woman - and I think it's great that the author/illustrator wants to interact with her readers. Thanks Yuu Watase!!

As a warning: once Aya and Tooya do it, they're doing it ALL THE TIME to the point that it becomes, to me, a little unecessary. So, I just want to say that the Older Teen rating on this series is VERY appropriate (although that's also due to the foul language, nudity, dark themes and other [adult] content). But seriously, older readers, this is the best series hands down (for the people who like this kind of intrigue, of course). If you have the chance, look into Rurouni Kenshin. The series is out on DVD, but the manga just began it's English run. It's another series with a lot of heart and a lot of action. It's awesome, my second favorite series. Watch the prequel (Samurai X is the English release), the series (Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai), and the Finale (Japanese name: Kenshin Seisouhen), which ties ties the series together and ends it - with an utter finality that wrenches your heart. Another great series is Ah! My Goddess. I recommend the movie and manga. Fujishima is an excellent manga artist - and the series is hilarious with a great main character (Belldandy). She's just so pure and sweet you can't not like her. Plus, she has superpowers. Put that with a male college student named Keichii, her two goddess sisters, a temple, and a host of other hilarious characters, you've got a comical yet heartwarming and exciting series. Don't be put off with the artwork in the first few volumes: once Fijishima changes to the drawing styles in the later volumes, it becomes a lot easier on the eyes. Well I've rambled a bit, so if you got this far you must have a lot of patience and love for manga. God bless you and thanks for reading.

This volume is action-packed, with all sorts of new characters and surprises. Another tennyo descendants reveals himself publicity, and the search for the hagoromo he claims his family has is on! And the C-Project goes on... this series just keeps getting better with each installment!