Arata: The Legend 7

Yuu Watase – Viz – 2011 – 13+ volumes

Things slowed down a little more for me in this volume, where the first half is a battle to make one of the shinsho submit. Yorunami has mother issues, and the battle is long. There’s lots of self-depreciation, and lots of characters trying to help Yorunami realize his mother really did love him.

Bah.

The one really cool thing about that fight was magic that Yorunami used to reverse-age Arata. I wish more manga magicians used that trick. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure uses it, which just shows you how cool it really is.

Later, we learn the consequences for Harunawa and Kadowaki switching places. Harunawa is not a nice guy, and plans on killing someone in reality for every one of the twelve shinsho that Arata convinces to submit to him. Meanwhile, Kadowaki is absent from the story this volume (I skipped a volume, so he may have put in an appearance last time), but his memory spurs Arata into doing great deeds.

My favorite part of the volume was a scene where Arata meets a random stranger who is convinced he murdered the princess. This stranger tears off the magatama around Arata’s neck and throws it into a ravine, and tells him that if he can retrieve it, then his innocence will be proven. I’m not sure what is going on, or why that would make him innocent, or… wow. It was shounen manga logic at its finest. At the pinnacle of this Shounen Manga scene, Arata matches pace with a sort of elk-monster to get his magatama back.

I… don’t know what to make of this. But this is why I read manga, I can tell you that.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

Arata: The Legend 5

Yuu Watase – Viz – 2011 – 12+ volumes

This is one of those series that I forget about when I’m not reading, and I’m reluctant to get back into, but when I actually read the volume, I remember that the story is pretty good.

I still like the whole body-swap thing where each Arata is living the other’s life in an alternate dimension. This volume expands further on that, with a romantic interest for each Arata finding out that they aren’t the Arata each knows and remembers. Towards the end, a really creepy, sociopathic villain enters into the past and begins his attempts on the life of present-Arata. This kid seriously scares me, since he seems to be the type that goes far past bully and into the realm of crazy violent stalker. This doesn’t bode well for the next volume, but knowing shounen manga, he’ll wind up on present-Arata’s team by volume seven.

A lot more of the story, and the workings of the fantasy world, are explained in this volume as well. It delves into some politics, and discusses just what a task present-Arata has cut out for him if he wants to get all these people to submit to him so that he may save the life of the princess. Since I’ve skipped a few volumes, I was expecting most of this to go over my head, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to understand, and how engaging it was.

That’s actually a good description of the whole series. While it’s not run-out-and-read-it fantastic, it is a fairly fun and engaging read, and doesn’t get bogged down with a lot of details and characters. It ran in Shounen Sunday, and I’ve found myself leaning more towards these types of shounen series lately more than the rival ones in Shounen Jump. The characters are usually a bit more fun, and the plots are a little simpler and easier to understand, too. Arata’s a good example.

I actually have a couple more volumes of this to read, so I’m going to hold off on further commentary until I’m a little more caught up.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

Arata: The Legend 1

Yuu Watase – Viz – 2010 – 5+ volumes

I’ve since reconciled with Fushigi Yugi, but my dislike for that series kept me away from everything Yuu Watase for quite some time.  She’s got quite a bit translated to English, but none as unusual as this, her current series.  Unusual because… well, unlike all the others, it’s a shounen series that runs in Shounen Sunday.  Interesting how many female artists run in that magazine.  Well, at least two, anyway.  It’s unusual.

The story is about two boys named Arata from two different dimensions switching places.  Fantasy Arata lives in a land of magic and wizards and whatnot, and his family watches over a sword that houses the power of a God.  He is sent by his grandma to stand in for the princess of his world, but when the council carries out a plot to overthrow the government, they frame him for murder and chase him into the countryside.  He escapes to an enchanted forest where he switches places with Present Arata.

Present Arata is a high school boy who suffers from one of the most severe bullyings I’ve ever seen.  Things are going well at his new school, but he is quickly followed by a boy who seems to enjoy nothing more than ruining in retribution for a small slight he imagined Arata to have committed some time ago.  This is the most unrealistic part of the story, since not only is it hard to believe this boy is following Arata around, but that he could so thoroughly ruin him, and convince everyone around him (Arata’s former friends) to do the same.

Well, the two switch places.  Most of the focus is on Present Arata in fantasy-land, where he becomes master of the God-Sword and is able to fight back against the corrupt council.  He is mighty confused, and doesn’t know who or what to believe, especially after being betrayed by his friends.

Fantasy Arata in modern times is only looked at briefly.  I’m looking forward to seeing him succeed at beating up the bully and conquering all injustices.

There are lots of anomalies that bothered me (everyone assumes the two Aratas are just acting strangely and don’t really comment on their appearance or matter of dress, which are obviously very different), and… other things, like the extreme bullying and the God Swords that look like something out of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, but I really enjoyed the first volume.  It had a pretty good balance of action/adventure and exposition, and difficult fantasy terms were handled without too much of a wall of text.  I also have a fondness for time/dimension shift stories like this, when done right, and so far this one seems to be succeeding at what it does.  Both Aratas are also likable, and I’m looking forward to seeing the story balance between them.

Good stuff.  Again, I’m surprised Yuu Watase works for Shounen Sunday now, but the results are quite enjoyable.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.