i have read all 3 chapters so far. and i think watase sensei undoubtly has been producing a magneficient storyline of BL manga. unlike some other manga, which sometimes go all through the way bluntly with guys make up something. this manga really shocked my nerves with its systemathically plot and beautiful artwork. i like its realistic way of souma falling in love and why he has to do 'that' to masataka and somehow i think its very romantic! i hope that this series will last longer. does anyone know where i can read chapter 4?

Well, who would've thought that Watase-sensei's actually made a yaoi! To be honest my eyes sort of blinked twice to make sure when I saw the manga's genre... I'm a bit surprised there... But anyway, at the moment for me the story is really dark, sad, but it's also beautiful at the same time, quite different from the usual work she has made so far!

About the unattractive uke and amazingly beautiful seme sort of reminds me of beauty and the beast, which is to me probably one of the reason why I think this manga is beautiful.

It's really good to read something like this once in awhile, not the usual happy lovey-dovey thing with sad ending, or maybe the main female character who sadly needed to be saved by her knight almost the whole story... I'm expecting the next volume! Hope it'll turn out good just as the start of the story!

Yes, it has drama and "creepy" things, which usually i don't like. But this is completely interesting...I like that the main character is pure but not naive. There are some mangakas that mix the meaning of naivety and purity, and then what you get is an stupid character.
I won't rate it yet because this is one of that rares opportunities when i don't truly know how the manga will end.
And i neither will say anymore because i didn't have any idea what it was about when i first read it and that was better.

Well, what can I say? That's the first Yuu Watase manga I actually liked. Her shoujo stuff was so cliched, I got the chills from reading them. However, let's see what she's able to come up with, within 1 volume.

So far, the characterisation, plot, historic setting, etc. seem to be top notch. However, it remains to be seen if the story will maintain coherence till the end or if it will turn into a dud: as in an over-dramatic/melodramatic ending where half the cast ends up dying or killing one another since a lot of "tragedy-themed" stories tend to take that path, after a rather promising start. After all, an extremely drastic ending is the shortcut which a lot of manga take 'cos it requires plenty of skill to work out a conclusive ending, after setting up lots of plot and character complications and complexities.

... Last updated on May 23rd, 2008, 6:49am

To tell the truth, I hate all shoujo manga of Watase-sensei. I had been always imagining how she would draw Yaoi manga (because I love her drawing and bishounen). Now my dream came true and I am satisfied with Sakura Gari, even though the uke in this manga is not cute or pretty to me, but I think that makes the difference.
As usual, she's good at creating sad manga.^^

I have so much more respect for Watase-sensei after reading this. She's successfully broken out of her shoujo restraints and made an actual YAOI. Though the focus isn't just guy on guy and there's definitely more text then a normal yaoi, she's matured as a mangaka and I'd hope to possibly see her delve deeper into the genre once this piece finishes.

ok at first you get the impression that the "uke", Masa isn't cute because of his haircut. But later on he's really adorable. He's pure and sweet and innocent and his hair gets longer and he has these adorable expressions. He looks cutee later on. Also irl he'd probably be gorgeous.

anyway the art shouldn't matter. The plot is really touching and original. And also if your homophobic you should OBVIOUSLY NOT READ THIS. i mean like some people KNOW its yaoi. there's 2 guys on the cover and its a romance story. hmmm...

well i think its a good story. read! read! read!

It's one of rare manga that offer equal amounts of rounded characters, pace, thought-provoking dialogue, psychological thriller, mystery, horror (creepiness, rather), and slow-but-steady character development. And do it well.

I don't believe typical fans of shoujo and yaoi would enjoy this. It doesn't offer the usual fare. Namely, fast-paced smex for yaoi or romantic comedy or drama for shoujo.

It's best for people who enjoy the "American Gothic" type of stories (a wealthy but dysfunctional family struggles against human emotions of all kinds during a national economic depression). Tennessee Williams would love this manga!

It's a historical psychological tale about the dark side of the human nature and it happens to have a "yaoi" element. Anyone who wants a good story will likely enjoy this. There are only two chapters so far (new chapters haven't been released yet), but worth reading. It's a manga worth anticipating too.

It's easy to see it's a difficult manga to translate, so kudos to the scanlation group for doing their best with this.

This is rather surprising, not only because Watase Yuu started drawing yaoi but also because the plot (up to chapter 2, very long chapters though) is so good and also, the 2 main characters are not annoying. Before, when I read her shoujo stuff, I felt like I want to hit someone out of frustation, with the whiny main female characters almost got rape all the time, it pissed me off.

I aggree with the comment below about using a different pen name for this story. I almost skipped this story when I saw the name Watase Yuu. Luckily I decided to give this one a try. It's worth it to read. Let's just hope it won't be a dissapointment later on.

What happens when your fanbase grows up? Either you look for a new fanbase, or like what Watase Yuu has done with this manga, you mature as well. I mean, one can't possibly listen to N'sync and Hannah Montana forever, right? Through this work, Watase-sensei was able to demonstrate that she can break free of her own tired, albeit successful, formula. Her art has never been better and her story telling has never been as compelling as with this new work. This story has tragedy, dark family secrets, forbidden relationships and loyalty among other elements. It does not revolve around malexmale sex; rather, the mxm is one of the facets that serves to further the story.

Had Watase Yuu assumed a different pen name for this new work, she would have recieved far better comments for this masterpiece. I highly recommend this to mature shoujo readers, budding/seasoned yaoi enthusiasts, and even open-minded shounen/seinen readers.