I don't know what you expect. of a story that involves a dark family full of secrets and Mistery, surrounded by abuse and crime....If you don't like this kind of plot go watch Heidi ....Nobody says that they aprobe what happened to Masataka, like we don't aprobe of what happened in the film "Sleepers" but it doesn't mean we couldn't like the story. Like a fan of dramatic and tragic stories I'm a bit tired of people complaining all the time about crude scenes....It's like the manga "Rainbow" a lot of things happen to the protagonist but in the end they had lived a happy life with lovely families whay would be the point in reading the story. I'd like to know what you expected of a yaoi tragedy.

... Last updated on July 14th, 2013, 7:06am

Seriously folks, just like blood is the currency for diamonds in some parts of Africa, blood is the currency for absolutely everything in this manga -- especially love and salvation. I know I'm in the massive minority and that this review will be inflammatory to some, so I'm just going to throw out some hard statistics upfront:

7 deaths
2 completed suicides
1 attempted suicide (not the same person as either of the completed suicides)
4 completed murders
4 attempted murders (mainly against the star couple)
1 conspiracy to commit murder
893469 counts of rapings and beatings

Now, not that I'm any stranger to the yaoiland mantra of "it's not rape, it's just sex the uke didn't know he wanted," but usually that's in much smuttier, lulzier manga than this one. This one seemed to try to be at least vaguely serious. Anyway let me start out by saying that this reminds me of a bad exploitation film alla Showgirls or Striptease. The end-of-manga interview has the mangaka saying "I think all the characters were saved in their own way" -- ironically, the purification method of choice for everyone seems to be rape and death. Yes, my friends, this manga went along the lines of rape death rape rape death rapity rape death death. I even love how at the end the uke was all And every single bad thing that happens in this manga, ladies and gentleman, can be traced back to a man who couldn't keep his pants zipped.

Also, really, the seme a.k.a. Mr. Rapemagnet that nobody can help but rape upon first sight of him was a glorified Gary Stu of the "boo hoo hoo I've suffered every imaginable trauma known to man" variety. And as for the relationship between the uke and the seme, all of it is serious emorape. There is no sexyrape. It's not sexyrape when the scent of the seme makes the uke vomit. So be prepared for this to just be mainly angstrape. There is literally ONE consensual sex scene between them in the entire manga.

Anyway, I know you are all now tired of seeing every sentence I write contain the word rape. So I'm going to switch to beatings. It's almost comical going through the manga watching these characters pick up so many scars from near-death beatings and near-death assassination attempts and near-death rapings (sometimes these things get combined for efficiency's sake). By the end, in addition to having their own unique but generous assortment of scars, the main characters even have identical giant wounds THAT'S SO SWEET I KNOW RIGHT. No seriously ladies and gentleman, by the end I could have sworn their bodies more resembled hardened samurai warrior yaoimen than their bishy intellectual selves. Did I mention not a single one of EITHER of their numerous scars were obtained from them fighting something? They just tended to get beaten or attacked, step in the way of attacks, or attack themselves.

Anyway, I think you guys get the point by now, so for those who can't be bothered to read my long review, I'm just going to sum it up for you:
1. RAPE.
2. BEATINGS.
3.
4. SALVATION!

The first yaoi manga ive read, i had never read yaoi mangas before. but i took a chance on this one when i told one of my friend that i was tired of seeing weak female characters, since they make me wanna bang their head to the wall. so she suggested to me this one. i was a bit skeptic about it, since it was my first yaoi read.

but i loved it, it was simply superb for me. very dark, full of secrets, obsession.. and so on.. well written characters, well atleast from my point of view.
i dont know whether the ending was left open or just an ending with many interpretations. and i am not a person for open ending if it is.

but in all, i recommend it, if you're into this type of genre.

I don't know why Yuu Watase doesn't write more yaoi but she should. Out of her cliche shojos, this manga truly captured the character's development well. It's a complex story full of betrayal and family secrets which linger back like ghosts of the past. I loved this manga and enjoyed reading it. Hopefully Watase decides to write another yaoi soon~

Love this so much!!
I love how Watase-sensei didn't use stockholm syndrome plot, Masataka is cute but he has strong characteristic too, I admire this uke
Angst plot + beautiful artworks from sensei, a must read for yaoi-lover!!
I really hope sensei will make another yaoi manga

I finished reading this yesterday but I was so sad over it that I am anot able to post this until now.

Oh my gosh this has got to be the most excellent manga ever. Not just one of the best yaoi mangas but one of THE BEST MANGAS ever, genre notwithstanding.

The story is really great that I don't even mind if there's no sex scenes at all. The sex scenes is actually just icing on top for me. Even without it, I would so definitely eat the cake!!!

I am not really a fan of Yuu Watase. I don't really like her heroines. I really adored Fushigi Yuugi before but I eventually got tired of the story. Her other works like Ayashi no Ceres are just OK but just the same, I don't like those kinds of heroines (whiny, weak etc.). But this one, oh my gosh, Masataka is different. He's strong, but still very human.

I really like Watase-sensei's portrayal of all the characters. THey're 3-dimensional.

ALl in all, I super, duper, mega, highly recommend this to any manga fan. Even if you don't like yaoi, I believe that the story would see you through. Ah, before I forget, the whole series is very cinematic. Excellent plot, excellent characters.

I really hope and pray that sensei woul eventually continue this series. I would love to see more of Souma and Masataka.

I love Sakura Gari. I give this a rating of 1 million/10.

Nothing to say except... I wish I could give this MORE than 10.

I have read a LOT of Watase-sensei's works, and I enjoyed most of them (Ayashi no ceres and Fushigi Yuugi were two of the first manga I ever read, so they both hold a very special place in my heart; I didn't particularly like Zettai Kareshi though, and as for most of the others - Oishii Study, Imadoki, etc - I think they're all pretty average). Yet, although I enjoyed them, I couldn't really think of them as particularly great: in one way or another, they all felt too unrealistic and even silly at times.

But this...? Man, I think this lady's finally found her true calling here!

Okay, I will admit I am a great fan of extra angsty, heart-wrenching tragic and depressing stories, and twisted characters with dark pasts fascinate me to no end (two of my all time favorite manga happen to be Cut and Zetsuai 1989 XD), but the way Watase-sensei was able to mix all this with her beautiful art (Souma=Tamahome=Touya <3) and her usual, incredible twists and unexpected turns



, and a wonderful, touching plot... pure art.

I fell in love with her characters, too. The whole story is pretty much character development, and how everybody sooner or later learns to get over their past and "live on"; Souma was very interesting, but I especially liked Masataka who didn't end up becoming the "perfect goody goody two shoes" who is always nice and gentle and forgiving



And that ending? Perfectly fitting.



I also enjoyed the whole adult/child Souma thing. Very sweet.

Okay, I better stop now. Seriously, forget my review and go read the thing. It's WAAAAY worth it.

... Even if you're not a shounen-ai fan. You definitely won't regret it.

PS Let's hope she hurries up with that sequel!!! XD

... Last updated on March 23rd, 2010, 5:55pm

I'm not really sure how I feel about this story now that I've read the entire thing. It was hard to get through certain parts. All these characters have suffered and you find out why they are the way they are. Horrible pasts, rape, molestations, beatings... These are all horrible things they've suffered and because of it, they're psychologically unbalanced. It doesn't justify the things they do, but it certainly explains it. It makes the story very depressing and all the deaths, for me, were a bitter end, but often times the best end for most. I don't think I would actually ever read this a second time. It's too dark and depressing. All the same it was a interesting story for Watase, and while I HOPE HOPE HOPE she'll do another yaoi, I wouldn't be against it being on the happier end of the story spectrum.

...but I do. Probably wouldn't have read Sakura Gari if I had read the comments here first. I dislike stories about rape based relationships. It did sort of turn me off at first, but this manga has a seriously addictive melodramatic storyline. The characters are so blown out of proportion that it's hard to really feel sickened the way I would if I felt like the characters were people with feelings.

I don't know how, but even with unsympathetic characters and an unrealistic plotline this story works. There's crack in it maybe? Actually, I think that the story goes so far in the direction of melodrama that it stops being a tragedy and starts being fluffy black comedy.

The art is pleasant to look at and about 5x better than anything else I've seen by Watase Yuu. Granted I got perma turned off by her terminally stupid shoujo heroines about 10 years ago. Her drawing style has definitely matured nicely.

The way the story is told, peeling back layers around past events in Souma's life, is hardly unique but is handled very well. Even though each layer reveals an even more far fetched twist to events, you sort of want to just keep going right to the middle.

Ah, and the historical setting is great. All the details about the Taisho era really add a lot of texture. I wish the story were a little more firmly rooted in the era, but the historical setting doesn't just feel like an excuse for cool costumes.

If rape isn't an automatic turn off for you and you have any taste for melodrama, I'd recommend sampling the first couple chapters of Sakura Gari. Not for everybody, but potentially a lot of fun.

This is an awesome manga, I don't know why some people are complaining so much. There is a great and intricate plot, there are likable and hateful characters, there is suspense, there is drama, there is betrayal, there is sex. It's totally awesome, like a big soap opera! Can't wait for next chapter. I couldn't help myself but think on Bannin (Kunieda Saika) while I was reading, it's just very alike. The coincidence about the albino child is just too much for me. This made me really curious but in my personal opinion, Bannin is the original story that "inspired" this one, since Bannin have a plot less intricate and more dark and it's one shot. But still this is a great manga, I'm definitely having fun reading.



... Last updated on October 20th, 2009, 4:35pm