Like everyone said the oneshot was great! I began to read the actual manga because of this and well its not so great... I like the originality so i kept reading, but the ending is just disappointing because basically nothing happens.... for that reason i recommend just reading the oneshot its great. The series is tolerable but the way it abruptly ended just makes it a complete waste of time.

Reading the oneshot, I really liked it; people that use keys to get weapons? That is pretty cool. Then I read the rest of the series.

Unlike some of the other reviewers here, I actually enjoyed it a lot more; it's not uncommon for mangaka to make drastic changes (though I was really disappointed about the monkey. Seriously, WTF was with the dolphin?)so while I was a bit surprised, that didn't really have an effect on my overall enjoyment of the series thus far.

The artwork is pretty, the plot is interesting but the dolphin was wack. That's my opinion and that ain't gonna change.

Guess what? It's a good manga. Three chapters are out, and
1) art is consistent. The background is done very nice, and some scenes are pretty epic. You can clearly discern which character's which. Shonenisque art, but still good. I like it.
2: Characters are okay. Only about three chapters are out, yet I some characters are pretty fun. Hell, there's even character development in those three chapters.
3: Plot is okay. It's paced alright, for the most part.

Guess what? I'M RATING THE MANGA. Did I say that I'm rating the oneshot? No, I didn't, cause I didn't read the oneshot, and I'm not rating the oneshot, I'm rating the manga for what it is, not comparing it. And what is this manga? It's a good manga so far with sorta believable characters and good art, and did not deserve those bunch of very bad using ratings cause it's compared with something it's not.

... Last updated on August 5th, 2009, 10:52pm

i have the same sentiments as the previous comments..judging from the first two chapters, i like the oneshot better..

being stoic (don't know if this is the right description) is better expressed by the oneshot character (oh, btw he's much cuter and cooler than the latter)..between the monkey and the dolphin, hmm..i still like the monkey better..i understand if they want to balance the protagonist's overall "character" by adding a cutey sidekick..but for me, if the two of them squint their eyes, twitch their eyebrows, or make unpleasant faces in sync is more hilarious.

still, i like the plot so i can't brush off the series easily so i'm going to watch over it for little bit more and see how it develops.

I've just read the oneshot out and thought it was great, one of the best out there.
Then I read what is supposed to be the serialisation of the series and I have to say; What the hell happened to the character designs?
I loved the original characters in the oneshot but the new designs completely put me off. Still, I suppose this is in exchange for Tsubane's power getting way better. The Bird thingy in the oneshot just looked weird :\ Anyway, nice manga so far and seems good for the future.
I just wish it had kept some of the original character designs and plot from the oneshot :'(

... Last updated on July 18th, 2009, 7:06am

The oneshot was great but the actual series that followed the oneshot was changed so drastically that i think the quality dropped and the series is now mediocre, but still worth a read. Try it out.

The one shot for this series was an amazing drama-esque story about a slave/experiment running away from an empire. The series adaptation completely changed the story, pacing, characters, and mood for the worse, and added completely different character designs (As much as I like catgirls, this story has no place for them). I'd definitely recommend reading the one shot, but you can skip the series.

... Last updated on November 7th, 2009, 1:07pm

Yeah like the two people below, I too liked the one-shot much better. I was actually hooked onto this series by that one-shot cause of the characteristics of the original characters and I wanted to see the progress of the story revolving around the two against the empire, and possibly new characters to show up but,........... the whole thing is remade with different characters in the original character's position. I absolutely hate the new main protagonist's attitude, it ain't as cool as the original Tsubame, and I also liked the original female protagonist too =(

I felt the serialisation versian is lacking compared to the one-shot, to me, the one-shot had more/quality substance to it, the serialisation feels...... plain, dull.

For example;

The feeling I get from the one-shot is like coming out of a good movie and still feel the impact it gave and will talk about it the following day with friends, the serialisation on the other hand is like watching a movie on friday night and forget it the next.

Why did you take this risky change Tanaka Yasuki? It ain't cool at all! Not Cool! Bad move.

... Last updated on July 20th, 2009, 2:59am

I really wish people wouldn't compare this series to the oneshot so much. So what if he changed the main character a little. It happens. Oneshots are oneshots, series are series. Seriously.

Anyway, I like it. It's pretty original. Probably completely orirginal because the only characters I know who fights with keys are in Kingdom Hearts games. lol. Looking forward to more chapters!

... Last updated on October 4th, 2009, 6:34pm

The one-shot was full of cliches. The fact that you guys even like the one-shot proves that most of the people who rated this poorly has bad taste. Monkey on shoulder is cliche and so is the pretty boy. The pretty boy also had the country girl personality by trying to save money to reach a better destination or place than the one she was born/raised in. Example can be found in the manga Shiki and many others.

Of course if you just like cliches like many shoujo fans or fans of copycat shounen manga then avoid reading this.

That aside, many jokes and scenes have an empty feeling to it. The characters need working on and may improve when the manga continues. Until then this manga gets an 8 due to originality and art.

... Last updated on August 6th, 2009, 12:25am