I'm not really into historical stories so I guess I was less interested, nevertheless I know that Tanemura can tell a good story. The characters each have their individual arcs and aren't just side-characters. Those individual stories don't necessarily add to the plot, but I felt like it was less about the story anyway and more about human relationships, which I enjoyed.
Other than the lack of a plot or a main thread, there were times when the comedic effects were too much or misplaced.

As always, Tanemura's art is fantastic. She is always so detailed. The full pages (say with an important moment) are wonderful. It would be interesting to see this manga in full color. It can get almost overpowering on the eyes sometimes, but I still love it.
I do like how her main characters always have the same looks. If you read any of her other manga, you can usually tell who the main couple is and what characteristics other people have based on how they look. (Suggest "Time Stranger Kyoko" for an example of what I mean) For some, this might get irritating, but for longer story-lines with multiple important characters, this is helpful to keep track of who you are dealing with.
Tanemura Sensei never misses a detail!

Yada yada yada. How many times do you people need to say it? "Her art looks the same! Her stories are the same!" okay, we et the point. Yes, Sensei's art and her characters are very similar. But that's hard to change, while keeping her characters looking young and pretty. That's her style, and of she changed it just because her fans asked for it, then she wouldn't have much pride in her work. Manga-ka create manga, an it's their job. They're the same as authors. So unless YOU can do it any better, I suggest you don't insult her that much. Moreover , personally, I can tell the characters apart. Mostly, the similarity is because of the eyes. Otherwise, you'd notice that she is trying to chane it up a little. I mean, at least look at Asagiri. If you don't know who that is, you shouldn't comment. She looks quite different. Story wise, In my opinion, Arina-Sensei's stories seem like Fairy tale manga versions for young girls. That's what she's known for, and that's why I love her work. Honestly, I also think that she should try something a little different, as her fans are growin up/have grown up. But I don't want her to completely step away from her style. It's a nostalgic feeling for me, and I love her series because it's like that. A nice piece of dreams, like when girls are young and think about being a princess , having her first love, those kinds of things. Anyways, SakuraHime kind of steps a bit away from her usual, since now there is actual fighting.... Not very good or intense fighting but hey, it's still shojo and would be strange if suddenly there were Shounen style fights. Overall I think she's still got her touch, and her work is still amazing. Maybe after Sakura, she'll produce something even better. For now, I'm content with Fairy Tales. Because its sweet, and a nice read when all you want to do is be happy it relax.

I was going to put the next paragraph in the Description section, but it kinda didn't fit there. Plus, I thought it might be deleted from that section, so I put what I wrote below for safe-keeping. I have not read this manga yet--the list made me look it up--so I won't rate it.

Japanator reports that the English version has the New York Times' top ten manga list. For example, on the 8/30/11 list, volume 3 was number 7.

The first chapter was exactly what the genre tags promised - comedy, fantasy, romance. It was really cute, and her art's always nice to look at. Though I must say I winced just a bit when she pulled out a magic sword, complete with the whole magical girl get-up. That's typical Tanemura.

And then halfway through chapter two, it switched into high drama, with a great big twist. I mean, really, chapter two and it's already this dramatic? What happened to comedy? I definitely want to find out what happens next, though, and hope it returns to some semblance of normality.

edit; With the release of chapter 4, I stand corrected! Looks like it's moving along nicely, maybe even too quickly. So much has happened within just four chapters.

... Last updated on March 11th, 2009, 1:53am

from all the comments the story seemed like shit glossed over with super pretty art but i was wrong it is pretty good i find myself enjoying it , i personally have not finished her works because i usually cant find the rest of the volumes in store, but i do see similarities in characters but that doesn't really bother me .

obviously the story is moving pretty fast but that's better then slow and im pretty alright with the pacing , but if i don't understated something that's why i BUY the manga and SUPPORT THE MANGAKA and re-read .

also arina has restrictions to what she does, shes writing for a young girls magazine, soo she probably wants to keep it relatebel , and also .. arina said that her main girl actually has not gone through something really traumatic and is yet to experience them ... , IF YOU STILL THINK IT SUCKS WELL KEEP ON CHUGGING!

but this series seems to vary to allot of people.personal i find to be a nice read and has some pretty nice plot twist , and un-predicable things but maybe im just dense..

i say don't read it online but read it at a library or buy it because it is very fast passed your going to want re-read through this and its just a hassle to do online having to load and all that junk .

... Last updated on January 2nd, 2014, 4:09pm

Not really sure what to expect. Her other newer works were kinda disappointing to me. It was like she took a complete transition of writing style during the middle of shinshi doumei cross. I'll keep reading this is to see. Maybe my mind would change. Not planning to expect too much from this since it is a bit too shoujo in the beginning already.

Edit: Read up to chapter 6 and gave up...extremely disappointed

... Last updated on December 26th, 2009, 9:04pm

I know how hard it is to be a mangaka. You have to come up with a cool, fun idea and have poeple like it. I'm an aspiring mangaka (you probably haven't heard of me yet; i'm to be making my debut during a tokyo art exhibition in a few days) and I have a short attention span, but I'm really creative like Tanemura-sensei. She's my inspiration, so don't bash on her! But yeah, I think someone needs to give her a good idea... maybe a bullied girl who commits suicide? Oh, wait, crap, there goes my One Moon series...