This is definitely my favorite yaoi series if I'd have to name one. Plot? Check. (There is I tell you! It might be a bit confusing though...) Awesome characters? Check!! Gorgeous art? Double check! I personally like fantasy as a genre so that's a plus.
When I first started reading this I thought "whoa this is sooo smutty" but you get used to it... And even the smuttyness is kind of funny in an entertaining way. Not to mention hawt... slurp
And oh my god the characters!! The characters are what really make this story. Havi is my favorite seme of all time. He's everything wrapped up in one neat package. Good looking, love love love the long hair! I actually developed a long hair fetish when it comes to manga men after starting this. And I despize long haired men in real life.. Weird. But he's just so amazing! Compared to the typical stoic seme, I really like how he shows emotion on his face, I even remember scenes where he had these blush spots drawn on his cheeks like a doll! 😀 Havi's such a funny character too but the comedy doesn't take away from how cool he is either, amazingly. (Most funny semes are just clowns to me...) And as for the relationship, right from the beginning I thought it was so cute how he was obviously smitten with Vald though he was kinda antisocial. I think the devotion there is so sweet.
And points for Vald for being a strong uke! Havi is the one being saved just as many times as Vald in this story! 🙂 Also, despite the whole thing with the beast Vald, the human Vald is actually the one coming on to Havi in the end, I think... And I love it how, so far at least, Havi seems to respect human Vald's sensibilities. It's not as much forcing or rape in this manga as it is sexual abuse.. Not sure if that's any better though. He he...
Someone said Vald's naïvete isn't believable but I kinda think it is. I mean, he's a prince right? So it fits... I actually think Vald has quite a lot of personality rather than being just a standard uke. He's not as complex as Havi though...
As plot goes I think this is a manga you can't just skim through or you'll really be lost. I've read it more than once and it all seems logical to me now but in looking back I think you really need to focus when reading this. I disagree that the original quest has been forgotten, they're still trying to break the curse. All they've been doing so far is trying to find out how it is to be done...
I do think all the info on the numerous side characters is confusing but I'm sure it'll all come together soon. And if there wasn't any previous discussion on them then whatever will happen in the future regarding those characters would probably seem really random... So it's better this way
I for one think the plot is intricate and amazing. Complexity is good! And it gets better in terms of originality from the initial setting though even the description "Hallwil agrees to help Val... for a price" is complete misleading bull... It's not that cliché!!
I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone that's not squeamish about the explicit sex. Though I have to say I've actually enjoyed that a lot too. Maybe it's because the art is so pretty. No matter what kind of obscenities Ayano-sensei draws I'll probably think it looks nice! And this isn't as bad as the Finder series... Though I must admit that the later scenes have been a lot better. The kissing is so sensual.
Well, all in all, I really have nothing bad to say really. Can't wait for more!!!