It's not a masterpiece. But it's definitely a fun read, especially if you are a fan of BL (I'll get to that later).
The Art
. . . is very good. Well drawn and fun to look at. My only criticism is that the characters spend a little too much time in chibi form for my taste, but when they're not, they really are well drawn. There is enough detail to keep the pictures from getting boring, but the style still manages to be clean enough that they don't look sloppy either.
The Characters
. . . are likable. The story mostly centers around the two main characters, both who, if not a little stereotypical, are definitely sympathetic people.
Ren, the main main character is often mistaken for a girl (which drives him mad) but he has no problem trying to sell his body to either men or women, and occasionally uses his girlish features to his advantage. Ren also has serious trust issues (for a good reason, though), and the author definitely uses that to pull out some (although cliche) suspiciously BL scenes with Ciel.
Ciel, the other main character, is Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Only instead of being either brooding or violent, he's very easygoing and laid back and definitely kindhearted. This in part he blames on his loss of memory from before he was 16. As he tells Ren at one point, he can't very well sympathize with Ren's feelings of sorrow and anger due to his tragic past, as Ciel can't remember any people or events that might trigger such emotions in him.
Only problem that I have with the characters is that the number of interesting non-evil females is exactly zilch. Nada. Nil. There are two recurring females in the plot. One is a babbling idiot. The other is a conniving bitch. You can see why that might be annoying. Luckily, though, I'm not reading this for the girls. I'm reading it for the hot male relationships (lol).
The World
The story is set in a world that includes the existence of fairies (though they seem to be the only supernatural species in the manga). The fairies are all of one sex: male. There are no female fairies. However, every so often, the fairies male shape will become female in order for pregnancy to happen (otherwise the species certainly wouldn't last very long!).
The fairies look human, save for their very large, butterfly-esq wings, which they can hide and show on will. These wings are supposed to grant wishes to those who possess them, and for this reason, there arose groups of fairy hunters. These hunters, however, are regarded even among the humans as the worst kind of outlaw. As a counter move, there also arose a group of fairy protectors who do just that: protect fairies.
The Plot
Ren, the character we are first introduced to, is a powerful fairy hunter searching for revenge on a person from his past. Ciel, the character who soon joins him on his journey (much to Ren's disappointment) is a fairy protector. And yes, they each know the others' profession. And no, they don't hate each other because of it. In fact, they become quite good friends.
Overall, the plot isn't all that innovative, but it's fun and entertaining, and that's what manga should be, right? My main critic for the plot would be that it is very condensed. The author definitely could have stood to stretch things out a little longer, because sometimes it feel rushed. However, if you want a manga with a plot that doesn't take long to read, then this may be perfect for you.
Boys Love
I'm willing to bet that the only reason this isn't marked "shounen-ai" is because it hasn't been fully scanlated yet. I'm serious. Let's look at the facts.
- The two main characters are often mistaken for a couple, and yet this doesn't seem to bother Ciel at all.
- Ciel actually says that Ren reminds him of his ex (??!?!!)
- The fairies (and, yes, you find out pretty quick that one of the MCs is, in fact, a fairy) are all male and therefore, since they don't often mate with humans, they naturally couple up with other males (three other males, to be precise - they live in foursomes!!!). This doesn't mean they can't like girls. But even so, male relationships aren't exactly unusual for them.
- There's a guy from one of the MCs pasts who shows up and discloses that, as a matter of fact, he has feelings for the MC (though the MC never knew), and that if they'd both stuck around longer, they would have ended up in one of those foursomes making babies together (or trying anyway)!!
- So much implied BL. "I'll jump in front of you to save you, even though I'll be hit instead", "I can't face you right now because I'm so ashamed that I didn't believe in you!" "Hey, now, come out of that closet (no pun intended) it's okay that you didn't believe in me - it was my fault for making you think I was betraying you for my ex anyway (!!!). I'd never do that for real, though." "He really trusts me? All this affection is making me blush!" etc. And no, I'm not making this up (well, maybe the exact wording is a little different 🙂 ).
In Conclusion . . .
Good story. Good Characters. Good read. Not great. But compelling and fun. Especially if you like bromances or BL.
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