I'm loving this manga more and more!!
The art is BEAUTIFUL~
The plot is complex and mysterious.
The casts are playing in a "game," liken to a chess game. 2 sides have opposite players, like kings, queens, knights, and pawns. (It's really weird b/c the knights of both sides, for example, have exactly the same face. and a pawn of both sides are the same person!!--it's not revealed how that's possible...) The king of one side has to kill another side in order to end the game.
That's where the first complication comes in: the 2 kings are very, very close childhood friends.
I wish I could see what's happening on BOTH sides of the board, too though,.. and not limited to one side.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how this pans out.
I almost wish this is a shonen-ai. But it isn't (so far). It just that the relational context is soooo perfect for a BL. Almost if not all of the main cast is comprised of males... yep. That's a perfect setting for a male-harem. lol.
EDIT: I checked out the authors SAKI Otoh &YAMAMOTO Kana, as well as the artist YAMAMOTO Kana's list of works; all of them are either shonen-ai or yaoi. Hah. Figured. 🙂 So my anticipation for a shonen-ai scene (plural, hopefully) might be realized later on...
I'm enjoying it a lot, so I highly recommend it for anyone who's looking for...
-all males cast
-handsome males (ALL, not just the main casts)
-childhood (platonic) relationship
-lots of cool fightings (hand combat and weaponry)
-well paced. action is not too slow, nor too fast-paced.
-loyal followers
-complex and unusual plot: "game" setting (controlled by unknown and seemingly omnipotent power)
-hinting towards a BL subplot
-beautiful art (like a shojo manga... more than a shonen, though this seems to be a shonen.. hmm?), clean cut. Well drawn. (Dying for a colored page)