It's not that she tries to keep to herself, exactly: It's just that everyone seems to look right through her! Naturally, Sakuya Tohno has a complex about it. She says she's just like air: ever present, but never seen. All she wants is a friend, but building relationships isn't exactly easy for someone who is, for all intents and purposes, invisible. But then she hears a legend about the "Thousand-Year Sakura" and how, if one makes a wish beneath its perpetually-blossoming boughs, it's sure to come true. So in a moment of desperation, she races to the tree, only to find four very attractive boys waiting for her... And at that moment, beneath the cherry blossoms of the ever-blooming Thousand-Year Sakura, something incredible happens!
(Source: Turtle Paradise)
I felt like I was reading a taste of Beauty and the Beast (or Princess and the Frog?), Alice in Wonderland, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and The Terminator (…or some random anime/show that is similar to all of these)! To be honest, I barely watched those shows, but I can smell unoriginality from far away. The artwork is beautiful as always. People should learn how to create clean-cut charming characters from this manga-ka, Aya Shouoto. If you are one of those young fangirls that crave "HAWT anime boys," I can just recommend her work, and you'll enjoy it! Personally, I don't really care aboutthose raging hormones, but you might, right? Oh! What kind of 13 year old kids look that like that though!! Ugh (nonetheless, it might not bother others, but it really irritates me)!
Artwork: A- for characters.
B+ for scenery.
Yes, I'm grading easy!
Basically, this manga is about a girl that is compared to air. No one can see her, but they can feel her; that in it self made me interested. I really wanted to know how it would unfold.
This is a reverse Harem, so there are tons of boys. Well, only four this time. We have the cooker, the idol, the mad scientist, and the nonchalant guy. There isnothing special about them, but you might like one of them because there are chapters dedicated to almost all. I'm not saying that's a good thing, because you always end up hearing the heroine (Sakuya) say something like this: " You seemed so mean in the beginning; but now I understand you! Oh my Gawd!"
And for some reason, the classic Aya Shouoto always makes one of the guy characters into some sort of weirdo by the end..
Characters: C-
Beginning potential (storyline): B+
There are cliches after cliches. I should have stopped after reading about the magical tree, but nooooooo.... I just had to read on!
The problem of this manga really starts when the problem of the storyline is resolved. The last two chapters were so out of place; the story ends in square one.
Storytelling: D-
Unpredictability: A-
Originality: C-
Before it seems that I am bashing it completely, I just want to say that I liked how in this manga, the main character HAD to choose between the guys. There were no if or buts. She was forced to choose (...although that changed quickly because the ending is similar to the beginning... ). I'm also a fan of slapstick comedy; it had a handful of that.
Sadly, I enjoyed it. I waited patiently as it was being translated from the start; there must be something wrong with me.
I'm used to the notorious Aya Shouoto’s odd endings. I wasn't expecting too much from this anyway (neither should you). There are so many questions left, but hey! It was a short and fun read (2 volumes, 8 chapters)!
If I had to go all "philosophical" on all her work, I’d say: maybe she's trying to be a strong preacher for surrealism and all it's glory? Right?
Nah! That couldn't be!
Personal rating: B-
Overall rating: D
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A question for those that read it:
If being invisible is supposed to make Sakuya insignificant, why does her action cause a reaction?
