Seriously getting BASARA vibes, but beyond that - ya know this is something I often don't think about because it doesn't seem to MESH with the artwork, but Watase writes/draws/creates truly awful bad guys. Think about it.

Fushigi Yuugi - we can START with Nakago, but that doesn't even begin to touch on Miboshi or Tomo (neither of who seemed to suffer the same horrific childhood that Nakago so they can't even claim trauma, not that its an excuse)
Ayashi no Ceres - Mikagi, who can forget MIKAGI?
Arata - Akachi. Just. This guy.

I suppose it says something that only her fantasy series seem to suffer from truly awful bad guy syndrome (her contemporaries or "light" fantasy like Absolute Boyfriend or Alice 19th, don't suffer this).

I'm enjoying this so very much. I forget why it took me this long (16 vols) before I started reading this (I was buying the volumes...that would have been an expensive lesson to learn that I didn't like the series!). I think I like Arata's story in modern day japan a tad bit better, just because he's freaking hilarious, but I feel so bad for Hinohara. People just keep TRUSTING him to do the right thing and he sort of feels obligated to.

And if I want to wear Kotoha's outfit all the time no big deal right? ( )

To be honest, this series is starting to disappoint me. It started out more interesting than it's gone on. Still, it _is_ only volume 3. I will keep reading and give it more of a chance. After all, this is the woman who created Fushigi Yuugi!We get to see what the transplant into our world is up to and how he's coping. He goes to school. Which is interesting as a nice break, but really, is not that terribly interesting.And then she reveals her Highlander plot to us all.I find it all a little confusing, in that there are a lot of terms she's created for the people and objects (and really, why do weapons of any sort need freaking names?). I expect if I was a Japanese speaker, I wouldn't be as confused. Not that I want the translators making up English-y words for the things either. So I have no solution. ( )