Arata Kangatari
Arata: The Legend

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

For my first review, I choose one of my favorite mangas: Arata Kangatari, or Arata the Legend.

This manga was a surprise. I really didn't expected too much, maybe because it's a little... Unknown. And I discover it by a friend, so, yeah, that was lucky.

The story is basically about a boy, Arata Hinohara, that goes to another world, changing place with another Arata. That sounds like a cliche, right? But Yuu Watase transform the story that "we all alright know" into something really good and enjoyable - thing that I miss in a lot of mangas today. Well, at last this is what I ... think. I love so much how the story goes, and gets better in every chapter.

The characters are great, but there are some boring ones. Their relationship grows with the time, and it's something nice to see. And, even not having so many attention, Kugura was my favorite, and my bae haha.

The art is good, obvious, and it's impossible not remember Fushigi Yugi.

Yuu Watase create an amazing world, who deserves more attention. I'm saying this because in my country the manga was cancelled in the volume 11, and I will need to import the rest *cries*

I highly recomend Arata Kangatari.

And sorry for any mistake ^^'

I don't know what it is about Yu Watase's work, as formulaic and sometimes tedious as her stories tend to be, and as annoying as some of her female protagonists are. I somehow keep coming back for more.

I think it has to be the characters of her works. ARATA is a little different than Watase's usual fare, have a male as the main character and being a shonen rather than a shoujo, however, a lot of the same elements are there as you go through this layered quest story.

Two boys from two different worlds, both named Arata, switch worlds and are both thrust into ... dangerous adventure. In a the fantasy realm, Arata is framed for the murder of the Imperial Princess, by her 12 guardians and as he is on the run, he hides in the mysterious Kando Forest. In Japan, Arata Hinohara is have the worst time in school and just wishes he could disappear. Well, you can see where this is going...

The two boys switch places and a race to defeat the 12 guardians known as the "Shinsho" begins, especially as war begins to break out between the guardians as to who will be the Princess' successor as Emperor.

As I said before, Watase knows how to make amazing characters with amazing backstories. Each one is unique and each one is great. Evil characters are twistedly evil and good characters and honorable to a fault. The emotions she's able to weave into this are amazing. Three of the Shinsho arcs drove me to streaming tears so far, and I'm not even done yet.

The romance in this story is half-backed and I think is only in here because Yuu doesn't know what else to do. But the interactions between Arata and the people he meets, including the Shos, Shinshos, and Zakusho's are really good.

Now, all that said, the series is still formulaic quest material. Both Aratas are a little bland. The main girl is a ditz. And the challenges for the MC don't last very long. You would think not "every" problem can be talked out or end as easily as "You're lonely, why don't you be yourself?", but there you do. Arata's main rival is also a bit boring and one note, but there you go.

All in all, this series is very good, and I enjoy reading it so far.

This series has been a really strange discoverment. I´m not going to tell you what actually happens, because that will be spoiler and goes against my policy.

In the beginnig, what atracted me was the plot, that seems to be able to appear in any other place, but that as it starts to move gets deepper and focused. It wisely involves various concepts used in other mangas and makes them blend in a rather amazing way, that lets you with that feeling of wanting to read more. The arcs are subsequents and don´t have any wastes, and in most of the chapters you´re able ... to enjoy a hilarious parts that gives you that shounen-manga-aura, and that allows to relax the development.

Even when the main characters don´t belong to the worlds they have been replaced of (a kind of edo-era-japan and a modern one) they get the resolve to do their best to protect what the other holds precious, while they have the opportunity to know new faces and to grow phisically and emotionally.

The relationship betwen the characters, involved by the casualties of changing places in parallels worlds, where everyone knows them and at the same time doesn´t, and the ability they have to communicate from time to time, makes you able to see side-storys, may it be from the same world or from different ones, giving it -and us- the chance of a ¨change of airs¨ from time to time.

This story it´s pretty brand-new if you compared it with other shounen mangas, but has won it´s place when it comes to plot and development. So, don´t hesitate twice when it comes to read it.