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アラタカンガタリ~ 革神語 [Arata Kangatari] #2
Arata: The Legend, Vol. 2
Framed for the assassination of Princess Kikuri, Hinohara is sent to prison island Gatoya, where the fearsome warden Tsutsuga awaits him. Will Hinohara be able to awaken his Hayagami in time to escape?
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2009
8 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Yuu Watase
362 books1,165 followersYuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.
She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".
She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 23, 2023
The basic story arc of this series is nothing we haven't seen in fantasy manga before. Two boys named Arata, one on Earth and one on a fantasy planet, swap places. Each must negotiate life with a new family, a different culture, and so on. Earth's Arata (E-Arata) is called upon to fulfill a fantasy novel-like quest where he must gather twelve gemstones that will--and this is stated in volume one--eventually lead to his ruling the world.
So far, so trope-y. Where this story is unusual for me, especially for a shonen story, is in its blatant overturning of tropes that near 100% of the time accompany manga for boys. E-Arata is no gung-ho optimistic fighter. He was bullied both in junior high and in the little he's experienced of high school, making him more fearful and despairing than brave and optimistic. When he arrives in the fantasy world, he witnesses an assassination, and the culprits are out to kill him, which doesn't exactly help with a feeling of well-being either.
When drawn into the battles that are part of the fantasy arc, E-Arata's intention isn't to dominate those he's pitted against, but to live through his encounters with them, and then to understand them and reconcile with them. E-Arata spends much of his time running away from and dodging attacks rather than swinging his rusty shortsword (that only gains its power in times of extreme need anyhow).
(edited: put a couple of things in spoilers because they actually happened early in v. 3, and I didn't want to put them into the review for v. 3 because it will have a different focus.)
In the end, both he and the young girl Kotoha, who is his companion and servant, are healers, each in their own way. To me, Kotoha is the companion, among the many that E-Arata will inevitably amass as the story goes along, who will show him that humans are capable of loyalty.
F-Arata has a more conventional shonen protagonist attitude. F-Arata's arc is somewhat more comedic, too, as his family tries to reconcile his strange behavior with the family member they've known for fifteen years.
F-Arata's sections take up far fewer pages than E-Arata's--he's only there as flashbacks and a couple of 4-panel gags in this volume, for example--and that makes me curious how readers in Japan responded to this manga. I'm sure there must have been at least some who thought it was refreshing to read a story that leans heavily into some tropes, but also questions some others. I'm interested in seeing if Yuu Watase can create something that continues to be unique and inventive out of what could easily become a repetitive sequence of "reconciliation battles."
So far, so trope-y. Where this story is unusual for me, especially for a shonen story, is in its blatant overturning of tropes that near 100% of the time accompany manga for boys. E-Arata is no gung-ho optimistic fighter. He was bullied both in junior high and in the little he's experienced of high school, making him more fearful and despairing than brave and optimistic. When he arrives in the fantasy world, he witnesses an assassination, and the culprits are out to kill him, which doesn't exactly help with a feeling of well-being either.
When drawn into the battles that are part of the fantasy arc, E-Arata's intention isn't to dominate those he's pitted against, but to live through his encounters with them, and then to understand them and reconcile with them. E-Arata spends much of his time running away from and dodging attacks rather than swinging his rusty shortsword (that only gains its power in times of extreme need anyhow).
(edited: put a couple of things in spoilers because they actually happened early in v. 3, and I didn't want to put them into the review for v. 3 because it will have a different focus.)
In the end, both he and the young girl Kotoha, who is his companion and servant, are healers, each in their own way. To me, Kotoha is the companion, among the many that E-Arata will inevitably amass as the story goes along, who will show him that humans are capable of loyalty.
F-Arata has a more conventional shonen protagonist attitude. F-Arata's arc is somewhat more comedic, too, as his family tries to reconcile his strange behavior with the family member they've known for fifteen years.
F-Arata's sections take up far fewer pages than E-Arata's--he's only there as flashbacks and a couple of 4-panel gags in this volume, for example--and that makes me curious how readers in Japan responded to this manga. I'm sure there must have been at least some who thought it was refreshing to read a story that leans heavily into some tropes, but also questions some others. I'm interested in seeing if Yuu Watase can create something that continues to be unique and inventive out of what could easily become a repetitive sequence of "reconciliation battles."
October 28, 2017
I have fallen in love with this series. This volume did a good job of continuing and improving upon the story from the first volume. The characters are interesting, the world is interesting, and the battles between the good guys ad the bad guys have kept me engaged. The artwork is fantastic. It's
I really enjoy the art. It helps to reinforce the feeling of fun that underlies this whole story. Just like volume one, there's plenty of comedy in here and I do get a nice chuckle every once in a while.
After this second volume, I can't help but to draw some comparisons between Arata and Avatar the Last Airbender. The main character (Arata Hinohara) is young and must grow up while completing a larger-than-life journey. He's learning about himself, about life and about love. (I am a BIG fan of the romantic interest here- they'd be so cute together!) Like Avatar, enemies slowly become less of enemies (and maybe even friends??) as Arata Hinohara continues along his hero's journey.
The volume ends with some early sketches from the author as she explains how the story developed into its final form. There is also a small note from the author talking about how the series came together for her. I lover reading her notes because she seems like she's having just as much fun writing this series as I am reading it.
I really enjoy the art. It helps to reinforce the feeling of fun that underlies this whole story. Just like volume one, there's plenty of comedy in here and I do get a nice chuckle every once in a while.
After this second volume, I can't help but to draw some comparisons between Arata and Avatar the Last Airbender. The main character (Arata Hinohara) is young and must grow up while completing a larger-than-life journey. He's learning about himself, about life and about love. (I am a BIG fan of the romantic interest here- they'd be so cute together!) Like Avatar, enemies slowly become less of enemies (and maybe even friends??) as Arata Hinohara continues along his hero's journey.
The volume ends with some early sketches from the author as she explains how the story developed into its final form. There is also a small note from the author talking about how the series came together for her. I lover reading her notes because she seems like she's having just as much fun writing this series as I am reading it.
August 26, 2015
More or less what happens this book:
Hinohara is captured!
Arata derps around Japan.
Hinohara saves Kotoha!
Arata goes to the doctor.
Hinohara is in a life or death duel--twice!!
Arata sleeps and complains about the clothes.
Hinohara masters two powers!
Arata yawns and acts cray.
I'm starting to see a strong imbalance of life problems...
Hinohara is captured!
Arata derps around Japan.
Hinohara saves Kotoha!
Arata goes to the doctor.
Hinohara is in a life or death duel--twice!!
Arata sleeps and complains about the clothes.
Hinohara masters two powers!
Arata yawns and acts cray.
I'm starting to see a strong imbalance of life problems...
October 26, 2018
Pretty good.
October 15, 2024
This story is interesting but I just learned that apparently they remastered this in Japan (updating & changing story content?? according to reddit?) and didn't release it in the US and what we do have released over here in English is incomplete. So I am not sure if I will continue this series due to this :( This is so unfortunate
Read
May 26, 2022I loved this so much. I was immediately sucked into the world and the conflict. I woke up as if from a dream. I can't really explain why that is because I was too busy reading to think about it. I got this from the library, but I think I may have to go out and buy it physically.
June 18, 2018
Wasn't as good as the first vol but entertaining enough.
March 13, 2017
Pretty good volume. I appreciate "earth Arata" starting off as he has. I like his character a lot as he's growing.
August 1, 2010
Arata from present-day Japan has swapped places with Arata in a fantasy world sorta kinda not really resembling ancient Japan. Mostly with the 'not really' part.
In this volume, he's been sent to a prison island, which he finds out is really really horrible. And the entire volume is spent learning just how horrible, and figuring out how to get out of there.
By the end of it, I started to get a sense of where the series was headed.
There are no translation notes, and they're probably not needed, since the only untranslated words are made-up and/or specialized words in the context of the fantasy world. And my only disappointment with the English version is that the original color pages aren't in color. I'd like to get a better sense of what people look like in color, and I can only get that if they happen to appear on the cover of the volumes.
Anyway, worth continuing to read the next volume when it comes out.
In this volume, he's been sent to a prison island, which he finds out is really really horrible. And the entire volume is spent learning just how horrible, and figuring out how to get out of there.
By the end of it, I started to get a sense of where the series was headed.
There are no translation notes, and they're probably not needed, since the only untranslated words are made-up and/or specialized words in the context of the fantasy world. And my only disappointment with the English version is that the original color pages aren't in color. I'd like to get a better sense of what people look like in color, and I can only get that if they happen to appear on the cover of the volumes.
Anyway, worth continuing to read the next volume when it comes out.
January 30, 2012
This, also, is just alright. It's not any worse than the last one, but it's not particularly better.
Hinohara and Kotoha are just arriving in Gatoya, and most of the volume is set and focuses on it. They're all criminals, of some kind, and they have a dynamic and are afraid of Tsutsuga, the person who runs the place and twice every day captures a person, and they've never seen him or see the person taken again. Apparently he also has a Hayagami, so Hinohara decides that he has to find him.
Hinohara and Kotoha get separated near the beginning, and Kotoha ends up with these two boys that Hinohara clashed with, Ginchi and Kanate who are pretty cool, while Hinohara looks for her and meets some other neat people along the way.
Hinohara finally finds them, and then they get taken by Tsutsuga...
(Read the rest here: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2012... )
Hinohara and Kotoha are just arriving in Gatoya, and most of the volume is set and focuses on it. They're all criminals, of some kind, and they have a dynamic and are afraid of Tsutsuga, the person who runs the place and twice every day captures a person, and they've never seen him or see the person taken again. Apparently he also has a Hayagami, so Hinohara decides that he has to find him.
Hinohara and Kotoha get separated near the beginning, and Kotoha ends up with these two boys that Hinohara clashed with, Ginchi and Kanate who are pretty cool, while Hinohara looks for her and meets some other neat people along the way.
Hinohara finally finds them, and then they get taken by Tsutsuga...
(Read the rest here: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2012... )
September 25, 2016
Another enjoyable volume. Still not one of my favorite Yuu Watase series, but it has potential. Things got a little more interesting in this volume, with Arata's powers and the powers of the other Hayagami Masters.
The panels could be a little confusing to keep up with in this volume. There is a lot of action going on and I found it a little hard to follow from panel to panel. There was a lot of busyness within the panels that made it tough to keep up.
Love the artwork, as always. Yuu Watase is one of my favorite manga artists/creators for a reason :D
I do wish we got to spend more time with the other Arata, in the modern world. I would imagine it would be fun to follow his fish-out-of-water journey.
Excited to read more and see where it goes!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Arata and Arata and Some Confusion
The panels could be a little confusing to keep up with in this volume. There is a lot of action going on and I found it a little hard to follow from panel to panel. There was a lot of busyness within the panels that made it tough to keep up.
Love the artwork, as always. Yuu Watase is one of my favorite manga artists/creators for a reason :D
I do wish we got to spend more time with the other Arata, in the modern world. I would imagine it would be fun to follow his fish-out-of-water journey.
Excited to read more and see where it goes!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Arata and Arata and Some Confusion
February 27, 2013
The story is getting interesting.Loved meeting new characters.Good illus.
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Spoiler
Note to Self: Japan & Amawakuni
Arata Hinohara(15yo,H.S. student,new Sho,Kamui) & Hayagami(sword)=Tsutsuga(prison warden,Sho, now Demon,new sword spirit & Saniwa (his Hayagami sword)),Kotoha(Uneme Clan mem,healer,servant),Kanata (prisoner,thief,pal),Ginchi(thief protege,prisoner,pal),Osome(prisoner,bar owner)+Masahi(prisoner, bf),Princess Kikuri(Amawakuni ruler,near death),Arata(Hime clan member),Kannagi(1 of 12 Shindo,bad) & Homura(his Hayagami),Lord Akachi(1 of 12 Shindo ?).
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Spoiler
Note to Self: Japan & Amawakuni
Arata Hinohara(15yo,H.S. student,new Sho,Kamui) & Hayagami(sword)=Tsutsuga(prison warden,Sho, now Demon,new sword spirit & Saniwa (his Hayagami sword)),Kotoha(Uneme Clan mem,healer,servant),Kanata (prisoner,thief,pal),Ginchi(thief protege,prisoner,pal),Osome(prisoner,bar owner)+Masahi(prisoner, bf),Princess Kikuri(Amawakuni ruler,near death),Arata(Hime clan member),Kannagi(1 of 12 Shindo,bad) & Homura(his Hayagami),Lord Akachi(1 of 12 Shindo ?).
June 16, 2013
This is a cute, enjoyable series. It is basically a struggle between good and evil from both a fantastical and a realistic perspective. Arata battles bullie sin our world, while the other kid whose name is harder to recall (I shall call him Arata 2) battles actual homicidal evil in the fantastical world. There are many parallels between the two, but most of the focus is on Arata 2 thus far.
September 10, 2016
Arata continues in the other world just trying to survive. Now, he is wanting to be more. He is willing to forgive and do the impossible. He saves many people in the process and angers his enemies further. I'm loving his character. He is bent on things being fair and just. I think of him as Arata the Just.
February 5, 2013
Continues with Arata v2 (the modern kid) and all sorts of insanity on a prison island (its like Blame! and No Escape got together & build the place)
... only one page of Arata v1 so far... Comeon Watase-sensei, we wanna see him get confused by school, cars and internets!
... only one page of Arata v1 so far... Comeon Watase-sensei, we wanna see him get confused by school, cars and internets!
August 7, 2013
It was alright. So far, I'm not blown away by this series. The story was basically introducing some new characters and a bit of silly action designed to make modern Arata want to interact with the world he's been plunked into and save the princess. No big plot development here.
May 3, 2012
I am starting to REALLY like this series and now i just need to get my hands on Volume 3 which is going to be really hard for me :/
November 14, 2012
I like it, but the drawings make it hard to differentiate the characters
February 21, 2013
Things are really heating up! Arata got Tsutuga to entrust his hayagami with him. (Unless that's the next volume? Whatevs.)
March 19, 2013
Good start, then... ~_~
January 31, 2019
Awesome story!! Had to re-read it because I couldn't remember what happened. Love the characters, love the illustrations and the uniqueness of the story.
September 16, 2017
It's okay, not my favorite series by Yuu Watase but I'm enjoying it :)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews