Fairy Cube, Vol. 2

妖精標本 [Fairy Cube] #2

by Kaori Yuki

Ian used to just see dead people. Now he is one. Trapped inside his own body by the Fairy Cube, Ian must now figure out how to stop the devious spirit Tokage from taking over his life, stealing his girl and ruining any chance he ever has of resurrection.

 

Tokage has troubles of his own when he gets involved with the Gotoh Group, conspiratorial fairies aiming at world domination. But that doesn't stop him from further terrorizing Ian's family and friends. Is Ian's father also in Tokage's clutches?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Romance, Horror, Graphic Novels, Shojo

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Kaori Yuki (由貴香織里) is a Japanese manga artist.

She debuted in 1987 with Natsufuku no Erii (Jap: 夏服のエリー) on the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha.
She is best known for her gothic manga works, such as the Earl Cain series (Jap: 伯爵カイン, Hakushaku Cain) and Angel Sanctuary (Jap: 天使禁猟区, Tenshi Kinryōku)

Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo manga anthologies, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume. In 2010, Kaori Yuki was one of many manga artists whose work would appear in the new shōjo manga anthology Aria by the publisher Kodansha on July 28, 2010.
Her doujinshi-ka name is MoonClock.

Reviews

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly this was just really hard to get through, I think it might be to do with the fact the volumes read as one big chapter with no separation. It just feels a bit overwhelming and makes the story seem really slow

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A three volume fantasy shōjo created by Kaori Yuki, which follows high school boy Ian Hasumi. Ian was born with wing marks on his back and the ability to see fairies and the world they live in. Unfortunately for Ian, no one believes him, and have taken to calling him "Ian the Liar". Ian also has a spirit twin named Tokage who hates him and an abusive father who burned the fairy marks off his back when Ian's mother left to prevent Ian from "flying away". Not so great actually.

Recently, there have been a series of murders in the city. The victims have had their backs slit open and the blood spurting out has formed the shape of wings. As a result, the crimes have been dubbed "the fairy murders".

Ian's childhood friend Rin Ishinagi is the only one that ever seemed to beleive Ian's stories of fairies. In fact, he was once able to show her the fairy world. Now she has returned to the city, and Ian's feelings for her are returning as well. Unfortunately, they may cause him even more trouble!

Okay, I picked this one up on a whim in Borders the other day (I thought the title sounded funny), and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The characters and plot drew me in and has me wanting to read volume 2 as soon as possible (it's already out but I haven't had a chance to get back over to Borders. I definitely recommend this one to fantasy and shōjo lovers. Check it out the first 22 pages online here

Check out more manga and anime reviews at Hobotaku!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This one was still hard to read in parts, but I'm enjoying it and looking forward to where things will go next! But OMG there's so many characters and so many plotlines for just a 3-volume series. @_@

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Ian claims to see fairies, yet it only earns him a reputation of being a liar. His friend Rin is the only one who believes in Ian's stories. But there seems to be another soul that resides inside his body who is now bent on ruining Ian's life. Soon he loses both his father, Rin and even his body - now he needs the help of the fairies he's seen for all his life.

The biggest problem with Fairy Cube has is either that it's far too short or that it tries to do too much with the little space given. As is typical for Kaori Yuki, this story puts a dark twist on fairies and delivers yet another macabre story. There are enough plot points to create a series trice as long than it actually is. As a result, it's a rather hard-to-follow-story that jumps from one focus to the next, leaving many things unclear or simply doesn't satisfy.

Ian is a nice enough main character, although nothing about him seemed overly memorable. Nonetheless, he is the one character where we learn the most of. Although I love how Kaori Yuki usually gives a backstory to most of her characters and makes sure they are all involved, it was simply too much in this particular work. She tries to have everyone's story and tragic fates included, yet because there is so much of it, it's not easy to connect to the characters and I feel as though there wasn't any closure for most of the cast. For some, I still don't understand what their motives were or what happened to them in the end.

It is certainly an interesting take on fairies and well worth to have a look at if one likes Kaori Yuki's works, but it is definitely not her most refined story which is a real shame.

[Mosley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compared to volume one, I'm a bit disappointed. I felt entranced by the dark beauty of the first volume, but volume two had none of that. They really should have broken the story into parts. The first half was a real struggle to read, and then it got better then it was a struggle yet again. I hope the final volume brings it back around.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkly gothic and lovely... Kaori has a talent for dark insidious stories that get under your skin and don't shy from the tough times that can come in life. We are getting a good bit of back stories now... I do wonder how it's all goanna be wrapped up in just one more volume...

[Em Mirra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pending.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of hard to follow in places. Beautiful illustrations and interesting story.

[Taylor Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75/5⭐️

There’s too much going on in a short amount of time.

[Une.rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

With so much potential to reference the rich mythology of Faerie and other narrative threads and characters of Celtic yore, it was disappointing that the lush premise was lost in a turbulence of unexplained events and mere simulacrum of character development.

Confusion, ultimately, mingled with a sense of blunted enjoyment of what still remains a refreshing thematic tableau, under-utilized.

NB: Within this series, there is mention of abuse and implied sexual assault (attempted or executed - unclear). It is very brief and more insinuated than concrete, yet still worth mentioning should it be triggering to certain readers.

[Angelina Justice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book promised an interesting story and I'm sure it would prove so if it wasn't so hard to follow the transitions from one character and one setting to the next.

I'll admit that Manga is not my favorite form of literature, but I think part of the reason is that it takes an exceptional artist and editing team to convey the story the pictures are telling.

This volume fell short in my opinion.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plotline is rather confusing, and it is hard to tell what is really going on. I also tend to get the characters mixed up. Perhaps the final volume will clarify things.

[Tegan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super confusing.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

love

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was alright.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow, this volume was even more confusing than the first - but it's also getting more interesting.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still not best of Yuki's works, but it is interesting.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, way too many ideas and not enough story to carry it through in a comfortable way. It feels much more complex than it is.

[Jennifer Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked it a lot

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise. Lovely art. Unfortunately, the story is ruined by jarring sequential transitions.