Fairy Cube...it's two things I love in one-fae and the wonderful artwork of Kaori Yuki. Alas, that's about all it has going for it.

I know this story was intended from the beginning to be a short series, and the first volume makes that quite clear. Tons of information is shoved down our throats within the first twenty pages or so. I know those first few pages are key in grabbing the reader's attention, but this was overkill. Too much, too quick, and not enough time to process it. After that, the pace slows down towards a comfortable pace in the middle section. And then it speeds up again near the ending half-again, not in a good way. Too much too quick with no reason why it was so important to begin with. This first volume has some serious issues with pacing. I'd like to sit back and get to know some of these people first.

And there's the next problem. Too many characters. I can deal with the main characters as they have enough to keep you interested in them. Still, this is a short series, and for a short series, there are a LOT of major characters. And there's even more minor characters who we really don't get to know much of anything about. The minor characters are so plentiful and boring they might as well have not been there to begin with. For the major characters, and for the plot itself, a lot of it could have been cut out to make the story flow better within it's short volume span. Or, and I think this may have been a better solution, the series should have been a volume or two longer. That's just my opinion, but I can't help but feel there's simply too much going on here at once.

I will give some praise in the fact that Yuki-sensei did do good research on faery folklore. She tends to do good research, and I always enjoy reading her "free talks" about the process and interesting facts she learned. And as I do like faery folklore, I was happy when I'd see something I recognized or knew of. That was a bonus for me, though for someone who doesn't know anything about that...I wonder if it was too much information being thrown out. For the characters, it is obvious Kaito would know such things, and it's plausible for Ian to know as well. Ian's knowledge does come off as a little pushed though.

Now, for the main cast. Ian's design is okay. He's different enough from previous male leads, physically and personalitywise, to stand out amongst the others. At the same time, he's a little bland and I can't really feel for him. Rin...looks like Rin from InuYasha. She serves about the same purpose as well. I tried to like her, but as the book went on, I felt less and less for her. Kaito looks like...Kaito Wanijima from Air Gear. (I see a theme going on here.) Actually, more like if you combined both the Wanijima brothers together. He reminds me of Jizabel Disraeli from her previous work, The Cain Saga, though I don't know if she intended that. He interests me the most. Ainsel is more likeable than Rin. She has personality and spunk, and reminds me a lot of Miyobi from Alichino, and I feel inclined to wonder if her relationship with Kaito is in any way similar to the odd relationship between Miyobi and Ryoko. Tokage annoys me the most. I don't feel sorry for him or Ian, but I feel less for Tokage. Maybe my opinion will change in the next two volumes. I can't see that happening yet.

As for the more "minor" characters (I don't mean the cut-outs I mentioned earlier--these are more like the "supporting" cast, for lack of a better word), the grandmother is interesting. The Ian's father brings back memories of Alexis Hargreaves from The Cain Saga, in many ways. I'd say more, but that might spoil to much for both. I don't like him, and I won't mind him fading into the background. There are hints in the first volume of the importance of Ian's mother, but they're very vague. (And am I the only one who thinks her holding baby Ian looks eerily similar to Jizabel's mother holding a young Jizabel in one of the volumes of Godchild? I know Yuki-sensei did both, so some things might look similar, but...) The "exchange student" is a typical overly pretty, cruel girl. I think I'm getting sick of these weak women in her books. Even Ainsel seems on the dependent side. The two mysterious characters we meet at the end show the most potential. Raven is named, though I don't think the girl is named yet.

Now, I did like parts of the book. I loved the middle section. Everything was flowing well, and I liked then roaming about in the "otherworld". The interactions between Ainsel and Ian were amusing, and it showed off their personalities quite well. I liked all the scenes with Kaito, and the ones with the grandmother.The weakest scenes were the first few and ones that focused on Ian and Tokage. That isn't good, since the story focuses on those two. I'm hoping things will improve before the end of the series. It does look nice, and the plot is interesting...it's just the way it's presented is not. There's promise in it. I don't think this will be a favourite though.

Another issue, and this one is a problem with the English adaption and Yuki-sensei's fault. The spelling of "fairy" keeps alternating. At first, it's "fairy", then later it's "fairie" and then later "faery". This are all alternate spellings and refer to the same things. I don't know if the different terms were being used to make it easier to understand when they were talking about individual fae vs the world of fae, but all of the spellings are terms for both, not one or the other. This tends to happen with the term "magic" in book recently where it appears the author is trying to sounds more sophisticated by changing the spelling to "magik", "magick", or any other variant, but ends up reverting back and forth between spelling. I'm assuming that is likely what's going on here, and that annoys me. I can overlook it, but it's be nice if they could stick with one spelling of the word.

Review also posted here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

and here: http://basementtime.livejournal.com/6... ( )