Picked up (and read) both volumes today when I realized that was the entire series.

Overall pretty cute. Simple enough premise, good-looking guys, action and some cuter scenes.

Hino-sensei really does create some beautiful art, but her characters are all very similar across her series. I first read MeruPuri in early high school, and collected Vampire Knight over the years (which I still haven't finished reading and will need to restart--not because it's terrible or anything), and I think I read most of Captive Hearts some years ago. And...Mikage looks exactly like Yuki from Vampire Knight. If you put uncolored pictures of Yuki and Mikage next to each other, you probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart. It's not exactly a bad thing that Hino-sensei's art is recognizable, as her style is quite nice in a lot of ways, but her characters definitely run together. Something I've noticed in Tanemura Arina's series, as well.

That aside, this two-volume series was a quick read. I read them in practically one sitting, which I can't really do often with shoujo much anymore because sometimes they're exhausting to read. All of the backgrounds and things to look at make it so it takes me a while to get through them sometimes (which is part of why I still haven't finished VK). This is still shoujo, for sure, but the volumes were a little shorter than most, and they're less complicated visually.

Mikage is kind of a flat protagonist. Not a whole lot of personality, but she grows a little. The whole ninja thing is shoujo-ified for sure. Mikage is good at what she does, but she could have just been a prodigy bodyguard, as (ir)relevant as the ninja aspect is in this.

I guess if you're a Hino fan, check it out, since it's short. If you know you don't like Hino's work, probably skip it. ( )

Actual rating 3.25 ( )

It's not awful, but it is certainly dull and lifeless. ( )

Wow. A slow start, but built well. ( )