Aya and her twin brother Aki thought they were going to a celebration of their sixteenth birthday at their grandfather's home, but the funeral-like atmosphere tips them off that something's not right. Their "birthday present" turns out to be a mummified hand--the power of which forces an awakening within Aya, and painful wounds all over Aki's body! Grandfather Mikage announces that Aki will be heir to the Mikage fortune, and Aya must die! But Aya has allies in the athletic cook and martial artist Yûhi, and the attractive, mysterious Tôya. But can even two handsome and resourceful guys save Aya when it's her own power that's out of control?

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However, that is only the beginning of the strangeness. When Aya recover's a woman's purse from a fleeing theif, she falls twenty feet from an overpass into a road. She doesn't just fall, though-she floats. Dazed, Aya stands in the street as a car rushes towards her. Enter Toya. He knocks Aya out of the car's path, saving her life. When her friends reach her, Toya disappears into the crowd.

Aya and Aki make plans with their friends to go out for karaoke for their birthday, but when the twins reach home, they are told by their parents that they have to go to their grandfather's house instead.

When they arrive at Grandfather's the next day, Aya and Aki are surprised to find all of their relatives sitting at a long table, dressed in black. Toya appears and puts a box down in front of them. Aya is surprisingly nervous, feeling her heart beat faster. Aki opens the box. Within it is a sort of shriveled up hand. The sight of it causes Aya to change for the first of what will be many times-into Ceres, a Heavenly Maiden. The mummified hand explodes. Breathing hard, Aya returns to her normal self. Confused, she turns to Aki. But something is happening to him, as well. Cuts appear all over his body and he slumps forward, unconscious and bleeding, onto the table.

Aya begs her relatives for help, but no one moves. Grandfather assures her that Aki will not die. No. She must die.

Ayashi no Ceres, known in English as Ceres: Celestial Legend is a dark, suspenseful manga, full of interesting storylines. Aya tries to conquer the celestial blood that runs through her veins, as Aki tries to recover and figure out what is going on. Suzumi-who shares a special bond with Aya-and Yuhi, Suzumi's brother in law, try to keep Aya safe from her kin. Toya is trying to find himself while forced to serve the Mikages, whose only desire is to see Aya dead and harness Aki's innate power.

One becomes easily addicted to this wonderful series. Not only does one want to know once and for all what exactly is going on, but one becomes endeared to the characters and wants to stay with them. It isn't all horror and drama. There is comic relief and romance thrown into the mix, as well. The art is beautifully drawn and all of the characters are, well, attractive. Shojo readers will love this for the relationship between the ditzy, confused Aya and mysterious Toya, or the comedic one between Aya and Yuhi. Others will simply enjoy the mystery, drama, and horror that is the framework of the story. It is my personal belief that nearly anyone would enjoy this series, and I highly recommend it.

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Full Series Review. No Spoilers.Mar 24, 2007
By Tsubaki-hime
I started out thinking I might buy this series. Then I changed my mind, but thought I might buy the volumes my library was missing and donate them. Then I decided it wasn't worth the bother to do even that. If you are a sucker for Gothic horror, or for twins, or for Gothic horror about twins, well . . . run out and buy TOKYO BABYLON or LEGAL DRUG right away. But feel free to get CERES VOL. 1 from your library. You will be one seriously happy camper for a few brief shining moments. The story begins with a teenaged brother and sister, Aki and Aya, who are about to turn sixteen, and whose inexplicably nervous and jumpy parents insist on taking them to their grandfather's gigantic mansion to "celebrate". I will say no more.

The problem comes AFTER Book 1, when the utterly cool premise has been established and one has to slog through the rest of the story. First problem: EVERYTHING falls a distant second to Aya's self-absorbed quest for love. In one early scene, ten innocent people are horribly burned in a fire. A whole three panels after witnessing this, our heroine whines "There's a fire burning in my heart too" because some guy is not paying her enough attention. It's enough to make one barf up blood. The problem is not just that she's self-centered, mind you, it's that the universe really DOES revolve around her. Strangers have nothing better to do than devote themselves body and soul to her protection. Men prettier than she is fall madly in love with her despite her lack of manners, morals, or intellect. And the INTERESTING villains who are trying to murder her for SENSIBLE reasons give way to idiot villains obsessed with getting into her panties.

Another reviewer mentioned that the heroine was not a good role model for teen girls. It is true that she makes a lot of bad choices, is completely dependent on male approval, and falls flat on her back the moment any guy (except one) kisses her. But considering her traumatic situation, her behavior is understandable enough. It is a far bigger problem that almost every female character in the story, major and minor, is exactly same way, COMPLETELY emotionally dependent on some guy, and thoroughly convinced that life isn't worth living without him - no matter what a jerk he is, or how (potentially) cool she is. The author combines this obsequious over-dependence on males with an obnoxious passive-aggressive hostility towards them, with the unhappy result that no character, male or female, is permitted to become self-actualized or interesting, despite oodles of potential all around.

I have nothing against the possession/reincarnation parts of the plot, but I wish they had not been used to avoid real drama or moral conflict. Certain characters are faced with terrible moral choices, but Yuu prefers to have them turn possessed rather than think about or face them. The hook of CERES for me was this self-perpetuating cycle of evil passed down from generation to generation, and the Catch-22 of characters compelled to perpetuate this evil, or let themselves be destroyed by it. Yuu didn't find this as interesting as I did, so we get villains trying to create Master Races, panty shots, bit characters splattering themselves all over the pavement, and teenagers whining about who likes who best. The real horror and potential of Yuu's premise is avoided.

It was an okay read, the art is good, and there was one character I actually liked. It's just that it could have been so much better if it had focused on its original premise and its original villains with their original motives. When it remembers that it is supposed to be Gothic Horror, it certainly has its moments (Volume 5). But it's not nearly as good as it could have been.

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Wonderful!May 08, 2002

A comic book for teenage girls -- what a rare thing that is today! It's wonderful that Yuu Watase's work is being translated from Japanese and brought over here where it can be appreciated by girls of all ages who are hungering for comics specifically written for them.

When I first heard that Watase was writing a comic where a girl's family tries to kill her on her 16th birthday because she inherits mysterious and dangerous powers, I just had to read it. Ceres is darker and more dramatic than Mysterious Play (Watase's other work that has been translated) and has a more adult flavor to it. Her parents do, indeed, try to kill her within the first few pages of issue #1. Why they do is a mystery she is left to sort out from amongst the shattered pieces of her life after she escapes them. I have seen the animated version of Ceres (which is available on DVD) from beginning to end, so I know how it works out. The story builds over time, with more and more questions gripping the reader as the lead character, Aya, is torn between several mighty organizations fighting to either kill, control, or protect her. Even her family is divided about what to do with her. And it's all because of this mysterious power she bears, a power that can both save lives, and destroy cities.

This is a complex story that has several astonishing twists and turns before it reaches its grand finale, where *all* of the audience's questions are answered. It doesn't feel, as you get closer and closer to the end, and the tale gets stranger and stranger, that all of it can possibly be explained in a satisfactory way, but miraculously it is. Ceres, it turns out, is an excellent piece of writing -- especially for a comic book artist.

Even though I do have one or two quibbles with the plotting (and with that major hottie Tooya, I'm sorry to say), I'm giving this five stars because **the artwork** is worth five stars alone. Watase's work is *gorgeous*. It flows, it feels, it lives. It's full of color, darkness, beauty. Because of the grace of her line, I prefer the comic to the animated version. There are moments in the comic where I have to stop reading and just stare at the artwork.

One scene to look for, that appears in the comic book but not in the animated version, is in the bathroom. The results of a sudden and unexpected encounter there are both hilarious and sweet.

I recommend this for young women ages 12-up. Though I am 25, I wish I had read it as a teenager. I would have devoured it then, even more than I devour it now. There is darkness, drama, humor, violence, romance, and sexuality (at about a PG-13 level). It is well worth a peek, even if you decide not to commit to the whole series (which I think is 10-14 issues). Keep in mind that only some of the issues have been translated, and it will be many months before the entire series is translated and brought over. If you absolutely have to know what happens now, I recommend trying the completed DVD version instead. FYI, the animated version is low-budget, and minimalizes special effects. It also has a slightly different plot. But it's still fascinating.

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