AYASHI NO CERES

by Watase Yu

Publish by Flower Comics Serialised in Sho Comi 7 volumes so far

Reviewed by Cassiel Kelner 

Ayashi No Ceres is a twisted story of twins Aya and Aki Mikage. The story starts with Aya being given a dark, mysterious fortune regarding her sixteenth birthday, and sure enough, it soon comes to pass. Aya is the reincarnation of a "tennyo", a heavenly maiden, named Ceres, who was forced to stay on earth centuries ago because a man stole her gossamer robe which she could not return to heaven without. 

Unfortunately, Aya's twin brother Aki is the reincarnation of that man, and Ceres is bent upon destroying him and his family until her robe is returned to her. 

The "tennyo" blood runs in the Mikage family, and often surfaces in girls when they turn sixteen; so Aya is 'tested', and when Ceres appears, her family is determined to kill her to save themselves. 

She is rescued by both the appearance of Ceres (who takes over her body and has a habit of exploding entire buildings) and by two young gorgeous men. One is Tooya, an amnesiac (gotta love 'em!) who works for her family as a bodyguard but finds himself saving Aya time and again. The other is Yuuhi, a boy who wouldn't even be mixed up in all of this if not for his sister-in-law, Suzumi, whom he lives with -- she also has tennyo blood in her, and is determined to help Aya in any way she can. 

With Suzumi and Yuuhi on her side (and Tooya turning up at the most important moments ^_^), Aya attempts to find some sort of normal life, until she can figure out how to get the robe back and appease Ceres once and for all. Meanwhile the Mikage family are busy messing with Aki's head, working to get his memories back, and Aki finds himself become more and more the man he was in that previous life.. the evil man who forced Ceres to stay on earth and bear his children. 
 

Aya and Aki's uncle, Kagami, is also deeply involved in the whole thing -- not necessarily for the best reasons, though. He's one of the few who doesn't want Aya destroyed, as he's convinced the power of Ceres can be useful to him and is determined to harness it in some way, by whatever means he can. Including using drugs on unknowing subjects that will either bring Ceres out in them.. or kill them. 

Tooya at first does his best to do what the Mikages say -- especially as they've promised him they can help him get his memory back -- but he finds himself drawn to Aya again and again, and in the end Kagami forces him to pick one or the other. Following his heart, he chooses Aya over his own memory and leaves the Mikages behind.. after causing plenty of wanton destruction, of course. 

If you like Watase Yuu's other works, you will like Ayashi No Ceres. The story is quite fascinating with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Action abounds, love is in the air everywhere, and once again she has original and interesting characters, with plenty of cute interaction and amusing moments that she does so well. Highly recommended. (Especially for all the Tooya scenes. ^_~)