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You know, I was reading AnC over again the other day and today I got to my favorite volume, volume seven. In which Aya and Tooya make love for the first time. Now, when I first read Ayashi no Ceres I was about 16 and was coming into my decisions concerning sex and marriage, etc. At that age, considering I was about the same age as Aya, I found it really scandalous for her to be engaging in that much at her age. Often I forget that my first experiences or stories about sex started in middle school, with a girl in my class in 7th grade who got pregnant. I remember thinking at the time if it was the Japanese way to think about sex so casually.

As I've gotten older and learned the difference between making love and pure lustful sex I've come to look on that moment, and the next one soon following in volume eight much differently. Sure, Aya is a little young still, but at least she went into the moment with all the right reasons and same for Tooya, they loved each other and wanted to be together in every way possible. I'm 20 years old and while I've still engaged in a physical relationship sooner than I wanted too, I have no regrets. I lost my virginity to my current boyfriend, and while at the time it was very much on a whim, something about it felt right. Its been about seven-eight months since then and we're in possibly the best relationship I've ever had.

When Aya is describing the moment and her feelings I just felt like everything I had ever felt in being with my boyfriend had been put into words that I could never manage. Making love is probably one of the most beautiful experiences life has to offer, doesn't mean it has to be your first time, but it is certainly something worth waiting for. I know this is probably way more about me than you guys wanted to know but I just felt like expressing my thoughts a bit because I was so taken aback by how deeply it touched me. Its amazing how old favorites can still manage to reach you in new ways years later.

I also kind of wanted to post this just because I've heard many complaints from teen girls in the US about the sex in AnC and FY which they seem to think ends up in her other works (Zettai Kareshi being the only other one I know of). If you've ever read any of her other works you'd know that sex in Watase-sensei's usually isn't "sex" its making love, and the two times I can remember it not being are concerning Kagami and Nakago, but that's just how their characters are. Watase-sensei never puts sexual scenes in her works unless its necessary to the development of the story and the characters. I just think there needs to be a little more maturity on the part of some girls before they go bashing something just because there's "sex" in it. The manga says 13+ so obviously someone in the ranks thinks teens can handle it. Many girls do in Japan, its just our cultural tabooing of sex and the physical that causes such a backlash on sexuality in manga and anime.

This is one of my first posts... lol. So here goes. I personally like all of the characters in their own way and if I have to choose one it would be Ceres. She is the main character after all. I think that each has made their own contributions and have an important role to play. Even Touya. I actually like him , not that he's a pretty boy but because he's got that mysterious side that I like. I also like Yuhi becuase he's the type of guy that you might normally meet in school lol. (if you're talking about nice guys at least). Aki... well the Progenitor, I don't like. He is very creepy. Not the kind of guy you'd like to meet that's for sure and it's the attitude that makes me hate him even more. The other characters don't seem to have that much importance but then agian I've only read up to Vol 11 becuase that's all that's out in Canada. They have some importance and of course they do to Aya but only relatively small parts. I like them all the same biggrin

Yea... it was kinda weird watching the anime after reading the manga. Tooya, especially in the English translation speaks very differently than I imagined. Especially for the voice he has in the Japanese version of the anime.

You must've misread something because I can assure you that is NOT a female. The seiyuu's name for Tooya is Konishi Katsuyuki, which, by the name alone you can tell its a male (if you're familiar with Japanese) but not only that I went one step further. Behold, and image of Tooya's seiyuu:



This is info I obtained from a.) the AnC DVD credits and AnC official Japanese site and b.) pictures from the beautiful Japan Google. So I can assure you that whatever you read was wrong.

Replying to previous post... Highlight to read.

>>Technically, he doesn't die. In the end of the manga, it's clear that Tooya won't live much longer... But in the Episode of Miku, a sequel to AnC, Tooya is alive, and if my memory is right, he doesn't die during the novel.<<

First of all, all of your questions can and will be answered if you would just wait till the last three volumes come out. Clearly so few people in this guild have read the end and even beyond that.

Secondly, Ayashi no Ceres already has a teen rating on the back, a parental advisory shouldn't be necessary. Considering that Tooya's death is not near as bad as some other things I've seen in manga. Besides there's been a lot of violence and adult situations in the manga thus far as it is, if you can't handle that you shouldn't be reading the series or any Japanese manga for that matter.

*sigh* I thought all spoilers were supposed to be hidden? Guess some of you forgot about the fact that not all of us have seen all of the anime yet either. I've read up to Vol 11 and I have seen up to episode 12 so far.

Otherwise... I read in a column of Yu Watase's Ceres (not sure which Volume it was though) that Toya was a girls voice. Maybe I read it wrong but I was sure I didn't. She didn't just state the name, she stated that very fact. So maybe it was another of the guys but I doubt it. I'm positively sure she said it was a woman. Maybe it was a messed up translation or something. If I actually owned the series I would point out which Volume it was, but as it is, the library has them all so far and I had to return them. Sorry.

I currently find that after watching 12 episodes of the anime, that I seem to like Yuhi just a bit more than Toya. They both aren't bad characters though, I guess each has their own way of growing on you if you're not partial to one or the other. smile As for Aya's voice, in the english she sounds annoying but in the Japanese she doesn't sound so bad. lol.

No kidding, it wouldn't be the first time and not the last. I must also point out that Watase's scribble is hard to make out. So it's perfectly possible they just mistook it. but as I said up there, Tooya is not voiced by a female and I'm pulling from info that I have on the dvds that I own.

Oh and on the opening of the forums here you'll notice that it mentions, in big red letters, that spoilers are imminent and if you don't like them don't come to the forums, hiding them all the time is tiring. And considering how long the series has been out... well *shrugs* why should we have to talk in white all the time? I'm still waiting for people to finish the last three volumes of the manga. I try to keep my spoilers to a minimum and its rare that I say them as it is. But I've been a fan of this series for years now, so my descretion in regards to newbies has gotten less and less, I'm sorry.