More like a 2.5. I had to go back and reread this. I really want to like this. It has a lot of interesting ideas but it's getting too convoluted for its own good. The huge break between volumes originally forced the reread but honestly it didn't help much. The art isn't helping much. Sometimes it's very nice, others it's difficult to tell who's who. When it's just Teito and the Bishops it's not so bad but when Ayanami and his whole crew in there, it gets confusing. I think more work needs to be done to differentiate who's who.

In this one, Teito passes a terrible test and he and Frau set off for what was once the Raggs kingdom because Teito has learned retracing his steps is helping to return his memories. I'm not even entirely sure what is going on in Ayanami's story arc other than he has the eye of Mikhail but needs the vessel to wield it (i.e. Teito) and he somehow got twin combat slaves on the muddled mission.

Frau and Teito pick up a new character of their own, a young slave boy Capella.Teito gets to his destination and wants to visit the Land of Seele but it seems he must 'die' in order to do so. We more or less leave off with that.

I'll give this another chance but it's already into double digits manga-wise and that's a big money investment. If the storyline doesn't gel soon I might have to give up collecting the manga. It is good in spots but it needs something to pull it together better.

i'm not going to play like i'm 100% up on whatever's going on with the plot but all the friend stuff with hakuren is hecka cute! :) also there are too many blonds in this series, there was at least one scene where i just had absolutely no idea which character it was talking. random blond #8???? 3 stars

Finally Teito passed his exam, congratulations!
He has to escape with Bishop Frau, as his apprentice now, and is heading towards the 6th district.
It is really nice to see Teito and Frau acting in the “outside world”. Teito seems so innocent and naive... And in the next moment he gets angry and stands up for a person who can`t fight back himself. Teito is a really charming character.
The introduction of the slave Capella was pretty cute, as they saved him and later meet his salesman Carl again, who tried to get a revenge. At least he tried ;)
Some more information about the Raggs War, the mysteries of Father and the background of Teito is given, but I still can`t really link it to understand all this... It is still quite confusing sometimes. I would like to know more about Teito, about his past as a combat slave, his relationship with Father etc. Hope there will be more.
Hyuuga was shown to be a really skilled fighter and he has a sense of humor. I am beginning to like him :)
Ayanami will continue his search for Teito, as he needs him to use the Eye of Mikhail. I`m eager to find out, what exactly he plans. The appearance of Shuri Oak is quite amusing, as he gets his position only due to the influence of his father. Nobody really wants him within the black hawks. They get new members, too.
Now Teito and his companions will search for a way to go to “The Land of Seele”. I am sure they will discover some mysteries along the way.

It turns into a journey kinda thing both physically and metaphorically. They obtained a child along the way. Ugghh, is this BL or not, it tends to be unclear in shounen. It's probably either shounen ai or bromance.

I wanna say politics has taken a backseat in this but nope. We're seeing first hand the result of war and discrimination. More about slaves and their maltreatment. Teito's heart seems to be breaking everytime his child offhandedly say stuff like it's so nice to get food without having to work first