I don't know what it is about Yu Watase's work, as formulaic and sometimes tedious as her stories tend to be, and as annoying as some of her female protagonists are. I somehow keep coming back for more.

I think it has to be the characters of her works. ARATA is a little different than Watase's usual fare, have a male as the main character and being a shonen rather than a shoujo, however, a lot of the same elements are there as you go through this layered quest story.

Two boys from two different worlds, both named Arata, switch worlds and are both thrust into dangerous adventure. In a the fantasy realm, Arata is framed for the murder of the Imperial Princess, by her 12 guardians and as he is on the run, he hides in the mysterious Kando Forest. In Japan, Arata Hinohara is have the worst time in school and just wishes he could disappear. Well, you can see where this is going...

The two boys switch places and a race to defeat the 12 guardians known as the "Shinsho" begins, especially as war begins to break out between the guardians as to who will be the Princess' successor as Emperor.

As I said before, Watase knows how to make amazing characters with amazing backstories. Each one is unique and each one is great. Evil characters are twistedly evil and good characters and honorable to a fault. The emotions she's able to weave into this are amazing. Three of the Shinsho arcs drove me to streaming tears so far, and I'm not even done yet.

The romance in this story is half-backed and I think is only in here because Yuu doesn't know what else to do. But the interactions between Arata and the people he meets, including the Shos, Shinshos, and Zakusho's are really good.

Now, all that said, the series is still formulaic quest material. Both Aratas are a little bland. The main girl is a ditz. And the challenges for the MC don't last very long. You would think not "every" problem can be talked out or end as easily as "You're lonely, why don't you be yourself?", but there you do. Arata's main rival is also a bit boring and one note, but there you go.

All in all, this series is very good, and I enjoy reading it so far.