Silver Hero is Watanabe's first series to run in Hana to Yume comics and consists of five volumes. It is a swords-and-sorcery type tale, with a lot more action and fighting than the cuter Fun Fun Factory. The story is perhaps less cohesive (the first chapters can stand on their own, and the latter plotlines seemed more like an attempt to expand the story after it gained popularity) but and the art rougher, but it is still a good, fun series to read.
Volume 1: 4-592-12350-6
Volume 2: 4-592-17132-2
Volume 3: 4-592-17133-0
Volume 4: 4-592-17134-9
Volume 5: 4-592-17135-7
What would you do for your best friend? That seems to be the major theme running its way through this series. Beat and Ricercare grew up together, and then Beat went off to become a Hero, while Ricercare went to sorcery school. Several years later, when Beat (now with the rank of Silver Hero) tries to meet up with his friend, he learns that a little while ago, Ricercare went missing in the demon forest. Aghast, Beat rushes to the forest to retrieve his friend, only to learn that Ricercare has sympathized with the plight of the demons (mazoku) and voluntarily lives in the forest, taking care of the demons hurt by overzealous humans. It takes some time, but he finally persuades Beat over to his side (it doesn't hurt that the demon lord, while 751 years old, has the appareance and demeanor of a 5-year-old child.) Together, they live in the forest, but being stationary doesn't mean that trouble won't come looking for them...
I picked up this series because it was the first (and only other) series by Watanabe Yoshitomo. Although the art style is a bit rougher and not as neat as in FFF, it's still got a descriptive quality to it. Although the story wanders in the first volumes, by 3, the main plot has begun to develop and coalesce into something that could possibly drive the friends apart or bind them together more closely than before. There are a lot of friendships in the story besides Beat and Ricercare, and not every group of friends treats each other the same way. Some actively use others to further their own gains, or sacrifice themselves to protect others, and it's a battle of wills as much as it is a clash of swords and magic. Although it doesn't rank as high on my list as FFF, it's still a solid series (with a lot of cute short stories) that I continue to enjoy.
Fun Fun Factory was created by Yoshitomo Watanabe as is (C) Yoshitomo Watanabe, LaLa, Hana to Yume, and Hakensheisha. This is a fan page created 2003 by Ming-Ling in an attempt to spread the word on what a fun series this is.
This site is a part of ming-ling.net.
