I couldn't agree any less with Sorcha and Oriolidae. As you read the raws of the most recent chapters (from Icarus Bride), the plot gets SO out of hand that even with my ability to just analyse the raws without understanding the Japanese is useless. I've never felt more annoyed and frustrated when reading raws because of my urge to want to understand the Japanese more than I ever did with Junketsu + Kareshi. When I read raws, just the images are enough to help keep me at pace, but with this series, from one image to the next, everything is literally random and a surprise one after the other. Then you end up thinking, "What the heck is going ON here 😕 !!" and 70-80% of the time, you literally can't even guess what's going on right away.
The plot is supposed to deal with Aki finding the seven stigmas, correct? Then how the heck does his twin brother end up taking over the tension... Up until now, the plot was supposed to revolve mainly around Aki's journey, but with his twin brother butting in, everything just goes down hill...
The good thing about these random surprises for readers who enjoy Shouoto's art is that it's still entertaining and suspenseful. Well, at least for me, it is. I dearly love Shouoto's art, and with Aki being my favourite male character from her that she's ever drawn, he's practically the only reason I'm sticking with this series until the end.
Since I don't take the plot line too seriously, I personally enjoy the surprises, but it ALWAYS irritates me that I just HAVE to feel more excited and impatient for the next chapter because of those unexpected events. It's so frustrating how my urge to understand what's going on with the current chapter can only be found in the next one, which would end up having another surprise of its own, and let me tell you: This just gets even worse in the most recent raws because you practically have no idea how things will eventually turn out.. I don't like reading a manga that's so full of random surprises that doesn't even flow together to the point that you can't even understand what the heck's going on, but at least Shouoto's art is worth the take for it.
If you're the type that gets easily annoyed at inconsistent plots, don't bother reading this series, especially if you're not a faithful fan of Shouoto's. I'm in love with her art style especially when she draws such smexy bishounens, so I don't really mind. Just keep in mind that after every chapter you go through, your impatience for the next chapter will irritate you more because of how the plot is inconsistently and incoherently driven.
(I give this series a rather bit of a higher rating ONLY because I love her male characters in this series. It kills me how my OTP of AkixKana is always interfered with by Aki's twin brother).