This is one of Setona Mizushiro's older works... so it goes without saying that the artwork is a little rough. If the story she weaves is good enough, I can look past the rough artwork... but this volume didn't really offer anything up to the par of some of her other great stories.
"There Lies the Sleeping Forest" is a solid enough story... Although it's plagued by one of the most unbelievable moments I've ever seen in a manga. Ever. Also, it's a bit disturbing in parts, given the weird issue the female lead has. Overall, it was entertaining enough to hold my interest... but I wasn't really impressed by it.
"The Star Knows Everything" is an epilogue one-shot for one of Mizushiro's other works: "The World Exists for Just Us Two". It is my favorite work of this volume and definitely a cute little addition to the other story. Unfortunately, it's going to fall flat for anyone who hasn't read the other work first. I don't really think this one-shot would hold up very well on its own without previous knowledge of the characters and story.
"Climb the Cinderella Steps" (the scanlated title of the one-shot) seems needlessly dramatic to me. It's a bit slice-of-life in that the events taking place are just run-of-the-mill events that could happen to any high school girl... but they're treated with the kind of melodrama usually seen in much more serious happenings. I don't really get what this girl's problem is. I mean, yeah, something bad happened... but it's something that happens to everyone at least once in their life. You get over it and move on. And something good happened, as well... She just chose to act like a big ol' martyr over it. Well, bottom line: I wasn't feeling this one.
Overall... This isn't really worth it, unless you're a fan of Setona Mizushiro's work. The art is pretty bad and the stories are just lacking that certain something. However, if you enjoyed "The World Exists for Just Us Two" you'll want to check out the epilogue chapter.
