What I discovered is that, while Watase still isn't one of my favorite manga-ka, I enjoyed this much more than either of her other series that I've tried. Genbu Kaiden is a prequel series to the original Fushigi Yûgi, and I gather from the author's notes that readers who're familiar with the original series will already have some idea of where this story is going. The plot has some predictable elements, but not enough to detract from the enjoyment of reading the story.