Hakushaku to Yousei

Hakushaku to Yousei ( Earl and Fairy ) is an interesting manga I have come across last night that had my eyes glued to the computer until I have finished the last chapter available. It was a manga published, I think,  some time in 2009. The authors were Tani, Mizue for the story and Ayuko for the art.

The story is set in 19th century England. And like many novels I have read about counts, dukes, ladies, castles and other things magical about the past England, this manga fascinated me. Reading this manga took me back to the times when prince and princesses fall in love and then live happily ever after.

Lydia, the main character, is the woman on the picture with the 'rusty' colored hair. She's a fairy doctor and has a rare ability to see and communicate with fairies. She was taught everything she knows by her mother who was also a fairy doctor. One thing I like about this character is her tough girl attitude. But she actually has a pure heart. At times (most of the time) she's naive and easily tricked. She is enthusiastic about any topic related to fairies which is why she would tell everyone that fairies are real and just because they can't be seen they don't exist. For this reason people would look at her as if she was crazy or a weirdo.

That cat behind Lydia in the picture, is Nico but he's not a cat. He's a fairy though he still looks a lot like a cat. He can speak (figured that he's a 'he' otherwise he would be wearing a dress not a suit, right?) I see him as Lydia's guardian, often warning her about danger and certain 'suspicious' people. He likes to drink alcohol rather than milk... really odd.

The good looking bishounen with the fair hair is called Count Edgar who claims to be a descendant of the legendary blue knight. He possesses elegance and charisma, traits that easily sweep women off their feet. All women but Lydia. >o<
Edgar is also skilled at lying. In the manga, he is often portrayed as a skilled liar who could fool the nobles into believing his stories. Lying was as easy as breathing to him. Edgar sure has a lot of secret. Despite his calm and cold outward disposition, I believe he's actually a good man caught in a situation where he had no choice but to do evil things in order to live. 
You can find out more about him when you read the manga. He is accompanied by his loyal servants named Ermine and Raven.

I find the art very good. The characters expressions were drawn well. Their clothes and architectural settings were detailed. The anime had a pleasant musical background which will remind you of fairy tales.

So far, I have not finished the manga yet. It was hard to find an anime hosting website that can show the anime in full and in good quality. Youtube, for some reason, would not display the video from the country I live in. >:(

Check this manga out, if you haven't yet. And if you could, would you send me a link to a good anime hosting website?