we are all being played and willingly enjoying it!
what's even more funny is this... if you think about it, Higashiyama-san is basically thumbing his nose to all those critics and nay-sayers that dogged him for tracing. he is showing that he is both a terrific artist and really good story-teller tracing be damned. simply put, he has created a new series that at the very least (on this site) is approaching cult-like status without the 'realistic' look and feel. i'm pretty sure it won't happen, but depending on the sucess of this series at conclusion, I hope he is allowed to continue Prism (tracing be damned!)