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manga: Rasetsu Vol 2
Sep. 9th, 2009 10:02 pmReview at There It Is, Plain As Daylight.
Review at There It Is, Plain As Daylight.
manga: Rasetsu Vol 1
Aug. 15th, 2009 01:50 amNote: This post includes spoilers for the end of Yurara.
This is a book I was rather leery about reading, having previously read three of Chika Shiomi’s other licensed series. You see, two of them-Night of the Beasts and Canon-I have a considerable amount of love for. And then there’s Yurara. I loved Yurara initially, assuming, despite certain tropes and appearances, that it would turn around and live up to its predecessors. Instead, the more interesting characters and concepts were made secondary, and the series became increasingly devoted to tired tropes.
Rasetsu, a sequel series focusing on Yako, a main character from Yurara is, in short, the series I wanted Yurara to be. Set some years after Yurara Yako is now a librarian, and his library is now being haunted. He is no longer accompanied by the ghostly Yurara (Why oh why couldn’t that series have been about them instead?) and seems to believe that she is gone for good. He still has the ability to sense and bind ghosts, but can’t banish them, so when the library he works for is haunted, he hires an exorcist. At the agency he goes to is Rasetsu, a powerful young exorcist who looks exactly like the ghost he loved.
Naturally, he’s working at the agency before long.
Yako is stoic and cold and superserious and angsty without drowning in it or being mean to others because of it. And he’s in love with books. Rasetsu is confident and aggressive and very much in control of her sexuality. She, too, is angsty (and cursed to die in two years if she can’t break a curse a demon laid on her years before) but isn’t drowning in it, and is too busy doing things to mope much. There’s also the chief (I don’t think he was given a name) who can tell what a person’s ghostly problems are with a hug, Kuryu, who supposedly has no spiritual powers, but can wield powerful kotodona (spiritual commands) and who clearly has Sooper Sekrit Depths, and Aoi, who apparently just keeps the books.
I’m a bit worried regarding the fate of ghost!Yurara and the fact that Rasetsu looks exactly like her, but I also get a feeling from the book that’s strongly similar to Night of the Beasts, so I’m not too worried.
This is a book I was rather leery about reading, having previously read three of Chika Shiomi’s other licensed series. You see, two of them-Night of the Beasts and Canon-I have a considerable amount of love for. And then there’s Yurara. I loved Yurara initially, assuming, despite certain tropes and appearances, that it would turn around and live up to its predecessors. Instead, the more interesting characters and concepts were made secondary, and the series became increasingly devoted to tired tropes.
Rasetsu, a sequel series focusing on Yako, a main character from Yurara is, in short, the series I wanted Yurara to be. Set some years after Yurara Yako is now a librarian, and his library is now being haunted. He is no longer accompanied by the ghostly Yurara (Why oh why couldn’t that series have been about them instead?) and seems to believe that she is gone for good. He still has the ability to sense and bind ghosts, but can’t banish them, so when the library he works for is haunted, he hires an exorcist. At the agency he goes to is Rasetsu, a powerful young exorcist who looks exactly like the ghost he loved.
Naturally, he’s working at the agency before long.
Yako is stoic and cold and superserious and angsty without drowning in it or being mean to others because of it. And he’s in love with books. Rasetsu is confident and aggressive and very much in control of her sexuality. She, too, is angsty (and cursed to die in two years if she can’t break a curse a demon laid on her years before) but isn’t drowning in it, and is too busy doing things to mope much. There’s also the chief (I don’t think he was given a name) who can tell what a person’s ghostly problems are with a hug, Kuryu, who supposedly has no spiritual powers, but can wield powerful kotodona (spiritual commands) and who clearly has Sooper Sekrit Depths, and Aoi, who apparently just keeps the books.
I’m a bit worried regarding the fate of ghost!Yurara and the fact that Rasetsu looks exactly like her, but I also get a feeling from the book that’s strongly similar to Night of the Beasts, so I’m not too worried.
Yurara Vol 3-5
Jul. 19th, 2008 04:10 pmYou know, there’s a reason I try to wait until shoujo series have several volumes out before I get into them most of the time. In general, I am keeping an eye out for the following:
1) Endless “one wants sex but the other doesn’t” back and forth.
2) Series starts focusing primarily on the guy’s angst while the girl worries about him and is supportive.
3) Series starts being an endless love triangle and focusing more about the guys fighting over her and her being “torn” between them than anything else.
4) Friends/siblings fall for the same girl and start angsting about hurting their buddy, and then bond over how they won’t let their feelings for her come between their friendship and how they’ll be friends no matter what happens, or they try to bury their feelings and step aside for their friend.
Though there are exceptions, these things usually throw me out of a series fast, and often, I drop a series as soon as I see it coming, no matter how much I’m enjoying it otherwise. I’d rather preserve my kind feelings than have them tarnished by overall annoyance. #1 just annoys me and makes me wants to tell them to shut up, do it or don’t do it, and move on to more interesting things. #2-4 effectively reduced the girl to a prize and/or object of contention in order to emphasize how wonderful the guy and relationships between guys are. I’m sorry, but fiction and fandom have been telling me for years all about how guys and relationships between guys are better and more interesting than girls and relationships between girls. I don’t need something supposedly for and about girls doing the same.
From the basic setup, Yurara had the makings to make me go “nothank you.” Let’s see…girl who sees ghosts has a guardian spirit, meets two boys who can exorcise ghosts. Makings of Love Triangle With Friends written in huge block letters. And I’m not a fan of love triangles in general. Normally, I probably wouldn’t even have picked it up. It was, however, by Chika Shiomi, who had already given me 2 manga centered around strong (by almost any limited definition you to apply to the word) heroines with stories almost completely centered around them, and both were most definitely Heroines, not Main Characters. I could already tell in the first volume that I wouldn’t like it as much as the other two…essentially your normal shoujo with a wallflower girl who gets the attention of the two cute guys when she goes to school, only with magic. But at least Yurara herself had the markings of a spine from the start, and her guardian spirit was more in line with the kind of heroine I expected from Shiomi. Unfortunately, it did still give the guys most of the action, did do the love triangle route, and did have most of the last three volumes revolve around the guys and their angst and Yurara being torn.
Now, someone license more Chika Shiomi manga. Preferably of the “girls who kick butt” variety, not the “high school love triangle” one.
1) Endless “one wants sex but the other doesn’t” back and forth.
2) Series starts focusing primarily on the guy’s angst while the girl worries about him and is supportive.
3) Series starts being an endless love triangle and focusing more about the guys fighting over her and her being “torn” between them than anything else.
4) Friends/siblings fall for the same girl and start angsting about hurting their buddy, and then bond over how they won’t let their feelings for her come between their friendship and how they’ll be friends no matter what happens, or they try to bury their feelings and step aside for their friend.
Though there are exceptions, these things usually throw me out of a series fast, and often, I drop a series as soon as I see it coming, no matter how much I’m enjoying it otherwise. I’d rather preserve my kind feelings than have them tarnished by overall annoyance. #1 just annoys me and makes me wants to tell them to shut up, do it or don’t do it, and move on to more interesting things. #2-4 effectively reduced the girl to a prize and/or object of contention in order to emphasize how wonderful the guy and relationships between guys are. I’m sorry, but fiction and fandom have been telling me for years all about how guys and relationships between guys are better and more interesting than girls and relationships between girls. I don’t need something supposedly for and about girls doing the same.
From the basic setup, Yurara had the makings to make me go “nothank you.” Let’s see…girl who sees ghosts has a guardian spirit, meets two boys who can exorcise ghosts. Makings of Love Triangle With Friends written in huge block letters. And I’m not a fan of love triangles in general. Normally, I probably wouldn’t even have picked it up. It was, however, by Chika Shiomi, who had already given me 2 manga centered around strong (by almost any limited definition you to apply to the word) heroines with stories almost completely centered around them, and both were most definitely Heroines, not Main Characters. I could already tell in the first volume that I wouldn’t like it as much as the other two…essentially your normal shoujo with a wallflower girl who gets the attention of the two cute guys when she goes to school, only with magic. But at least Yurara herself had the markings of a spine from the start, and her guardian spirit was more in line with the kind of heroine I expected from Shiomi. Unfortunately, it did still give the guys most of the action, did do the love triangle route, and did have most of the last three volumes revolve around the guys and their angst and Yurara being torn.
( vague spoilers )
Now, someone license more Chika Shiomi manga. Preferably of the “girls who kick butt” variety, not the “high school love triangle” one.
Canon Vol 4
Jun. 19th, 2008 09:06 pmNow, somebody license more Chika Shiomi manga. Yurara is nice and better than the average shoujo of its type, but not the same. I’m also pretty sure it’s been completely released, I’m just behind. (Preferably another mythology-heavy book like Night of the Beasts, please!)
Canon Vol 4
Jun. 19th, 2008 09:06 pmNow, somebody license more Chika Shiomi manga. Yurara is nice and better than the average shoujo of its type, but not the same. I’m also pretty sure it’s been completely released, I’m just behind. (Preferably another mythology-heavy book like Night of the Beasts, please!)
Night of the Beasts Vol 6
Mar. 25th, 2008 05:54 pmSomebody license more Chika Shiomi manga. Yurara's ok, but fairly normal shoujo, and the last volume of Canon is also already out and waiting to be read. I need more like it a Night of the Beasts.
Night of the Beasts Vol 6
Mar. 25th, 2008 05:54 pmSomebody license more Chika Shiomi manga. Yurara's ok, but fairly normal shoujo, and the last volume of Canon is also already out and waiting to be read. I need more like it a Night of the Beasts.
Canon Vol 3
Jan. 28th, 2008 05:51 pm In the author’s afterword, Chika Shiomi says she used to write for shonen magazines before switching over to shojo with Canon and onward. This explains much.
Canon Vol 3
Jan. 28th, 2008 05:51 pm In the author’s afterword, Chika Shiomi says she used to write for shonen magazines before switching over to shojo with Canon and onward. This explains much.
Night of the Beasts Vol 5
Jan. 15th, 2008 08:34 pmThis volume was mostly about the history between Mikage, the priestess who founded Aria's line, and Kagara, the demon who killed, and was killed by, Mikage 400 years ago. Now, here's the thing: I like the "enemies as lovers" bit, but very conditionally. As a general rule, you have to convince me that no, nothing about the plot could possibly work without it, such as in Basara, for it to work. That Romeo and Juliet "oh, woe, our families hate each other and instead of using our brains and dumping them, we will angst a lot and then kill each other" stuff isn't my thing. At all. (Side note: I don't really call the "oh, I've heard so much bad stuff about you that I'll reject you until you prove that you're not so bad, or at least willing to make really dramatic gestures for me that usually involve a trail of dead or unconscious bodies" bit "enemies as lovers" as it's more "bad boy/good girl" most of the time.)
There is, however, one time I'll almost always fall for it: when you bring in reincarnation and make the "enemies" part against the will of the principles. Siblings/friends/lovers/whatever forced into being enemies due to that pesky past lives things almost always works for me. And since Night of the Beasts is centered around that, Japanese mythology and a strong heroine, it's no wonder I love it so.
( more )
Night of the Beasts Vol 5
Jan. 15th, 2008 08:34 pmThis volume was mostly about the history between Mikage, the priestess who founded Aria's line, and Kagara, the demon who killed, and was killed by, Mikage 400 years ago. Now, here's the thing: I like the "enemies as lovers" bit, but very conditionally. As a general rule, you have to convince me that no, nothing about the plot could possibly work without it, such as in Basara, for it to work. That Romeo and Juliet "oh, woe, our families hate each other and instead of using our brains and dumping them, we will angst a lot and then kill each other" stuff isn't my thing. At all. (Side note: I don't really call the "oh, I've heard so much bad stuff about you that I'll reject you until you prove that you're not so bad, or at least willing to make really dramatic gestures for me that usually involve a trail of dead or unconscious bodies" bit "enemies as lovers" as it's more "bad boy/good girl" most of the time.)
There is, however, one time I'll almost always fall for it: when you bring in reincarnation and make the "enemies" part against the will of the principles. Siblings/friends/lovers/whatever forced into being enemies due to that pesky past lives things almost always works for me. And since Night of the Beasts is centered around that, Japanese mythology and a strong heroine, it's no wonder I love it so.
( more )
Canon Vol 2
Nov. 13th, 2007 07:21 pmVolume one of Canon set the series up to be a very good, if standard in concept, book about a girl who wanted revenge revenge on the vampire who killed her friends and was joined by a vampire who also wanted revenge against the same man. The main thing that made it stand out from the norm was that Sakaki, the hero to Canon's heroine, seemed to be just as bad and as ruthless as Rod(I shall never stop loving that he is "Rod, the Vampire Lord"...I feel confident it sounds MUCH better in Japanese...rather like Oh! Great! is probably a cool name for a mangaka...somewhere...) Volume 2, however, rather turns that idea on its head.
( spoilers )
Canon Vol 2
Nov. 13th, 2007 07:21 pmVolume one of Canon set the series up to be a very good, if standard in concept, book about a girl who wanted revenge revenge on the vampire who killed her friends and was joined by a vampire who also wanted revenge against the same man. The main thing that made it stand out from the norm was that Sakaki, the hero to Canon's heroine, seemed to be just as bad and as ruthless as Rod(I shall never stop loving that he is "Rod, the Vampire Lord"...I feel confident it sounds MUCH better in Japanese...rather like Oh! Great! is probably a cool name for a mangaka...somewhere...) Volume 2, however, rather turns that idea on its head.
( spoilers )
Night of the Beast: preview pages
Nov. 11th, 2007 12:37 amIn case anyone has managed to miss it, I adore Chika Shiomi's Night of the Beasts beyond words. I am therefore, utterly thrilled to have stumbled across a 10 page preview of volume 1 here(as scanslations, as far as I know, don't exist...if they do and someone knows where they are, you are to direct me to them so I can make icons and stuffs.)
If you like your shojo to have a strong, kickbutt heroine who doesn't waste her time wondering whether or not the guy likes her and how far should she go and will her rescue her(and hey, the whole thing is about HER saving HIM) with lots of action, plenty of darkness and a strong basis in mythology with it's fair share of imagery, then this is the manga for you(and hey, it's only 6 volumes, so you aren't signing your life away or anything.)
If you like your shojo to have a strong, kickbutt heroine who doesn't waste her time wondering whether or not the guy likes her and how far should she go and will her rescue her(and hey, the whole thing is about HER saving HIM) with lots of action, plenty of darkness and a strong basis in mythology with it's fair share of imagery, then this is the manga for you(and hey, it's only 6 volumes, so you aren't signing your life away or anything.)
Night of the Beast: preview pages
Nov. 11th, 2007 12:37 amIn case anyone has managed to miss it, I adore Chika Shiomi's Night of the Beasts beyond words. I am therefore, utterly thrilled to have stumbled across a 10 page preview of volume 1 here(as scanslations, as far as I know, don't exist...if they do and someone knows where they are, you are to direct me to them so I can make icons and stuffs.)
If you like your shojo to have a strong, kickbutt heroine who doesn't waste her time wondering whether or not the guy likes her and how far should she go and will her rescue her(and hey, the whole thing is about HER saving HIM) with lots of action, plenty of darkness and a strong basis in mythology with it's fair share of imagery, then this is the manga for you(and hey, it's only 6 volumes, so you aren't signing your life away or anything.)
If you like your shojo to have a strong, kickbutt heroine who doesn't waste her time wondering whether or not the guy likes her and how far should she go and will her rescue her(and hey, the whole thing is about HER saving HIM) with lots of action, plenty of darkness and a strong basis in mythology with it's fair share of imagery, then this is the manga for you(and hey, it's only 6 volumes, so you aren't signing your life away or anything.)
Yurara Vol 2
Nov. 9th, 2007 09:39 pmWhen I read vol 1 of Yurara, I liked it, but was a bit disconcerted by how shojo-like it was. That may sound odd as, like Chika Shiomi's other books, it is shojo, her books tend to be shojo more because they're about girls who kick butt than for the usual shojo hearts and flowers and romance. Canon destroys the idea of the romantic vampire, portraying even the "heroic" and apparently eventual love interest as a near monster, and Night of the Beasts is like a romantic fable gone horrible dark and wrong in the best way possible. Yurara, about a teeny, clumsy girl who sees ghosts who meets two boys-cold and slightly sadistic but secretly nice Yato, and open goofbal with a darkside Mei- who are exorcists, respectively using water and fireas mediums, was just so tame and mainstream in comparison.
But I'm over that now, and while I don't love it quite as much as Night of the Beasts, I do love it. It's more of the normal shojo high school adventures and romantic triangle than the other two, but not so much so that it annoys me, and it works well. While either Aria or canon could squash Yurara(normal Yurara or Guardian Spirit Yurara) like a bug, I do like her, and I find Mei, with his outer goofball and inner dark angster very engaging. I'm still most interested, however, in the oh-so-serious and repressed Yato. Who, sadly, seems destined to be on the losing end ofthe romantic triangle, and hasn't got as much attention as Mei yet.
I admit, though, that I wish there wasn't so much emphasis on "spurred by love/desire ghosts." In this volume, there's the girl whose boyfriend dumped her while she was dying for another girl, the pervert ghost who hit on any female ghost he could find and tried to keep them, and, of course, the ghost of Mei's dead love, who was herself possessed by another ghost to try to kill him(yes it sounds a bit convoulted, but it makes perfect sense in the book.) Balancing it out, though, we have the ghost of Mei's mother, who won't move on because she knows her husband and three sons are the world's biggest skirtchasers, and is convinced that the moment she's gone, they'll be bringing girls home.
On an unrelated note, I'm a bit disgruntled with the new Novik book. In terms of quality, plot and execution, it's just as good as the first three books, but for some reason, it isn't grabbing me the way they did. I tore through each of the first three books in as close to one sitting as I possibly could, but with this book, I put it down after reading the first part to read Yurara. But I'm picking it back up now.
Yurara Vol 2
Nov. 9th, 2007 09:39 pmWhen I read vol 1 of Yurara, I liked it, but was a bit disconcerted by how shojo-like it was. That may sound odd as, like Chika Shiomi's other books, it is shojo, her books tend to be shojo more because they're about girls who kick butt than for the usual shojo hearts and flowers and romance. Canon destroys the idea of the romantic vampire, portraying even the "heroic" and apparently eventual love interest as a near monster, and Night of the Beasts is like a romantic fable gone horrible dark and wrong in the best way possible. Yurara, about a teeny, clumsy girl who sees ghosts who meets two boys-cold and slightly sadistic but secretly nice Yato, and open goofbal with a darkside Mei- who are exorcists, respectively using water and fireas mediums, was just so tame and mainstream in comparison.
But I'm over that now, and while I don't love it quite as much as Night of the Beasts, I do love it. It's more of the normal shojo high school adventures and romantic triangle than the other two, but not so much so that it annoys me, and it works well. While either Aria or canon could squash Yurara(normal Yurara or Guardian Spirit Yurara) like a bug, I do like her, and I find Mei, with his outer goofball and inner dark angster very engaging. I'm still most interested, however, in the oh-so-serious and repressed Yato. Who, sadly, seems destined to be on the losing end ofthe romantic triangle, and hasn't got as much attention as Mei yet.
I admit, though, that I wish there wasn't so much emphasis on "spurred by love/desire ghosts." In this volume, there's the girl whose boyfriend dumped her while she was dying for another girl, the pervert ghost who hit on any female ghost he could find and tried to keep them, and, of course, the ghost of Mei's dead love, who was herself possessed by another ghost to try to kill him(yes it sounds a bit convoulted, but it makes perfect sense in the book.) Balancing it out, though, we have the ghost of Mei's mother, who won't move on because she knows her husband and three sons are the world's biggest skirtchasers, and is convinced that the moment she's gone, they'll be bringing girls home.
On an unrelated note, I'm a bit disgruntled with the new Novik book. In terms of quality, plot and execution, it's just as good as the first three books, but for some reason, it isn't grabbing me the way they did. I tore through each of the first three books in as close to one sitting as I possibly could, but with this book, I put it down after reading the first part to read Yurara. But I'm picking it back up now.
Night of the Beasts Vol 4 by Chika Shiomi
Aug. 4th, 2007 01:07 amFor Him: How to carry on a courtship when you’re possessed by two demons who are ancient enemies:
- Have the Evil Demon, Kagara, awaken inside you, giving several thousand of your relatives dreams where you slaughter each and every one of them in a particularly brutal fashion. This will lead them to ceaselessly hunt you down and try to kill you for the next several years.
- Hunt down the very distant cousin(naturally of the opposite sex from you and approximately of the same age, to allow for romantic angst) who possesses the mortal enemy of your own demon inside of her because your soul tells you she can help you control Kagara.
- Face the Evil Relatives who want you dead and bond over dead bodies.
- At some point, said Evil Relatives must kidnap the female half(sustaining a fair amount of damage in the process…that Aria is a vicious one when provoked) to draw you out. When this happens, you will naturally run off to save her a like any good hero, only to get caught in their trap. The fact that your girl hates all their guts for relentlessly hunting you without ever trying to help you will not help the situation any (and, frankly, they are all Scum and she has many valid points.)
- When one of them makes a move to kill her, feel free to attack him instead, even though you know that the first time you willingly shed blood, the demon will take over completely.
- Be warned, though, that as everyone around is on Kagara’s hit list, he’ll probably slaughter them all. On the upside, it may allow Kagara’s mortal enemy, Kurugi, to finally awaken inside your girl.
- Don’t worry, even though the demon in your body tried to kill her, she will engage in a relentless quest to save you, despite all the relatives she never met before ordering, bribing and begging her to kill you to save them from you. To her, they are the worthless scum who were trying to kill you and drove you into the corner that forced you to give in to the demon and you are the victim. Sure, she’s going to beat up anyone to use the words “boyfriend” or “love” in reference to you, but we all know better.
- As you are A) in love, and B) the hero(ok, hero’s love interest, really) of the story, you will be able to fight back against the demon inside you and keep him from killing her a few times.
- This may also cause Kagara to remember what may have been a romantic side to his relationship with Mikage, the female warrior who killed him (with Kurugi’s help, of course) 400 years ago. Of course, as Kagara is Evil, this will likely just make him even more determined to crush your soul and slaughter all your relatives(only a very few of which are worthy of being spared the brutal butchering.)
- Please not that Kagara is a manipulative SOB, and you should NOT be tricked when he lets you regain control of your very wounded and bloody body in a place where your girlfriend is likely to find you. As soon as she gets close enough for cuddling, he’ll likely take control back and try to choke her to death.
Yes, still loving this one. I really do despise the relatives…really, the only flatout likable ones are Tohru, who’s really barely more than a kid and isn’t all “Kill Sakura! KILL KILL KILL!!” and Towako, who mostly wants all the idiots to shut up and start whining. Akiya and Takikaido are both interesting, but are both destined to end up either broken shells or with their entrails dangling from Kagara’s fingers.
Night of the Beasts remains my favorite of Chika Shiomi’s books. I loke both Canon and Yurara a lot, but compared to Aria, both their heroines are pushovers, and while Canon has promise in the “messed up psycho OTP area” Yurara doesn’t really show signs of it, and I like the history and mythology in Night of the Beasts.
Night of the Beasts Vol 4 by Chika Shiomi
Aug. 4th, 2007 01:07 amFor Him: How to carry on a courtship when you’re possessed by two demons who are ancient enemies:
- Have the Evil Demon, Kagara, awaken inside you, giving several thousand of your relatives dreams where you slaughter each and every one of them in a particularly brutal fashion. This will lead them to ceaselessly hunt you down and try to kill you for the next several years.
- Hunt down the very distant cousin(naturally of the opposite sex from you and approximately of the same age, to allow for romantic angst) who possesses the mortal enemy of your own demon inside of her because your soul tells you she can help you control Kagara.
- Face the Evil Relatives who want you dead and bond over dead bodies.
- At some point, said Evil Relatives must kidnap the female half(sustaining a fair amount of damage in the process…that Aria is a vicious one when provoked) to draw you out. When this happens, you will naturally run off to save her a like any good hero, only to get caught in their trap. The fact that your girl hates all their guts for relentlessly hunting you without ever trying to help you will not help the situation any (and, frankly, they are all Scum and she has many valid points.)
- When one of them makes a move to kill her, feel free to attack him instead, even though you know that the first time you willingly shed blood, the demon will take over completely.
- Be warned, though, that as everyone around is on Kagara’s hit list, he’ll probably slaughter them all. On the upside, it may allow Kagara’s mortal enemy, Kurugi, to finally awaken inside your girl.
- Don’t worry, even though the demon in your body tried to kill her, she will engage in a relentless quest to save you, despite all the relatives she never met before ordering, bribing and begging her to kill you to save them from you. To her, they are the worthless scum who were trying to kill you and drove you into the corner that forced you to give in to the demon and you are the victim. Sure, she’s going to beat up anyone to use the words “boyfriend” or “love” in reference to you, but we all know better.
- As you are A) in love, and B) the hero(ok, hero’s love interest, really) of the story, you will be able to fight back against the demon inside you and keep him from killing her a few times.
- This may also cause Kagara to remember what may have been a romantic side to his relationship with Mikage, the female warrior who killed him (with Kurugi’s help, of course) 400 years ago. Of course, as Kagara is Evil, this will likely just make him even more determined to crush your soul and slaughter all your relatives(only a very few of which are worthy of being spared the brutal butchering.)
- Please not that Kagara is a manipulative SOB, and you should NOT be tricked when he lets you regain control of your very wounded and bloody body in a place where your girlfriend is likely to find you. As soon as she gets close enough for cuddling, he’ll likely take control back and try to choke her to death.
Yes, still loving this one. I really do despise the relatives…really, the only flatout likable ones are Tohru, who’s really barely more than a kid and isn’t all “Kill Sakura! KILL KILL KILL!!” and Towako, who mostly wants all the idiots to shut up and start whining. Akiya and Takikaido are both interesting, but are both destined to end up either broken shells or with their entrails dangling from Kagara’s fingers.
Night of the Beasts remains my favorite of Chika Shiomi’s books. I loke both Canon and Yurara a lot, but compared to Aria, both their heroines are pushovers, and while Canon has promise in the “messed up psycho OTP area” Yurara doesn’t really show signs of it, and I like the history and mythology in Night of the Beasts.
manga: Yurara, vol 1
Jul. 21st, 2007 08:54 pm
Yurara is the third title by Chika Shiomi(Night of the Beasts, Canon) to be licensed in the US. It's about a girl named Yurara, a shy, meek girl who sees spirits and can feel their emotions, but can't interact with or do anything about them. At her new school, she gets placed between Mei, and overly affectionate goofball and Yako, and cold and serious student, in her new class. Almost immediately, she learns that both boys can also see spirits, and that Mei can use spiritual flames to fight them, and Yako can bind them and create barriers with water. Apparently, meeting them allows her guardian spirit, a more forceful version of herself, to awaken, allowing her to communicate with the ghosts and help them move on.
Of Shiomi's three books that have been licensed, Yurara is, in both art and story, the most conventional. On the one had, just based on this, I'll take it over most of the high school manga out there, fantasy/paranormal or otherwise. On the other, after the urban hunt of Canon and dark mythology of Night of the Beasts, something so close to "normal" shojo felt like a bit of a let down(yet is likely closer to what most on my flist would like, anyway, as I tend to sometimes have odd tastes, so I guess it's ok.) In comparison, it, and its characters, kinda of start to blend in with the rest(plus, as compared to Canon and Aria, Yurara is kind of a doormat, guardian spirit or not-not that I didn't like her, I did, just that those two are very strong and very kickbutt.)
If I hadn't read Shiomi's other books, I'd probably be praising this book left and right-as compared to other shojo, it is pretty unique and it has an interesting story, and it's not just "magical girl and cute protectors," it just didn't quite live up to the expectations Canon and Night of the Beasts set for me. (incidentally, at 6 volumes, Night of the Beasts is Shiomi's longest series of the three...nice to know some mangaka regularly keep it short and sweet instead of making their books last for all eternity.)
