Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne: Volume 1

I greatly adore this manga. Jeanne is not your typical shojo heroine. She's much stronger and I greatly care about her character. This is a wonderful manga. However, I do feel I need to put two slight warnings with this for anyone. 1. Although Jeanne is supposed to be the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and this is a plot point. The religion is very screwy. If you're picking this up expecting an accurate example of Christianity you won't see that here (the author does state that she's more interested in telling Jeanne's story in one of the later volumes, and Jeanne's story is quite moving, good and worth reading) 2. My second warning is actually the ratings on this manga. The series is well rated and very accurate, for each volume. While other manga publishers seem to give their series one complete rating, despite what is portrayed from volume to volume. CMX, at least with KKJ, rates each volume seperately. So while volumes 1,2 & 3 are rated E for everyone. Volume 4 all of a sudden jumps to a T for teen (and with good reason!) As I type this the last 2 volumes of this 7 volume series have come out, and I have every intention of buying them! I hope what I've written doesn't put anyone off from buying this wonderful series. I first ran across a webpage dedicated to the manga and anime years ago, before there was even much manga on the market. I've been hoping since then that it would one day be translated into English. Now that it has been, I have not been disappointed with it at all. I hope many other people come to enjoy it as well.

I love the fact that Arina Tanemura chose Jeanne d'arc as the heroine in which to reincarnate as Maron. Using such a powerful and moving person of the past was a good start. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because the very beginning of the volume was fairly confusing. I had to read it several times to get the gist of it. Later on though it slows down a little bit and is a little easier to understand; not so hectic. Jeanne d'arc is a God-send who's job is to trap demons that conceal themselves in works of art using her powers. After finding them with the help of her fairy friend, Jeanne traps them in a chess piece and replaces the picture with something that suits her; more often than not, a picture that resembles her slightly. Later in the volume, Kaito Sinbad shows up and tries to steal her job. What is his real intention? We don't get to find out until volume 2. =P Anyway, the art in this is fairly upbeat and very pretty. I liked it a lot. =)

On the surface, the premise of this manga seems silly and dismissable; Maron is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc, and charged with the responsibility of sealing the demons who inhabit paintings to corrupt people's souls. But it's so much more than that. For one, Maron's relationships with her friends and absent family prove a key point to the plot of this beautifully drawn manga. Her parents have been abroad for many years, and she awaits just one letter from them, to show her they're still thinking of her. Also, a rival is introduced early on in the story: Kaitou Sinbad, who has the same power to seal demons. At the same time as he shows up, a student transfers to her school, and, despite herself, she develops a crush on him. I recommend this title for anyone who likes the magical girl genre of manga, or who has enjoyed Arina Tanemura's other works.