Sengoku Nights Volume 1

This is a two-volume series, complete. The hero is a teenaged boy who finds out he is the reincarnation of an evil warlady named Oni-hime. When his parents sell their sacred ancestral lands, it releases the horrible curses of Oni-hime's many victims. These angry spirits don't care who they hurt in order to get to Oni-hime. And they aren't even the worst of what's after her. The result is spooky, folklore-inspired supernatural horror. There is an emphasis upon the harm that is done to ordinary people and bit characters by the clashes of those "great" warlords, and the focus on common folk in the past is matched by concern for innocent bystanders is the present. The fact that the hero feels his responsibilities in this respect strongly makes him very likeable. Yet the burden of being Oni-hime seems so terrible that we can relate to his denial and reluctance to accept the truth. This isn't one of those comics where we roll our eyes at the hero's obligatory "but I want to be normal" shtick. I only wish that it had been longer, as some important aspects of the story seem under-explored. The hero's coming-to-terms with the fact that he is One-hime was certainly the most intense and interesting part. Yet it is rushed, and to a large extent something we aren't even privy to. Some plot points remain incoherent even upon re-reading (perhaps I need to bone up on Japanese folklore). And frankly, in the short time I've been reading manga, I've seen enough towering brutes coming on to skinny teenaged boys to last me as long as I live. But I love the artwork, the empathetic hero, the grandmother, the vengeful spirits, the wacky transfer student. It somehow makes an emotional impact transcending its flaws and is not quite explained by its virtues. This is the first collaboration between two sisters, Kaoru Ohashi and Kei Kusunoki, who produced it under extremely challenging circumstances, suggesting that they might do even better on future collaborations. Kusonoki is also the solo creator of INNOCENT W, which so far is not as good.

The "reincarnated high school kid with mystical power" has been done--and done, and done. But "Sengoku Nights" (despite sounding either like a perfume or a bad soap opera) delivers some interesting twists. On the technical front: very good translation. Honorifics are kept, and terms that would translate weakly at best into English are kept in their original Japanese (like the type of guardian spirits, etc.) There's one character with a tendency to refer to herself in the third person, but I'm told this is a polite way of speaking in Japanese, and not al all out of character for a young girl who has transfered schools so many times and so is rather out of touch with the established social structure. The art is splendid. The backgrounds are beautiful, the detail is rich, the inks and tone-use are not heavy-handed. The editing is also very good, with very, very few errors (I counted perhaps two). The cover is attractive, the back copy is appealing. The story itself may seem formula on the surface, but it's got enough surprises to make for good entertainment. You don't need a degree in Japanese history to understand this one, or any detailed knowledge of the era to enjoy the story. Masayoshi lived a life that bordered on the terminally boring until his family decided to sell some land that had been held for generations. He begins to have nightmares, hearing a voice call out again and again, "Oni-hime, why did you betray me?" Being a typical high school guy with a typical crush on a classmate, Masayoshi isn't up on his supernatural myths and legends, and so has no idea what the dream is about. His grandmother urges calm--for good reason, as Grandma isn't what she appears to be, either! I think this is the first time I've read a story where the "evil" person was female then chose to be reborn as a male. And, as it turns out, the story of Oni-hime is not as wicked as it seems--not that she's innocent, but she had reasons for her terrible acts. Unlike many titles set in this era of Japanese history, it doesn't flinch away from the reality of war and the madness it brings to everyone involved--not just the warriors. As much as I love the romantic image of the samurai, it's quite refreshing to see the impact of this time on "regular people", the civilian population who suffered also from Oni-hime's acts. We very often find tales of the great warriors who come seeking to avenge terrible wrongs--we hear less about the wives, the mothers, the children, who also suffered, and *these* were Oni-hime's primary victims. Thirdly, for *once* there is an excuse for the male lead to look girly on occassion, and it's not for fan service! Fourth, according to the afterword (am I the only one who actually reads those things?), SN was *originally* meant to be a supernatural romance/comedy. Elements of that still remain, but it doesn't cloud the current story. There are moments of silliness, obligatory characters In Desperate Need of a Clue, and so

This is a really fun book. Masayoshi Kurozuka is the reincarnated Oni-hime and has to deal with remembering his past life and suffer from the curses that comes along with it. Also there is the problem with Nozuchi no Mikoto being in love with Oni-hime and, much to the dismay of Masayoshi, has no problem with the fact that that his love is now a boy. It has a good story line and has a few twist towards the end. And one of the best parts about this story is that it is only two books long so it won't cost a lot of money to collect.