Enemies or friends?
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Julietta Suzuki
Translation/Adaptation: Tomo Kimura
What They Say
Kirihito has finally found a way to enter the Land of the Dead in order to retrieve his true form, the body of the dread yokai Akura-oh! Nanami, her shinshi, and all the Izumo war kami are hot on his tail, but the ruler of the realm is furious that no one asked her permission before barging in. She slams the gates and shrouds the land in darkness. How will they be able to find Kirihito now, much less the way out?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The story continues strong in this volume as the troops rally in the Land of the Dead. Izanami, the ruler of the Land of the Dead is not happy with everyone barging in on her territory without following proper etiquette. She closes the Land of the Dead and plunges it into darkness.
Tomoe decides to stay close to the entrance to Land of the Living. He senses Akura-oh and goes out searching for him. Tomoe finds him and is ready to rip him to shreds, as it’s the only thing he can do in his fox form. Akura-oh in his human body doesn’t realize who Tomoe is in his fox form, but Yatori does. It’s here that Akura-oh admits he doesn’t actually hate foxes.
Izanami, still upset with everyone, makes them all dress up in frilly clothes for a tea party. The topic turns to the issues in the Land of the Living, which Izanami is well aware of. She makes a deal that if they play hide and seek for one hour and she doesn’t find someone, she will grant them their wish. Nanami is found right away and has a chat with Izanami regarding her frail life and Tomoe. She gives her a bulb that if a flower blossoms as proof that Tomoe loves humans, he can eat the flower and turn back into ayakashi.
Mizuki is the only one that wins the hide and seek game and requests for Izanami to open the Land of the Dead. During this time Tomoe finds out the truth about Nanami’s shortened life span. Tomoe leaves Akura-oh to find Nanami and confront her with this. He does and finally all the secrets are out in the open.
In Summary
My favorite moment in this volume is the tenderness Akura-oh shows toward Tomoe. It gives me hope that their friendship may be salvageable and perhaps Akura-oh, whose body is immortal, can change for the better. I’ve come to really not like Yatori. He has a knack for showing up when you don’t want to, which makes him a good character to illicit such feelings.
I continue to waver on my feelings towards Nanami. She is an adorable girl and is well loved for good reasons. I just wish so much that she comes to be the one protecting others. Over and over everyone rescues her and gives her things simply because they like her. I think it would make for a great finale if this were to occur.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: October 4th, 2016
MSRP: $9.99
