This is an older review I wrote May 13th, 2009.
Yōkaiden
by Nina Matsumoto
Del Rey Manga
I pretty sure I'm the one who ordered this book for the library. Back when we were flush with funds for our book budget, I tried to pick up a volume or two a month of a manga title. And then, more importantly continue to get them. So Yokaiden must of come across my Baker & Taylor list.
When it came in, I told the catalogers to put it in the Young Adult area. And indeed, that is where this book is best.
Yokaiden is a story set in ancient Japan, where all the mythological creatures called Yokai appear regularly to humans. And one boy, Hamachi is trying to write a book about them cataloging all the different kinds of Yokai in the world. However, most people consider Yokai pests and often try to kill them (like our Casta Del Sol bunnies). Living alone with his grandmother, Hamachi is considered a strange kid and gets picked on. But when he rescues a Kappa from a trap, which was set by his grandmother, Hamachi starts on a path which will take him to the Yokai realm and meet all the creepy spirits.
When I first saw the book, I was surprised to see that it read like a normal book from left to right. Most manga reads in the Japanese style from right to left. But then, after I finished reading it and doing an internet search, I saw that she was a Canadian manga-ka who seems to have an immense knowledge of Japanese folklore. Her artwork is very good and has many of the normal Japanese styles of super-deformed chibi and little parenthetical statements thrown about. It is like a normal manga, but all the sound effects are in English.
Definitely worth a read if you like anime shows like xxxHolic, Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales, or Mushishi. Japanese folklore and spirits are always interesting to read about, and this book is full of them. It looks like the next volume will be out in November, so unfortunately, if there is only one volume a year, I hope I'll remember to order it for the library.
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