This may be an early favorite of mine for this year. BACKGROUND:
I couldn't really decide what to read for this week, so I looked over my list of digital manga and picked one I hadn't heard of that had an interesting title, cover, and/or synopsis. This was the one that ended up drawing me in. SUMMARY: Kotoko Iwanaga is a girl who regularly visits a hospital to deal with a condition of hers. One fateful day, she meets Kuro Sakuragawa, a young man who was at the hospital to check in with his cousin. Kotoko immediately falls for him, but is cut off by Saki Yumihara, who turns out to be Kuro's girlfriend. For two years, Kotoko would observe Kuro (accompanied by Saki) on their hospital visits, never able to really interact with him. Eventually, it's revealed that Kuro and Saki are engaged, much to Kotoko's disappointment. Back in present day, Kotoko notices that Kuro is in the hospital alone, so approaches him and shoots her shot (and I mean really shoot her shot; the woman has zero fear). Kuro lets her down gently (largely because Kotoko is much younger than she looks), but the two get to talking on why his relationship with Saki ended. Here, the fantastical side of the story makes itself clear, as Kuro tells Kotoko the story of him and Saki encountering a kappa on their vacation, and how he thinks that supernatural incident led to Saki pushing him away. To Kuro's surprise, Kotoko believes him, at which point she explains that stuff like monsters and yokai truly exist in their world. Kotoko then shares her own past, and she reveals that when she was 11, the yokai kidnapped her and asked her to be their goddess of wisdom. She ended up agreeing, and she has since been in charge of helping yokai with their problems or disputes in exchange for their unseen help in her day-to-day life. In exchange, however, her left leg and right eye were taken, and the book implies that this sacrifice is a sort of prerequisite to godhood. Kuro then takes the time to verify the reports surrounding Kotoko's incident at a library. His skepticism is assuaged when he encounters a tanuki imploring for Kotoko's help, and he's brought along to take on a rogue yokai terrorizing the area. Kotoko puts up a hell of a fight, but Kuro intervenes and ends up saving the day in a rather unconventional manner. Before this point in the story, it is hinted at that Kuro harbors a dark secret, one that terrifies the yokai who interact with Kotoko. As it turns out, Kuro underwent a transformation of his own, as he reveals that he ate two kinds of yokai meat as a child. The second one wasn't revealed in this volume, but he shares that he ate mermaid meat, which gave him impressive regenerative powers that look like it could rival Wolverine. Seeing a twofold opportunity (getting with him romantically and using his boogeyman status amongst the yokai as leverage for mediations), Kotoko insists that she and Kuro work together in solving yokai problems. The last part of the book shifts the perspective to that of Saki more than two years after Kotoko and Kuro's fateful reunion. Saki is now a rookie cop working for the force who is the talk of the town for her incredible looks and the fact that she's still single. Saki's internal dialogue (as well as a chat with a detective named Terada who may or may not be hitting on her) reveals that she's not over Kuro at all and that she doesn't feel great about how things ended. Saki's conversation with Terada ends up changing the subject to a string of peculiar cases involving the supposed ghost of a dead idol causing accidents and seemingly attacking people. Terada isn't sure what to make of the incidents, but having had a brush with the supernatural once before, Saki suspects that there may be indeed a ghost out there wreaking havoc. She then recalls her run-in with the kappa when she was still with Kuro, and more details about what actually happened are revealed that show how deeply traumatized Saki was by the existence of the supernatural. The volume ends with Saki and Kotoko actually running into each other, but before they could really talk, the ghost Saki has been hearing about shows up. Fed up with the dread that the supernatural caused her, Saki decides to try and fight the ghost, which ends as well as you'd think. Kotoko intervenes and repels the ghost, and afterwards, the two girls talk a bit more. Kotoko then realizes who she's talking to and introduces herself, but the volume ends before Kuro is brought up in conversation. The book's entire premise reminded me a lot of Trese (more on that here) with its lead characters more or less dealing with cases involving supernatural creatures, and I've definitely enjoyed my fair share of those. Whereas the titles I've previously enjoyed like Trese or Hellblazer have more of a detective vibe, In/Spectre stands out to me immediately as Kotoko's role as the yokai's goddess of wisdom makes her more of a diplomat who tries to resolve things peacefully before resorting to force. Her status also means that most yokai actually treat her with reverence, whereas creatures from similar stories have, at most, a begrudging respect for the protagonists. This volume doesn't really show the more diplomatic side of Kotoko's role as goddess (as she doesn't get to do the stuff she says she does, like mediate conflicts), but it's quite clear that the yokai trust and respect her dearly, as they address her with honorifics and are greatly concerned with her well-being (especially around Kuro, whom they fear). I'm hoping later chapters actually show the typical cases she handles (as I'd like to know what kind of conflicts yokai get into that can be resolved with diplomacy) and how the collective respect for her has persisted throughout her time as goddess thus far. Where Kotoko truly shines as a character here is when she interacts with Kuro. Like I said earlier, she shoots her shot the first chance she gets, and she is incredibly direct when articulating her feelings towards Kuro. She gets her point across in a rather eloquent manner and doesn't beat around the bush, which does lead her to occasionally say weird things that are only offset by her formal tone. I quite enjoy her as a protagonist because of how refreshingly forward she is, I found her directness with sharing her feelings admirable (extra points for not being a creepy flirt, too), and I got a real kick out of some of the completely bizarre things she says with a straight face and such formal language. Kuro makes for an excellent foil for what I like to describe as Kotoko's controlled advances, as he calls out her advances (some of which are physical) without being mean about it. While it would be interesting to see if his feelings changed towards Kotoko, I must admit I'm more intrigued by the mystery surrounding his backstory. How and why did he become the way he is, and how would his association with Kotoko cause conflicts with the yokai? These are questions I hope are explored in later volumes. Saki is only around for the back half of the volume, but I was pleasantly surprised she was featured as much as she was, as she felt like a throwaway character just to set up Kuro's story. I really liked her inclusion as she serves as the human perspective of this manga's world, and it was interesting to see how adversely that affected her. Naturally, the potential for drama given her meeting with Kotoko and possibly seeing Kuro again after the breakup is spicy, but I'm curious if she will be part of the story in more than just the love triangle aspect of it. After all, she's a human cop who can see all this spooky nonsense, and I'm wondering if she does anything with what's essentially a curse of knowledge to her. We only meet a couple of yokai in this volume, and apart from the ones Kotoko had to fight (who appear to just be blinded by rage or something to that effect), they really treat their goddess with the utmost respect. I'd like to meet more yokai with more complex relationships to Kotoko than just "we worship her," like more adversarial ones or individuals who were directly involved with her peacekeeping efforts. Most of the art keeps it light and relatively simple for the more grounded interactions (like people talking to one another or typical scenery), so stuff like action sequences, panels that feature yokai, and serious moments really stand out with their more intense linework (usually in the fight scenes), much darker shades, and an increase in the level of detail. I enjoyed such panels a lot, though I also enjoyed how the art wasn't afraid to lean a little towards the other direction by giving characters simpler and sillier facial expressions in the more light-hearted moments. I also found the juxtaposition of the more grotesque-looking yokai bowing down to the cutesy Kotoko quite amusing. VERDICT: As I said in the intro, In/Spectre may be an early contender for manga that left me with an amazing first impression for 2024. Everything from the neat little twist on a familiar premise, an entertaining protagonist in Kotoko, the story potential of the yokai world, the mystery of Kuro, and the possibilities that come with Saki's involvement all come together to deliver a story that I want to read more of. I want to see what kind of stuff Kotoko does as the goddess of wisdom, how Kuro's nature and presence will affect that, and what other ridiculous shit Kotoko will do to try and win Kuro's heart. I'm definitely putting this on the "continue this series" list. If the fantasy elements of the story interest you, this may be a manga you would like, but I can only speak to the potential of its world right now given I've only finished Vol. 1. Depending on your taste, the rom-com potential between the two main characters may or may not be of interest to you as well, so take that into account as well if this is a title that you're curious about. - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|