I Reads You Review: RASETSU, VOL. 5

Creator: Chika Shiomi; Kinami Watabe (translation and adaptation)

Publishing Information: VIZ MEDIA, paperback, 192 pages, $9.99 (US), $12.99 CAN

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-2754-3 (ISBN-13)

Rating “T+” for “Older Teen”

Rasetsu is a shojo manga (comic for teen girls) from creator, Chika Shiomi. Rasetsu is essentially a spin-off of an earlier Shiomi manga entitled Yurara, mainly because a character from Yurara appears in Rasetsu.

Rasetsu focuses on its title character, 19-year-old Rasetsu Hyuga. When she was 15-years-old, an evil spirit attacked Rasetsu. Although she survived the attack, the spirit vowed to return to claim Rasetsu on her 20th birthday… unless she has found true love. As a memento of their encounter, the spirit left a bright red flower mark on her chest. Now, Rasetsu works for Hiichiro Amakawa Agency, an exorcist agency, and she uses her special powers to banish evil spirits. She also searches for true love which may have come in the form of her two coworkers, Iwatsuki Kuryu and Yako Hoshino (the holdover from Yurara).

As Rasetsu, Vol. 5 begins, Rasetsu is dealing with the aftermath of Kuryu’s kiss. What should she make of it when her heart really longs for Yako? Yako teases, but how does he really feel about her, especially considering that he is still hung up on that spirit he loved in high school? Meanwhile, their boss, Hiichiro Amakawa, drops their strangest case on them. Nanami Nishikawa is a young woman who is about to give birth to her child, but a dark spirit that kills babies is after her unborn child.

Rasetsu, like Yurara, is a supernatural-themed romance. Rasetsu is also a shojo love triangle with a hook – the young lovers are also ghost busters. Separately, neither the romance nor the ghost busting is original in its execution, but when combined, they make Rasetsu seem special. Each – the love triangle and the supernatural – gives the other a sense of urgency. The conflict is not just about fighting ghosts, but it is also about combating the sense of confusion that young love time three creates.

I like Rasetsu quite a bit, almost as much as I liked Yurara. I tear through a volume of Rasetsu like there was a box off of Popeye’s fried chicken waiting for me at the end. Rasetsu is not a great manga, but it does supernatural romance better than most. It is a personal favorite, and I would recommend it to people familiar with Shiomi’s work.

B+