Review: THE DEMON PRINCE OF MOMOCHI HOUSE Volume 1

THE DEMON PRINCE OF MOMOCHI HOUSE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Aya Shouoto
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7962-7; paperback (July 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
172pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

VIZ Media is publishing another manga from Aya Shouoto, the creator of Kiss of the Rose Princess.  Entitled The Demon Prince of Momochi House, the series focuses on a young woman who inherits a house with a strong supernatural connection.

On her 16th birthday, Himari Momochi inherits an old house in the woods that she has never seen.  She does not know that it is called the Momochi House and that it already has three inhabitants.  One of them is practically the “Demon Prince” of Momochi House.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 3) opens with Himari deep in the mountains looking for the ancestral estate, Momochi House.  A local warns her to avoid the house because she will be cursed by the “Omamori-sama.”  When she finally finds the house, she discovers that the place is practically a wreck, and that three squatters live there.

Seventeen-year-old Aoi Nanamori seems to be the leader, while Yukari and Ise just seem like lazy guys looking for a place to stay.  There is, however, more than meets the eye, as she learns that Momochi House is a barrier between the human and spiritual realms.  The house may have even more residents, and Aoi... handsome Aoi has a secret.

I am a sucker for a yokai-themed manga, and The Demon Prince of Momochi House manga focuses on “ayakashi,” an apparent old term for yokai.  Demons and spirits aside, this is, like other manga from creator Aya Shouoto, a shojo manga.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 1 quickly establishes a budding and complicated romance between Himari and Aoi.  This series seems as if it will be both a supernatural romance and a high school romantic drama.  It has potential, but, other than establishing the dynamics between the leads, The Demon Prince of Momochi House is a bit unformed after three chapters, which is what makes up this first graphic novel in the series.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux (Support Leroy on Patreon)


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