KAKURIYO: BED & BREAKFAST FOR SPIRITS, VOL. 6
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
MANGAKA: Waco Ioka
ORIGINAL STORY: Midori Yuma
CHARACTER DESIGNS: Laruha
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1042-3; paperback (September 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
152pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits is a Japanese shojo fantasy manga written and drawn by Waco Ioka. It is based on Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (also known as Afterlife Inn Cooking), a Japanese light novel series written by Midori Yūma and illustrated by Laruha. The manga has been serialized in Enterbrain's josei manga magazine, B's Log Comic, since 2016. VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint.
Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits focuses on Aoi Tsubaki, who inherited something great and terrible from her grandfather, Shiro – his ability to see the spirits known as ayakashi (yokai). Aoi, however, also inherited Shiro's massive debt to the ayakashi, and now, she’s been kidnapped and taken to Kakuriyo (the spirit world) to settle that debt. Kijin a.k.a. “the Ōdana,” who is an ogre and the owner of the inn, “Tenjin-ya,” wants Aoi to marry him to settle the debts her grandfather owes him... or she can be eaten by demons. But Aoi is determined to settle those debts on her own terms.
As Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 6 (Chapters 24 to 30) opens, Aoi looks forward to preparing a meal for the royal couple, Lord Nui and Lady Ritsuko. She is overjoyed at what this could do for “Yūgao,” her little restaurant located behind Tenjin-ya. So, Aoi will travel to the “Eastern Lands” to do some grocery shopping at a fancy imported food market.
Before she can buy a single ingredient, however, Aoi is spirited away and held captive in what seems like a giant crate. Aoi worries that she won't gain her freedom in time to cook for the royal couple. A good opportunity will be the least of her problems if she can't escape from the suddenly flooding prison in which she finds herself.
[This volume includes end notes.]
THE LOWDOWN: The Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits manga has turned out to be as good as I thought it would be. Of course, I am a sucker for shojo manga starring yokai (also known by the term “ayakashi”), and I have yet to find one I did not like.
Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits Volume 6 epitomizes the series' dual tone, being both sweet and gentle and also dark and mysterious. Aoi is by nature a giving person whose warmth and generosity are most on display when she is cooking for and feeding even strangers who appear on her doorstep. On the other hand, Aoi will stand up for herself and her grit and determination carry her into the unknown with the readers following her into the mystery that is Kakuriyo.
Tomo Kimura's light and sugary English adaptation also captures the series' darker moments with an engaging sense of mystery. Joanna Estep's lettering always strikes the right tone, from the warmth of meal time to the allure of discovery and exploration. I can't wait for the next volume.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of yokai manga will want to read the Shojo Beat series, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits.
A
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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